Patty Griffin

Has ACL Festival Jumped the Shark?

Lonesome Onry and Mean: Meet Lena Anderssen

Patty Griffin and Jenny Lewis: Goodness, Gracious, Great Balls of Fire

Houston Press Music Awards 2000

Your guide to the Music Awards Showcase

Artist of the Week: Debbie Forrest

Your guide to the Music Awards Showcase

MySpaced Out: Finland Twangs!

Frida Hyvönen We all know Helsinki rocks; that's a given. But to pigeonhole the Finnish music scene as nothing but one huge population of Laika and the Cosmonauts headbangers would be a mistake. While Finland certainly stands shoulder to shoulder with Sweden and Denmark when it comes to steroidal ... More >>

Lonesome Onry and Mean: Gurf Morlix and Last Exit To Happyland

Photo by Lynne Hawrelko What a beautiful world we'd be living in if Joel Osteen or Pat Robertson or Rush Limbaugh used Gurf Morlix as musical director. His new Last Exit to Happyland is full of aching songs full of deep humanity and decency as well as head-shaking social accusations and knife-to-the ... More >>

Rotation

Photo by Lynne Hawrelko What a beautiful world we'd be living in if Joel Osteen or Pat Robertson or Rush Limbaugh used Gurf Morlix as musical director. His new Last Exit to Happyland is full of aching songs full of deep humanity and decency as well as head-shaking social accusations and knife-to-the ... More >>

Rotation

Photo by Lynne Hawrelko What a beautiful world we'd be living in if Joel Osteen or Pat Robertson or Rush Limbaugh used Gurf Morlix as musical director. His new Last Exit to Happyland is full of aching songs full of deep humanity and decency as well as head-shaking social accusations and knife-to-the ... More >>

Texas Music 1998: The Year That Wasn't

Photo by Lynne Hawrelko What a beautiful world we'd be living in if Joel Osteen or Pat Robertson or Rush Limbaugh used Gurf Morlix as musical director. His new Last Exit to Happyland is full of aching songs full of deep humanity and decency as well as head-shaking social accusations and knife-to-the ... More >>

Tonight: Carrie Rodriguez and Jubal Lee Young at Conroe's Free First Thursday

Carrie Rodriguez kicks of Conroe's free First Thursdays concert series tonight. After a long tenure as a duet with hall-of-fame-quality songwriter Chip Taylor, Rodriguez struck out on her own last year with She Ain't Me. The album is very much in a Patty Griffin vein, but the title track would d ... More >>

Spain Colored Orange

Gilbert Alfaro and Eric Jackson sound off.

Remembering Martin Luther King Jr. in Song

In the Name of Love

Downtown's Got Soulphilia

A superbad shindig at Dean's

Houston Music Map

Queen Norah reigns, Josh Groban pains, and lots of Natalie Maines

Tonight: Gurf Morlix at Cactus Music and McGonigel's Mucky Duck

Gurf Morlix treks into town today for the official Houston release of his new LP Last Exit To Happyland. Whether the former Houstonian and Blaze Foley roommate is working on loping rockers or folksy Americana, Morlix is a master of tone and mood, squeezing maximum subtlety out of a few well-chos ... More >>

2007 Houston Press Music Awards Showcase

Gurf Morlix treks into town today for the official Houston release of his new LP Last Exit To Happyland. Whether the former Houstonian and Blaze Foley roommate is working on loping rockers or folksy Americana, Morlix is a master of tone and mood, squeezing maximum subtlety out of a few well-chos ... More >>

Alternate Routes

Alternate Routes performs Saturday, May 19, at Warehouse Live, 813 St. Emanuel, 713-225-5483.

Gretchen Schmaltz

Q&A with the singer/songwriter

Patty Griffin

Children Running Through Ato Records

Shawn Colvin

These Four Walls

Eliza Gilkyson

Thursday, April 8

Maura O'Connell

Saturday, July 27

Betty Soo

Saturday, July 27

Bouncin' Back: Songs for Survivors

Last Wednesday evening's positivity-ruining shootings at TSU's "Trae Day" block party were a fine example of how ignorance and violence can crash even the most uplifting party, but also of something else: Sometimes we get lucky (or blessed, depending on your theological viewpoint). In three separat ... More >>

A Musical Guide to Post-Secession Texas: "New Texas"

