Okkervil River

Depeche Mode, The Cure, Kings of Leon, Phoenix, Lionel Richie Head 2013 ACL Fest Lineup

Moments ago, Depeche Mode, The Cure, MUSE, Kings of Leon, Atoms For Peace (featuring Thom Yorke and Flea), Lionel Richie, Phoenix, Wilco, Vampire Weekend, The National, and Eric Church were announced as the headliners of the 2013 Austin City Limits Music Festival, which plans to expand to identical ... More >>

Exploring Songza: Four Offbeat Playlists From the Curated Music Service

We introduced you to Songza -- the service that acts as a "music concierge" -- a few weeks back. Using curated playlists sorted not only by genre and theme, but also by activity, Songza helps you pick the best songs for the occasion. More importantly to me, the playlists are expertly curated, mean ... More >>

The 30 Best Texas Albums

Ranking the 30 best Texas albums of the past 30 years seemed like an impossible task. We did it anyway.

The Biggest Surprises From the Texas 30 Ballots

Perusing the final ballots for the Texas 30 with a few highlighters this past week was a blessed odyssey into the past three decades of all things Texas music. For as many no-brainers as there were, there were plenty of head-scratchin' exclusions. Rewind: The 30 Best Texas Albums (cover story) Sl ... More >>

The Texas 30: The Second Runners-Up, Albums 50-41

On our computer, Rocks Off has been looking at that damn Texas 30 spreadsheet so long our eyes are frosting over. Monday we said about 400 different albums were spread across the ballots we received from almost 25 music-media wags across Texas. We looked at the sheet again after that and it was actu ... More >>

Friday Night: Murder by Death at Fitzgerald's

Murder by Death, Cory Chisel & the Wandering Sons Fitzgerald's July 27, 2012 When I discovered that Murder by Death was set up to play the smaller downstairs room at Fitzgerald's Friday night, I was a little surprised. The Indiana-based y'allternative act may hail from a small town, but they've got ... More >>

Top 5 Acts to Catch at Pride Weekend

See many more events this weekend in the Houston Press' 2012 Pride Guide. This Saturday, the streets around Westheimer and Montrose will be swamped with people for the 34th annual Houston LGBT Pride Celebration, one of the oldest and largest events of its kind in the South. Started to commemorate t ... More >>

The Damn Quails & 10 Other Bird-Brained Bands

Tonight the Houston Press Concert Series resumes at Pub Fiction with Oklahoma duo the Damn Quails. The Quails' song "Fools Gold," from their 2011 album Down the Hatch, is tearing it up on Texas country and roots-rock radio right now, landing them three Lonestar Music Awards and airplay on BBC roots ... More >>

Shearwater

Our Top Ten Picks For Fun Fun Fun Fest 2011

Photo By Marc BrubakerBest Coast at Fun Fun Fun Fest 2010​This weekend the Rocks Off team will cover their third Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin, at the festival's new home Auditorium Shores. Each year this fest seems to get bigger and better, without losing it's grimy luster. Is it the Austin City ... More >>

Roky Erickson

Fun Fun Fun Fest Leaking 2011 Lineup On Turntable.fm

​After leaking artists including Okkervil River, Odd Future, X and - most people believe - Slayer, Austin's Fun Fun Fun Fest has officially begun announcing its 2011 lineup via the brand-new file-sharing/social-media hybrid Turntable FM. Fun Fun Fun began streaming songs from this year's arti ... More >>

Fun Fun Fun Fest Leaks Lineup Via Navy Signal Flags

How up to date on your nautical signaling are you? Austin's Fun Fun Fun Fest leaked a few names for its Nov. 4-6 fall brawl at Auditorium Shores this morning. If you know your flags, you can figure it out all by yourself via the above video. Rocks Off will be a little busy with our own Houston Pr ... More >>

The Best Albums Of 2011 (So Far)

​The year isn't quite half over, but as of today, "summer" is officially here - even if the calendar needs a few weeks to catch up - and by the time summer is over, so will 2011. Or close enough. So Rocks Off asked our staff to give us their favorite two albums of the year so far, plus one out ... More >>

Out Today: Tyler, The Creator's Goblin, The Cars Restarted...

​We now live in a world where Adele is a chart-topping artist, placing at number one slot the past few weeks, rubbing shoulders with the Foo Fighters, Katy Perry, Mumford & Sons, and Britney Spears. If Adele's 21 isn't on the top of everyone's best-of 2011 lists, there is no justice in the wor ... More >>

Out Today: Beasties Bite Back, Stevie Nicks Gets Witchier

​What's the best way to celebrate the elimination of Osama Bin Laden? Listening to the Foo Fighters' latest album Wasting Light for the fourth week straight, of course. Send help, or at least the announcement of a late-summer or early fall tour date. Come on, man, just one hit. This week's n ... More >>

Rocks Off's Must-See Music Picks For SXSW '11

​As you may have heard, there's a teeny-tiny little music festival going on in Austin later this week. Some of the early birds on team Rocks Off are either already there or well on their way, as a matter of fact. With more than 2,000 artists playing the official part of SXSW alone, trying to ... More >>

Arcade Fire Headed To Houston May 4 For Pavilion Date

cnn.com​Arcade Fire is finally heading to Houston on May 4 for a date up at Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, in the Woodlands. Last Sunday the band played upsetters at the Grammys winning the award for Album Of The Year for their album The Suburbs which was based on frontman Win Butler's childhood ... More >>

