Robert Earl Keen

O Christmas Song, O Christmas Song

The Houston 100: From Charles Brown to Sippie Wallace

Hey, Look Over There

Has ACL Festival Jumped the Shark?

Aftermath: Robert Earl Keen at House of Blues; Dash Rip Rock at the Continental Club; Hayes Carll at Warehouse Live

Photos: Hayes Carll/ Craig Hlavaty; Dash Rip Rock, Robert Earl Keen/ Chris Gray On their 1996 self-titled debut LP, Hee Haw-loving Nashville ironists BR5-49 cut a song called "Little Ramona (Gone Hillbilly Nuts)." Anyone who has read either the paper or this site in the past few weeks wi ... More >>

Press Picks

Photos: Hayes Carll/ Craig Hlavaty; Dash Rip Rock, Robert Earl Keen/ Chris Gray On their 1996 self-titled debut LP, Hee Haw-loving Nashville ironists BR5-49 cut a song called "Little Ramona (Gone Hillbilly Nuts)." Anyone who has read either the paper or this site in the past few weeks wi ... More >>

Famous Amos

Bad girl Tori becomes more than a Kate Bush manque

New Year's for the Irresolute

Bad girl Tori becomes more than a Kate Bush manque

Post-Cold War Crazies

Bad girl Tori becomes more than a Kate Bush manque

Rotation

Bad girl Tori becomes more than a Kate Bush manque

Keen Life

Bad girl Tori becomes more than a Kate Bush manque

Aggie Yoke

Bad girl Tori becomes more than a Kate Bush manque

Keen on the Past

Bad girl Tori becomes more than a Kate Bush manque

Rise Up, Texas

Robert Earl Keen leadsTexas acts on tour

Night & Day

May 27 - June 2, 1999

Robert Earl Keen

May 27 - June 2, 1999

Christmas Songwriters Showcase

May 27 - June 2, 1999

Rolling in the Aisles

May 27 - June 2, 1999

Farewell to the Twenty Nickel

Looking back on the '05 and dreaming in the '06

Beer Run

Brew up some support at the Shiner Beer B.A.S.H.

Flat Fee

Employee relations get sticky in Promises, Promises

Playbill

Employee relations get sticky in Promises, Promises

Pop Quiz

Think you know local music? Take the Bayou City Music Mindbender and find out.

I'm Not Dreaming of a White Christmas

No snow and no Bing for Racket

Hayes, Dude

A fresh and brainy country alternative

Robert Earl Keen

Farm Fresh Onions (Audium/Koch)

Sultan of Swatch?

Babe's shirt goes in the cards

Festivus Maximus

The Austin City Limits Music Festival's got a roster that won't quit

Racket

Country Legends 97.1 takes over as the number one C&W station in town

Death of a Bar Band

Mike Barfield administers the Hollisters their coup de grâce

Lone Star Upgrade

Blanco's Tequila Sunrise

Ruffled Feathers

The Dixie Chicks and other musicians are fighting for their rights -- and a bigger check

Papa Was a Rolling Stone: Songs for Father's Day

Fathers often get a bad rap. Even though most Dads work every bit as hard as Mom for their families, they get overlooked very easily, because praise and thanks aren't supposed to matter to Dads, they're simply expected to act the way a Dad is supposed to. To help make up for the thanklessness so of ... More >>

A Musical Guide to Post-Secession Texas: Houston and "Brazoria"

The final installment of our Five States of Texas project brings it all back home, to the new state of Brazoria, encompassing all of Southeast Texas from the Brazos Valley to Sabine Pass. ​Patron Saint: Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown. A master of rock and roll, country, Cajun/Creole, blues and jazz, n ... More >>

Ghosts of Washington Avenue

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

"It's Hard to Kiss the Lips at Night That Chew Your Ass Out All Day Long" and Other Funny Country Titles We Found

​Rocks Off has been a fan of Robert Earl Keen since we heard 1994's Gringo Honeymoon, and we've really been a fan since we heard his previous album, A Bigger Piece of Sky, shortly thereafter. We got Keen's latest album, The Rose Hotel (Lost Highway), in the mail this week, and after a few listens, ... More >>

Lone Star Scorecard: All Robert Earl Keen Edition

​ There are a lot of songs about Texas out there, and Rocks Off wouldn't be doing our duty if we sent you off into the world without properly informing you about their veracity. That's what the Lone Star Scorecard is for, and if it keeps even one of you from making an embarrassing Texas-based faux ... More >>

No Turkeys Allowed

Our annual holiday shopping guide to recent local releases

KISS Off

The makeup-clad rockers may be hilarious, but they're hardly metal.

