Miranda Lambert

Randy Rogers Band Springs Surprise Trouble Release Show at Firehouse Saloon Tonight

The Randy Rogers Band has become a big enough name on the highly competitive Texas country/Red Dirt circuit that the quintet was chosen to open for George Strait and Martina McBride on Strait's Houston stop of his "The Cowboy Rides Away" tour at Reliant Stadium back in March. Reached by phone from " ... More >>

Last Night: Carrie Underwood at Toyota Center

Carrie Underwood Toyota Center April 23, 2013 It's different at the top of the world. Because critics are the spoiled little creatures that we are, we are traditionally given seats that cost most fans quite a bit of coin. Hell, Alicia Keys' people put me on the third row. Get told Carrie Underwood ... More >>

Country Divas Ashley Monroe and Kacey Musgraves Have a Need for Weed

This week -- today, in fact -- the Golden, Texas native Kacey Musgraves finally releases her eagerly-awaited debut album, Same Trailer, Different Park. Indeed, it's fitting that she's from a town named Golden, as the new album is but the most recent example of some serious Solid Country Gold that's ... More >>

Upcoming: Miranda Lambert, Hall & Oates, Public Enemy, Smashing Pumpkins, etc.

.38 Special: With Kansas, Blue Oyster Cult., Fri., May 31, 8 p.m., TBA. Arena Theatre, 7326 SW Freeway, Houston. Attack Attack!: With The Plot In You, Get Scared, Dangerkids, Closer to Closure., Thu., May 16, 6 p.m., $13.50/$17.00. Fitzgerald's, 2706 White Oak, Houston. Bret Michaels: Sat., June 2 ... More >>

A Full Dance Card

The 2013 RodeoHouston lineup reflects Houston, not Texas.

Houston Needs a Real Country Station, Not More Bull

Somewhere in college those of us arts and humanities types who were passionate about music, but knew we were not talented enough to perform it professionally, eventually wandered into the journalism school or the student radio station. Everyone else must have wound up in a marketing classroom. Rewi ... More >>

Rodeo Touches Every Corner of Pop Universe, Almost Misses Texas

I live too far away from the coasts to care about Coachella all that much, and have done far too much time in both the ACL and SXSW trenches to get too excited about anything that happens in far west Houston anymore. So instead, I have started looking forward to the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo's ... More >>

10 Surprising Things About This Year's Grammy Nominations

This year music has been dominated by viral pop like "Call Me Maybe" and "Gangnam Style," songs that initially became "hits" from outside the music business' traditional delivery system, usually YouTube. Thursday, the Grammys recognized that by nominating "Maybe," by 17-year-old Justin Bieber proteg ... More >>

Notes on Nashville: The Thief of Hearts

I'll try and keep this relatively brief, because I've been at the dentist all morning. Wednesday's Nashville was considerably more pleasant. At this point the show has done about all the establishing shots it can, and Wednesday it slipped a few new wrinkles into the plot (both subtle and not-so-subt ... More >>

Notes on Nashville: Drama and Deceit In TV's Music City

I barely watch episodic TV, let alone write about it, but ABC's Nashville made the idea irresistible. A 9 p.m. network drama set in the glamorous and backstabbing world of country music, amid the landmarks and tourist traps of the modern-day "Athens of the South," it offers sudsy tension and hopeful ... More >>

Musically Speaking, What Is the Best Zodiac Sign?

Sometimes some musicians just can't even be put in the same sentence as one another. Depending on people's musical preferences. It's hard to compare and can be a bit confrontational. But one thing is for sure the day on which someone is born can't be changed. And then that's where astrology comes in ... More >>

15 Things Rocks Off Learned Watching The ACM Awards

Sunday nights, I usually like to watch The Amazing Race after 60 Minutes. I don't usually watch much reality television at all, but something about the combination of total incompetence, vicious backstabbing and exotic locales as several, two-person teams race around the globe is completely intoxica ... More >>

30 Seconds With Bri Bagwell

Up and coming country voice Bri Bagwell took a few moments out of her busy schedule of opening for Miranda Lambert and filming a new video from her song "Whiskey" to answer a few questions. Here's what we learned about her in 30 seconds. Rocks Off: What is worst song in the world? Bri Bagwell: "R ... More >>

