New Braunfels

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 >>

UPDATED: Hard-Right Group Wants to Push Broad Religious Exemptions into State Constitution

When Texas first passed its Religious Freedom Act in 1999, Scott Hochberg, then a Democratic State Representative, found a strange ally. Texas Right to Life, a pro-life organization still extant, had consistently stood opposite Hochberg's legislation never testified for Hochberg's legislation -- the ... More >>

Surely Galveston Can Do Better Than "Galveston"

Notwithstanding the recent Galveston-based Carnival cruise liner whose faulty engines landed its passengers in a world of hurt (and national headlines), the island is again throwing its arms open for the upcoming summer season. Last week the Galveston Island Convention & Visitors Bureau announced th ... More >>

Texas EDM Fans Dealt Setback With Nocturnal Wonderland Pullout

For three consecutive years, Apache Pass near the Central Texas town of Rockdale has been the home of Nocturnal Wonderland, a multi-day electronic dance music festival that Texas EDM fans have counted on to kick off their EDM festival season. The season is largely driven by L.A.-based supergiant pr ... More >>

If the Addicks and Barker Dams Fail

They've already been labeled "high risk." Experts say the resulting damage could be bigger than Katrina in New Orleans.

Pat Green: "I Don't Feel Like I Needed Rebooting"

Did Pat Green save country music? That is a contentious question no matter on which side of the Red River you're standing, but it's also a little beside the point. Nurtured by the storytelling culture of legendary Central Texas singer-songwriter rooms like New Braunfels' Gruene Hall and San Marcos' ... More >>

Mike Wiggins: Guadalupe County Judge, Former DPS Officer, Caught with Weed in Hotel

Mike Wiggins, Guadalupe County Judge and a former DPS sergeant, has been arrested for having weed in a College Station hotel room. Wiggins, a Republican first elected in 2006 to lead the county, which is east of New Braunfels, was attending a convention there when the cops were called because a sta ... More >>

Wine of the Week: Natural Wine in Texas

As we noted in last week's post on a new era of Nastiness and a call for civility in the Natural wine debate, it's not easy to define exactly what Natural wine is. As Eric Asimov wrote in his weekly New York Times column, there is no official definition or doctrine for Natural wine or Natural winem ... More >>

Oktoberfest 2011: Where to Binge on Beer and Brats

Insert obligatory photo of buxom woman in a dirndl consuming lager from a stein here. (And remember: Lederhosen are Austrian, not Bavarian!)​If there's one thing that we Americans enjoy doing, it's co-opting other countries' holidays and turning them into giant boozefests for no good reason ot ... More >>

SXSW 2011 Still Untainted By Houston Artists

listenlisten: Not playing SXSW 2011... yet.​Rocks Off just got the latest list of names for next year's SXSW conference and festival in Austin, and just like the last time, the conference remains unsullied by any performers from Houston's filthy, rotten, disgusting, in-need-of-quarantine music ... More >>

Texas Traveler: AmeriVespa 2010, San Antonio

Photos by Brittanie Shey​More than 30 scooter enthusiasts from Houston spent Memorial Day weekend in San Antonio representing the Bayou City at AmeriVespa, the largest scooter rally in the nation. Now in its 17th year, the event, which takes place in a new city each year, draws scooterists fro ... More >>

Capsule Art Reviews: "The Art Guys: New Clichés," "Casual Encounters," "New Art in Austin: 20 to Watch"

Clever, Funny and Disturbing

Austin exports 20 artists and installations for a show at DiverseWorks.

Changes in Attitude

When voters elected Martha Wong, they thought they were sending a moderate Republican to Austin. Critics say once there, she took a right turn. Now her district is rethinking its representation.

Rita Beatahs

Houston dodges a bullet and finds traffic hell

Motorcycle Madness

Two-wheeled tours of H-town, East Texas and the Hill Country

Bayou Polka

A rudderless German springs to life with the help of zydeco music

Bayou Polka

A rudderless German springs to life with the help of zydeco music

Let the Eagle Soar

Alt-country hero Fred Eaglesmith dumps guitars and makes a pre-Beatles pop record

Bingo Was Its Name-O

The Texas Lottery Commission brings the hammer down on the El Orbits' Monday-night institution

Defending the Dirty Thirty

And coping with Yankee slander

A Clean Brake

After almost losing his voice, country rocker David Brake starts singing his own songs

Whatcha Gonna Do?

Houston's Neutral Sisters look white, sing black and move to a reggae rhythm

Combination Plates

Legendary restauranteur Felix Tijerina mixed Mexican food and Texas politics

Trading with the Enemy

Houston oil companies maintain their profitable ties to Libya, in roundabout ways

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