Ray Price

Best Shows In Houston This Weekend: Rebelution, Graveyard, Every Time I Die, Walker Lukens, Etc.

Rebelution With J Boog, Hot Rain House Of Blues, Friday, 8 p.m., February 22 For a clue on just how much Rebelution must love ganja, beyond even the exquisitely explicit "So High" on its 2012 release Peace of Mind, consider that the Santa Barbara reggae-pop crew also issued acoustic and dub version ... More >>

Artists Who Need Their Own Sirius/XM Channel Already

I've had satellite radio in my life since Christmas. Nothing is better than falling asleep on the couch on a Saturday afternoon after a big fat lunch with Willie's Roadhouse playing; waking up every few hours to piss during a Ray Price cut and then falling back to sleep. What I love the most, besi ... More >>

Kris Kristofferson's Favorite Place on Earth Is In Texas, But Not Houston

Rocks Off spoke to Kris Kristofferson by phone from his home in Hawaii where he describes living a life as spare and literal as the records he makes with producer Don Was. Twice he told us that he's old, once he told us that he's brain-damaged and then he told us that his favorite place on Earth is ... More >>

Saturday Night: Ray Price at Stafford Centre

Ray Price Stafford Centre January 12, 2013 Ray Price has seen scoundrels, outlaws and pop-star pretty boys rule over country music for most of his lifetime, but he sounds determined to go out the same gentlemanly crooner he's always been, the picture of stoicism to the last. Price, who celebrated ... More >>

The Best Concerts In Houston This Weekend

Down Warehouse Live, January 11 Long-running sludge daddies Down are still riding high from last year's six-song EP, Down IV Part I - The Purple EP, and rightfully so. The effort was one of 2012's best releases, making it onto plenty of year-end lists and satisfying Down fans' hunger for new materi ... More >>

Ray Price

22 Coots and Codgers Making the Rest of Us Look Bad

While the rest of the music business has been slow to awaken from its holiday slumbers, the biggest shows in Houston this weekend come from two artists who have been up a long, long time -- 87 years, to be exact: Bluesman B.B. King and country crooner Ray Price. (Actually, Price will turn 87 on Satu ... More >>

The Rocks Off Interview: Country Legend and Animal Lover Ray Price

Ray Price is a Texas music legend and a former roommate of Hank Williams. Rocks Off reached him by phone on his tour bus somewhere between Wisconsin and Nashville to talk about satellite radio, his love of stray dogs, and his show this Tuesday at Conroe's Crighton Theater. Rocks Off: How's the tour ... More >>

Proud UH Alum Larry Gatlin: If You Don't Like His Songs, "I Still Wrote Them"

Rocks Off reached native West Texan and proud UH alumnus Larry Gatlin, of 97.1 Country Legends mainstays Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers Band, first by phone at his hotel in Colorado, then again by phone the next day in San Antonio. Gatlin plays the Dosey Doe's "Big Barn" in The Woodlands Sunda ... More >>

The Rocks Off 100: Miss Leslie, Queen of the Honky-Tonks

Who? Miss Leslie if you're country, Leslie Anne Sloane has played fiddle/violin in both the classical and country/bluegrass styles since age 5. In 2004, she started Miss Leslie and Her Juke-Jointers, which can usually be found once or twice a month at finer roadhouses and honky-tonks in the greater ... More >>

More Medical Trouble for Urban Cowboy-era Star Fiddlin' Frenchie Burke

Above: Frenchie Burke in a showbiz moment. Fiddlin' Frenchie Burke, one of the icons of Houston's "Urban Cowboy" craze of the late '70s, was diagnosed with an inoperable brain aneurysm yesterday in San Antonio, according to information on fellow fiddler Jody Nix's Facebook page. Known for his hug ... More >>

Austin's New (C)KOKE-FM Can't Beat The Real Thing

Lonesome, Onry and Mean had been hearing about the new KOKE-FM progressive country station in Austin for a few weeks. One friend in particular kept raving about the station, so today we finally sauntered over to KOKE-FM (99.3) on the world wide web. Back in the day when we were in Radio/Television/ ... More >>

Mel Tillis: Coca-Cola Cowboy

At 80, first-time author isn't done yet.

Which Texas Musicians Would Get Page 1 New York Times Obits?

Like it or not, death is an inevitable part of the news cycle. A big part of the news cycle, most of the time. Look at Tony Scott, Phyllis Diller and... wait, what time is it now? Rocks Off is not trying to be flippant at all here, because we had our own brush with the reaper less than a year ago: ... More >>

Don Williams

Upcoming: Avicii, Buxton, Down, The Knux, Nada Surf, Etc.

311, Slightly Stoopid: Sun., July 15. Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, 2005 Lake Robbins Drive, Spring. .38 Special, Blackberry Smoke, Folk Family Revival: Sat., May 19. Sam Houston Race Park, 7575 N. Sam Houston Parkway W., Houston. "3rd Annual Disco Green Electronic Music Festival": Sat., May 5. ... More >>

Ray Price

True Blood: A Bit Of Houston, A Bit Of Magical Murder

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. ​Johnny Bush, ladies and gentlemen. Even your resident goth ... More >>

Top Five Clint Eastwood Soundtracks

pasoroblesfilmfestival.comDr. John, Clint Eastwood and producer/director Bruce Ricker in a publicity photo for "Piano Blues," Eastwood's installment of PBS' 2003 series The Blues.​Today the one and only Clint Eastwood turns 81 years old, and he can still kick your ass. According to the Interne ... More >>

Last Night: Martina McBride At RodeoHouston

Photos by Marco Torres​Martina McBride Reliant Stadium March 9, 2011 Ain't no use in complaining, when you've got a job to do. With SXSW bearing down on us like a freight train and the Rodeo squeezing us like a vise, Aftermath basically wants to kill everyone but our cat right now. Then when ... More >>

Who's Too Old To Rock & Roll?