Five Great Middle Finger Moments In Music History

Monday morning, the Internet was awash in consternation and jpegs after M.I.A. flashed her middle finger during Madonna's Super Bowl halftime performance Sunday, meaning Janet Jackson is finally off the hook after all these years. To be honest, Rocks Off watched the entire halftime show and must hav ... More >>

Nine Covers of "Heartbreak Hotel" on Its 58th Birthday

Exactly 58 years ago, Elvis Presley released Heartbreak Hotel on RCA Records, which had just bought his contract from Sun Records for a measly $35,000. Heartbreak sold 300,000 copies in its first week and would eventually become the King's first certified gold record. Also, it's worth noting that, ... More >>

With a Rebel Yell: 10 Rockers Gone Country

Photo by Matthew KeeverAaron Lewis at the Verizon Wireless Theater in 2010.​When Staind singer Aaron Lewis rolls into Verizon Wireless Theater tomorrow night, odds are he'll leave his mudshuvel back at the hotel. As modern rock radio turns to the next generation of angst, the former Fred Durs ... More >>

Last Night: Brennen Leigh at Under the Volcano

Austin singer-songwriter Brennen Leigh broke country hard on an initially smallish, talkative crowd at Under the Volcano last night. Opening with "Paint Myself Blue" as a teaser/warmup, she immediately jumped straight into "I Only Drink On Special Occasions" and the crowd was hers. It's one of thos ... More >>

Saturday Night: Taylor Swift At Minute Maid Park

Photos by Marco Torres​See pics of Taylor Swift taking over The Juice Box in our slideshow. It's perhaps unfair to say Taylor Swift has "snuck up" on us, considering she's sold over 20 million albums and was featured on just about every one of last year's "top entertainer" lists. But that's w ... More >>

Survival Skills

Jason Isbell sees a glimmer of hope in his true-to-life melancholy story-songs.

Jack Daniel's If You Please: A Musical Sour Mash Salute

Q: What do musicians call a diminished fifth? A: An empty bottle of Jack Daniel's. ​Someone at Dirt Bar thinks today may be Jack Daniel's birthday. The Jack Daniel, inventor of the sour mash whiskey and favored rock and roll stage prop. Although they admit they can't be sure - "while he made ... More >>

Last Night: Jason Aldean At RodeoHouston

Photos courtesy of Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo​Jason Aldean Reliant Stadium March 20, 2011 You can tell everything you need to know about Jason Aldean by looking at his steel guitarist's forearms Sunday. First, he had a steel guitarist. Of the handful of Rodeo acts Aftermath saw this year ... More >>

Slideshow: Gary Allan At RodeoHouston

Photos by Groovehouse​Rocks Off has the worst luck with Gary Allan. It's starting to give us a complex. It's ironic, because out of all the artists who get semi-regular play on country stations we hardly ever listen to like KILT and 93Q, Allan lines up the most with the kind of country we act ... More >>

Americana Pioneers Wagoneers Reuniting, Playing Houston

​Overnight, Lonesome Onry and Mean received word that the Wagoneers, one of Texas' earliest alt-country bands, are coming back from the dead. The hard-twanging roots band that was essentially a precursor to the Americana movement will perform for the first time in 22 years at the Austin Chroni ... More >>

Pickin' on Nashville

Vince Gill centers himself through bluegrass and digs Miranda Lambert.

Upcoming: Boz Scaggs, Genitorturers, Lucero, Etc.

​The Adicts: Wed., March 23. Warehouse Live. Al Stewart: Fri., April 29. Dosey Doe Coffee Company. Badfish (Sublime Tribute), Full Service: Fri., Jan. 28. House of Blues. Black Veil Brides, DRUGS, I See Stars, Versaemerge: Sun., March 20. Warehouse Live. Bob Schneider: Fri., March 11. Hou ... More >>

A Fistful of Soul

One righteous vintage vinyl party.

Mickey Newbury: Houston's Forgotten Genius

"Hank Williams' pain songs, Newbury's train songs/ And 'Blue Eyes Cryin' In the Rain' - Willie Nelson & Waylon Jennings, "Luckenbach, Texas" ​Lonesome, Onry and Mean was sitting around having a few cold pops the other night when we put on The Best of Mickey Newbury. It wasn't long before the ... More >>

Marshall Chapman: More Fun Than A Three-Legged Goat

​Songwriter extraordinaire, guitar-slinger, author and Southern belle supreme Marshall Chapman will be playing her first Houston gig in ages Thursday, February 17, at McGonigel's Mucky Duck. According to Chapman, Tuesday night's release party at Nashville's Bluebird for her latest album, Big ... More >>

Five Memorable Athlete-Musician Hookups

​In a few hours, Carrie Underwood will be onstage at Toyota Center. Besides being an all-around American girl who will mess you up if you cheat on her, Underwood once dated Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo and married Mike Fisher of the Ottawa Senators back in July. That's right, a hockey ... More >>

Died and Gone to Houston

City is ready for another honky-tonk close-up.