Balaclavas, Moccs, Fat Tony Place In Pazz & Jop Poll

Show of hands, everyone who is surprised this is No. 1.​Music writers all know that once they get their Village Voice Pazz & Jop ballot in their e-mail inbox, that it's time to tally their loves from the last year. It's sort of like the leaves changing or the first freeze of winter coming. You ... More >>

Texans Have Down Year In Grammy Nominations

​Texas artists, or artists with Texas roots, scored fewer nominations than usual when the Recording Academy announced its choices for the 53rd annual Grammy Awards Wednesday night. Perpetual nominees Beyonce and George Strait were nominated for residual tracks from I Am... Sasha Fierce and Twa ... More >>

The Ten Bleakest Songs In Country Music History

decodedstuff.com​Country music isn't all high-tech rednecks and honky tonk badonkadonks. Country artists have a tendency to, every now and then, sing about some dark, disturbing stuff. Sometimes scary, sometimes violent, and sometimes just weird, here are some country songs that rival the blac ... More >>

Wrong Number

Houston's Miss Leslie dials up more honky-tonk homilies on her new CD.

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 >>

SXSW Aftermath: Shearwater Takes Flight At Antone's

​In 2008, when Jonathan Meiburg left Okkervil River to focus exclusively on Shearwater, his bird-named band, and his ornithological career studying birds, you could see that Meiburg's other Okker Will Sheff had big plans in mind. (That they would include Roky Erikson, well... not as apparent.) ... More >>

SXSW Pictures From Wednesday (You Know We Had To Throw A Fight In There)

Photos by Craig HlavatyRoky Erickson (right) and Okkervil River plowed through the Paste Party with Texas psych nuggets like "Two Headed Dog."​ Sleepy Sun's stoner blooze wafted over Emo's Annex.​

SXSW Aftermath: A Spry Wanda Jackson And Our Friends Mariachi El Bronx

Photos by Craig HlavatyWanda Jackson​ As the first night of SXSW 2010 got underway a pall came over the crowd, at least from those who had been glued to their smart phones by the news of the passing of Big Star lead singer Alex Chilton in New Orleans. The influential power-pop band was due to clos ... More >>

Hlavaty On The Hloose At SXSW: Roky Erickson, Okkervil River And The Sweetest Skynyrd Tattoo Of All Time

Photos, except where indicated, by Craig Hlavaty4:49 p.m.: "Roky and Okker is perfection."​ 4:08 p.m.: "Back on Sixth. Sea of green. Full tilt SXSW already. Paste party now." 4:11 p.m.: "Roky Erickson inside Paste tent party in 15." 4:12 p.m. Rocks Off Sr.: "YOU MUST GET A PIC OF ROKY" 4:15 p.m.: ... More >>

Magnolia City Mixtape: Roky Erickson, Houston Symphony, BandCamp, Solange, The Vatican, Watermarks, Featherface, Lots More

Roky Erickson and Will Sheff of Okkervil River at Toy Joy, Austin TX from Roky Erickson w/ Okkervil River on Vimeo. Roky Erickson plays tomorrow night at the Continental Club for the second time in about six months. The Texas Psychedelic Rock blog posted a video last week of Erickson and Okkervil R ... More >>

Roky Erickson

Magnolia City Mixtape: Be Hollywood F.L.O.S.S.'s Pen Pal, Roky Erickson Okkervil River, New Something Fierce 7" and Dave Wrangler Mashup

​ Ever wish you had a pen pal like Hollywood F.L.O.S.S. when you were a kid? He's been sending out a mixtape called Art-or-Fiscal Intelligence to various bloggers around the U.S. You can listen online or download here, and read some of the props he's been getting. Austinites Okkervil River re ... More >>

Ghosts of Washington Avenue

Noise goes whistling through the scenester artery's music venue graveyard.

Over the Weekend: South by Southwest in Photos

Not sure if you noticed, but we took a ton of photos over the last few days. Click the links for all kinds of action. SXSW, Day One Photo by Mark C. Austin The Austin Music Awards A chronicle in picture form of some of the SXSW live acts you could have caught on Wednesday, March 18, if only you h ... More >>

South by Southwest in Photos

Not sure if you noticed, but we took a ton of photos over the last few days. Click the links for all kinds of action. South by Southwest Day One Photo by Mark C. Austin The Austin Music Awards A chronicle in picture form of some of the SXSW live acts you could have caught on Wednesday, March 18, ... More >>

2008 in Texas Albums and Local EPs

The Best of ACL Fest

Okkervil River: The Stand Ins

Tonight: Donkeys and Listenlisten at Rudyard's

Has ACL Festival Jumped the Shark?

SXSW Ephemera, Part Deux: More Random Notes from the Field

SXSW Last Night: Houston Hijacks the Austin Music Awards

SXSW Ephemera: Random Notes from the Field

SXSW Day 1: Tricks of the Trade

Weekend Music: Sublime Lives (Sort Of)

Give Us a Hand

Last Night: Octopus Project, Bring Back the Guns at Numbers

Okkervil River

Local Motion

Dark Star Rising

Jenny Lewis primps for her big push

Okkervil River, with the Decemberists

Friday, April 1, at Mary Jane's Fat Cat, 4216 Washington Avenue, 713-869-5263.

Stream of Consciousness

Drift away on the gentle thrills of Okkervil River