​It's entirely possible that the Rolling Stones and Paul McCartney will each go on tour this year. With ages ranging from 63 to 69 among the four remaining core Stones, the band is obviously the oldest continuing touring rock act, capable of breaking ticket records almost 50 years into the gam ... More >>

Ray Price

Died And Gone To Houston: A Honky-Tonk Jukebox

​Besides the whomping pullout section with brief thumbnail sketches of every artist playing Saturday's Houston Press Music Awards showcase on Washington Avenue, in this week's print issue of the Press you'll find a feature story Rocks Off was proud to co-write called "Died and Gone to Houston. ... More >>

R.I.P. Hank Cochran, Author Of "I Fall To Pieces"

​Hank Cochran, one of the elite songwriters in country music, died earlier today. He was 74. Born in Mississippi, Cochran worked for a while with rocker Eddie Cochran (no relation) in a California band styled The Cochrans. In 1960, Cochran moved to Nashville and teamed up with songwriting le ... More >>

Robert Ellis & The Boys Back In Full Swing At Mango's

Zoe CorsonMike Stinson and Pamela Des Barres dodge the dancers at Mango's.​Mango's was packed last night for the return of Robert Ellis & the Boys' Wednesday-night Montrose barn dance. Ellis recently got back into town from a three-week solo tour that took him New York City and Chicago. Only ... More >>

Great Moments With Mr. Rockefeller: Ray Price, Bobby "Blue" Bland and the Kansas City All-Stars

[Ed. Note: To help spread the word about next Friday's benefit for the Houston International Festival's education programs at Rockefeller Hall, featuring Texas Johnny Brown and Marcia Ball, Rocks Off asked iFest director of performing arts and former Houston Chronicle music critic Rick Mitchell to r ... More >>

Another Side - Several, Actually - of Willie Nelson

It's easy for older Willie Nelson fans to overlook his modern works, where he saw his influence dig out tributaries away from the safer riverbeds. In the past two decades, he has ventured out from his hearty country roots into reggae, spooky Daniel Lanois-produced noir, pop standards, Spanish-tinte ... More >>

Live with Me

The best Houston concerts of 2009: U2, George Strait, Kid Cudi, Jandek, Peaches and even T-Pain.

Dwight Yoakam at the Arena Theatre, Take 2: It Only Hurts When I Cry

[Ed. note: That's right, this show was so nice we're reviewing it twice.] Photos by Jason Wolter​ Dwight Yoakam may not have sung that particular Ray Price song Saturday night at the Arena Theatre - maybe he forgot; we've never seen a set list in a three-ring binder before - but he's sure got hear ... More >>

Honky-Tonk Revival

Is Houston ready for country? Again?

Lonesome Onry and Mean: A Brief History of "Danny Boy" - Evergreen But Not Exactly Irish

​The Pogues are only one week away, so no time like the present to reflect on Irish music. For many Americans, no song epitomizes Irish music like "Danny Boy." Lonesome Onry and Mean was gently prodding my Irish and European friends at the boozer recently regarding their opinions about the top rec ... More >>

Lonesome Onry and Mean: R.I.P. Amy Farris

​Fiddler Amy Farris, an Austin native who played most recently with Dave Alvin's Guilty Women band, died last weekend in Los Angeles. Information is still sketchy at this point, but a press release from Yep Roc Records Wednesday stated that Farris had passed away Sept. 26 "after battling a long il ... More >>

A Musical Guide to Post-Secession Texas, Part 2: "Trinity"

[Note: This week Rocks Off is looking at the musical heritage, highs and lows, for each of the five possible states that might result should Texas secede from the U.S. like Gov. Rick Perry wants it to. Yesterday we began with the Panhandle/West Texas "Palo Duro" territory; today it's northeastern qu ... More >>

Mike Stinson

SugarHill Studios Moves to Caroline Collective

Re-Scattering Willie Nelson's Stardust, 30 Years Later

Houston’s Golden Horn Is Silenced: Calvin Owens, R.I.P.

Texas Albums

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

Jesse Dayton, Johnny Bush

Jimmie's Place

Willie Nelson stories and shoeshines at Jimmie's

Looking for a hit

Mike Stinson, Nashville and an eight-minute bottle of wine

Miss Leslie & Her Juke-Jointers

Honky Tonk Revival

Funtime Is Over

It's the end of the road for AstroWorld

Scenes from a Picnic

Willie, Dylan, Kinky and the Ghost of Bob Willis descends on Fort Worth. Wack is there too.

Tom Heinl

Monday, March 15

Midtown Honky-tonkin'

Trains and the vintage sounds of the Swank Countrypolitans bring a time warp to the Continental Club

Willie Nelson

Crazy: The Demo Sessions (Sugar Hill Records)

Achy Breaky Voice

Despite a vocal cord disorder, Johnny Bush still sings the praises of traditional Texas country music

On the Off-Road Again

Country legend Ray Price continues to take the path less traveled