In the third in our continuing series on the music of the five states of Texas, we examine the fictional state of New Texas, comprising Austin and the Hill Country. See Part 1 here and Part 2 here. New Texas Capital: Austin Patron Saint: Willie Nelson ​Lesser Icons: Roky Erickson/Thirteenth Floor ... More >>

Complete List of Texas' 2010 Grammy Nominees

​Rocks Off was pretty sure we missed a few Texas (or Texas-connected) artists in Thursday's writeup of the 2010 Grammy nominees, and it turns out we were right. We don't even remember scrolling past some of these categories over at Grammy.com, to be honest, but thanks to the Texas Music Office's C ... More >>

Lonesome Onry and Mean: This Is Not (Really) a Best-Of-2009 List

​Lonesome, Onry and Mean saw a great comment from Dave Alvin on Facebook recently that went something like this: "I do not do Best of lists or End of the Decade lists, the only lists I do are 'crap I have to do' lists." We gladly second that, Dave, as there is nothing other than Christmas shopping ... More >>

Happy Anniversary Texas Music Magazine, or "Austin and (Maybe) Everything After"

​Towards the end of last week, Rocks Off got the latest issue of Texas Music magazine in the mail, which just happens to mark the quarterly periodical's tenth anniversary. Naturally, as just about every publication does when it reaches such an august milestone - no mean feat for a magazine in this ... More >>

Get Behind the Mule

Gov't Mule main man Warren Haynes swears he takes time off, but we don't really believe him.

The Night BYOB-Packing Jason & The Scorchers Fans Trashed The Fabulous Satellite Lounge, And 3 Other Great Shows

[Part 1 of a three-part series.] ​ Houston International Festival Director of Performing Arts Rick Mitchell's recent remembrance of great shows he saw at Rockefeller's got LOM to thinking about great shows next door at the funky old Satellite Lounge. We spent way more nights in the Satellite, our ... More >>

Robert Plant Plays The Woodlands - Finally - On July 24

​ Robert Plant remembers Houston. In September 2008, the former Led Zeppelin singer and Allison Krauss were scheduled to play the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion behind their multiple Grammy-winning (and downright spectacular) Raising Sand album, but Hurricane Ike had other ideas, severely dam ... More >>

Robert Plant & Band of Joy, Bettye LaVette

​ Robert Plant remembers Houston. In September 2008, the former Led Zeppelin singer and Allison Krauss were scheduled to play the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion behind their multiple Grammy-winning (and downright spectacular) Raising Sand album, but Hurricane Ike had other ideas, severely dam ... More >>

Saturday Night: Robert Plant & Band Of Joy At The Woodlands

Photos by Jason Wolter​Robert Plant & Band of Joy, Bettye LaVette Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion July 24, 2010 Robert Plant is a master of the musical bait and switch, but an exceptionally gracious one. Plant is no dummy. He has to know that the commercial radio stations in Houston (and, le ... More >>

True Blood: Patty Griffin, Bon Temps Crew Smell A Rat

Alan Ball was known for his masterful use of music in Six Feet Under. He's lost none of his touch when it comes to his current HBO series, True Blood - which happens to be set in the Louisiana swamps, not terribly far from Houston. Season 3, Episode 9: "I Smell a Rat" ​"Who can you trust," ... More >>

Margaret Cho: Cho Dependent Tour

She's singing - and still sassy

Jason Bonham's Led Zeppelin Experience

She's singing - and still sassy

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 >>

Rocks Off's Favorite Songs Of 2010

​Editor's Picks: Jamey Johnson, "Lonely at the Top": Ouch. Merle Haggard, "I've Seen It": Double ouch. Patty Griffin, "Move On Up": Help me, Jesus. Please.

Top Eight Freedom Songs For MLK Day

​Rocks Off sincerely prays that those of you with today off are at least peripherally aware of why you have today off. For our annual MLK Day reflection this year, we thought we'd leave the songs about Dr. King to Bono, and instead share a few of our favorite songs that set his dream to music ... 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 >>

Emmylou Harris

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 >>

Peter Cooper: Nashville Scholar, Fake Hillbilly Hater

Eric Brace (left) and Peter Cooper​The senior music writer and columnist for Nashville daily The Tennesseean and a professor of country music history at Vanderbilt University, Peter Cooper also steps out as a performing songwriter when his schedule permits. He rolls into town Friday night at M ... More >>