Lilith Fair's Top 5 Headline-Grabbing Moments

​Friday, while Rocks Off was enjoying a blissful if soggy day off, Lilith Fair canceled the final ten dates of this year's summer resurrection, including all three scheduled Texas stops. The news was hardly shocking: One headliner, Norah Jones, had already bailed, and The New York Times report ... More >>

Hanson, Boys Like Girls Top Bamboozle's Pop-Punk Marathon

Photos by Matthew KeeverHanson signs autographs after the "Mmmbop" boys' Bamboozle set.​ As Aftermath made our way into Verizon Wireless for Bamboozle 2010 Friday night, we were greeted by Cady Groves' voice coupled with melodic guitar and salsa shakers. We knew Good Charlotte, Cartel, All Time Lo ... More >>

The Expat

Steve Steele finds a harder-edged sound on his debut album.

Austin City Limits Festival Tickets On Sale Tomorrow At 10 A.M.

We're not saying Soundgarden is playing ACL, but you never know...​That's right. Now why would Rocks Off make something like that up? Hope you have $180 lying around and don't have any meetings or classes or anything like that tomorrow morning, because they're going to go quick. Better go ahead an ... More >>

Distant Early Warning: Al Green, Clint Black, Don McLean, Lightning Bolt, Ludacris, Miranda Lambert, Quintron & Miss Pussycat, Tony Joe White, Etc.

​Female Demand, American Sharks, Satin Hooks, Tow The Line: Sun., March 28, 8 p.m. Walter's on Washington. Al Green: Sun., May 16. Arena Theatre. Chuck Allen Floyd Band: Sat., June 12. Dosey Doe Coffee Company. Casiotone For the Painfully Alone, Magical Beautiful: Sat., April 17. Khon's. Clint Bl ... More >>

Anatomy of a Diss

Breaking Curfew, Houston rapper MC Kane explains the protocol for putting people down.

How Far Did We Have to Scroll Down In the 2010 Pazz & Jop Poll to Find a Houstonian?

Congratulations, Slim Thug! Your album was Houston's biggest critical success last year... sort of.​Our sister paper in NYC's Cooper Square, the Village Voice, released its Pazz & Jop poll Thursday. The annual coast-to-coast survey of music critics ranks the previous year's best (according to ... More >>

How Texas and Alabama Match Up... Musically

​ For once, Rocks Off is grateful for this sinus-splitting headache (thanks, Mike Stinson!), because it gives us something to focus on besides the fact that we are crawling out of our skin waiting for kickoff tonight. At this point, sports pundits have analyzed the Longhorns and Crimson Tide to wi ... More >>

Somewhere Trouble Don't Go

The best Texas albums of 2009...or what we could squeeze in.

Beyonce Leads 2010 Grammy Field With 10 Nominations

Beyonce leads all nominees for the 52nd annual Grammy Awards, reaping the benefits of her smash double album I Am... Sasha Fierce and her prominent role on the soundtrack to last year's Chess Records docudrama Cadillac Records, in which she appeared as an R&B diva from an earlier age, Etta Jame ... More >>

Lonesome Onry and Mean: Dear Local Musicians, Grammy Consideration Is Not the Same Thing As Grammy Nominations

Ah, here we go again with local artists trumpeting "Grammy nominations." The latest is Atascocita-grown country singer Susan Hickman, who seems to fancy herself as a Miranda Lambert/Martina McBride type. We stumbled across Hickman accidentally through MySpace's "Status Updates," and our eye was imm ... More >>

Hello, Houston!

Noise breaks down the months of live music ahead

HPMA Aftermath: Small Sounds, Yoko Mono, Katie Stuckey and the Swagger, Espantapajaros, Buxton, Los Skarnales and Thee Armada

Giddyup!: Full RodeoHouston Lineup Announced

Texas Albums

2007's best Texas albums, from Houston, Austin and beyond

Country Music Awards

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