Robert Earl Keen

The makeup-clad rockers may be hilarious, but they're hardly metal.

Aftermath: Robert Earl Keen and His Touchy-Feely-Talky Fans at House of Blues

Photos by Jason Wolter​ Aftermath hasn't completely coughed up all his holiday goodwill yet, so we're going to try really hard to keep this review from turning into a rant against the audience that showed up to see Houston's own (by way of Bandera) Robert Earl Keen Monday night. But in order to do ... More >>

Guitar Zero: Played It 'Til My Fingers Bled...

No, this song is NOT about the year of Woodstock and the Moon Landing. It was the summer winter of '69 2010. Robert told me to come up with five songs I wanted to learn how to play (on guitar, in case you weren't keeping up). The Wife, seeking to maximize the parental utility of my music lessons, h ... More >>

A Horse With No Name: Livestock Songs Fit For The Glue Factory

​ At Rocks Off, there is no yin without yang, no Yahweh without Satan, and no Charles Barkley without Godzilla. And since we already presented you with an assortment of rockin' livestock songs (to get you in the mood for the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo), it's only fair that we offer a count ... More >>

2010 ACL Line-Up Goes Live And (Early) By Surprise

The line-up for the 2010 Austin City Limits Music Festival went live at the fest's website at midnight this morning while the rest of the world was snoozing. Luckily we are up and stirring to bring it to you. No Pavement and no Soundgarden, but we do have the Strokes down. More commentary coming in ... More >>

Austin City Limits Festival Releases Preshow, Aftershow Lineups

​This morning C3 Concerts, the folks behind the Austin City Limits Music Festival, announced the schedule for the pre- and after-show gigs surrounding the festival. As with this past March's SXSW, those without official credentials aren't totally being shut out of the fun. Starting Wednesday ... More >>

Robert Earl Keen

​This morning C3 Concerts, the folks behind the Austin City Limits Music Festival, announced the schedule for the pre- and after-show gigs surrounding the festival. As with this past March's SXSW, those without official credentials aren't totally being shut out of the fun. Starting Wednesday ... More >>

Last Night: Fred Eaglesmith At McGonigel's Mucky Duck

Photos by Jason Wolter​Fred Eaglesmith McGonigel's Mucky Duck February 22, 2011 Rocks Off Sr. wanted to know, and he wanted to know now. "What kinda crowd is this? Canadians?" "Yeah, some, for sure." Aftermath understands these things. Instinctively. It's like drinking good whiskey. "But l ... More >>

Not A Drop Of Rain: 10 Modern-Day Dust Bowl Songs

Barry Sigman​Rocks Off just walked outside and saw something we almost didn't recognize: Rain clouds that look like they might, you know, rain. We'll believe it when we see it. Even if we do get some relief in the next couple of days, it won't be enough. Rocks Off forgets the exact number - w ... More >>

Robert Earl Keen

Barry Sigman​Rocks Off just walked outside and saw something we almost didn't recognize: Rain clouds that look like they might, you know, rain. We'll believe it when we see it. Even if we do get some relief in the next couple of days, it won't be enough. Rocks Off forgets the exact number - w ... More >>

Last Night: Robert Earl Keen At House Of Blues

Robert Earl Keen House of Blues December 28, 2011 Photos by Barry Sigman​It sucks when your college roommate is more successful than you. Heaven knows Rocks Off was pleased as punch to hear ours had ended up blowing merchant marines for salvia in Vladivostok (just kidding, Doug!), but Robert ... More >>