Steve Earle

Jailhouse Rock: When Artists Face Hard Time

Nothing earns an musician instant street cred quite like a night or two in the pokey. It's basically a rite of passage -- a guarantee that if you sign up for the public eye, you will, indeed, screw it up at least once in order to delight us with your antics. From the likes of good ol' boys like Mer ... More >>

Happy Birthday, Proclaimers! 5 Songs That AREN'T "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)"

It's likely that all you know of The Proclaimers is their single American hit, "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)." Not that that is necessarily a bad thing. After all, that song is completely awesome, and if it's good enough to send off David Tennant from Doctor Who, then it is good enough for the likes of ... 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.

Behold the Texas 30, Plus Albums 40-31

At this point, hopefully you know what the Texas 30 is and why Rocks Off is counting down to the Top 30 Texas albums of the past 30 years, as determined by a statewide panel of professional music writers. The short answer is, of course, because we can, and because it was a great excuse to listen to ... More >>

Houston Scores Big-Time In Latest Edition Of Encyclopedia Of Country Music: Part 7

Three former Houstonians who have been included in the second edition of the Encyclopedia of Country Music defy all odds. To call Rodney Crowell, Lyle Lovett, or Steve Earle a "country songwriter" or a "country singer" is the grossest simplification. All three have a huge streak of the folk traditi ... More >>

Last Night: Steve Earle & The Dukes At Stafford Centre

Steve Earle & the Dukes, The Mastersons Stafford Centre for the Performing Arts April 25, 2012 After three decades of music, mischief and critical accolades, it might come as a surprise to some to find Steve Earle performing at the relatively out-of-the-way (by Inner Loop standards) Centre for the ... More >>

Chris Gray Day: A Few Auction Item Photos

On Saturday, there will be some amazing bands at Chris Gray Day, which is completely appropriate when you consider who this is for. There is also the whole "let's raise some money for Chris Gray" thing. Really, this should be enough for you to want to show up and spend some cash. But, yesterday whe ... More >>

Cover Story: The Year in Crime

​We like to think we are pretty hard to surprise. As the son of hard-living hippies who were close friends of people like Steve Earle and Townes Van Zandt, I'd seen more by the time I was 12 than many of my peers have experienced up to this day. Since then, I've traveled the world and worked i ... More >>

Last Night: Steve Earle At House Of Blues

Photos by Jason Wolter​Steve Earle & the Dukes and Duchesses House of Blues July 6, 2011 During her sublime set at Verizon a couple of weeks ago, Emmylou Harris mentioned how she thought Barack Obama was pretty okay, and how she hoped his election meant our society had evolved beyond the even ... More >>

Top 5 Musician Novelists

Ted Barron/New West RecordsSteve Earle: What's up, Doc?​Despite what our paychecks and sometimes even our diplomas say, the perception persists that music journalists are not "real" journalists. Similarly, no matter how literate their lyrics, some folks think musicians could not possibly put p ... More >>

1986: Best Musical Year Ever?

​For almost two weeks now, Rocks Off has been obsessed with the year exactly 25 flips of the calendar backward from this one. It started when Steve Earle did one of his "Time Machine" shows, where the singer-songwriter who plays House of Blues Wednesday spotlights a dozen or so of his favorite ... More >>

The Wanderer

Never idle, Steve Earle returns to his old stomping grounds with a new album and novel.

Last Night: Steve Earle At Cactus Music

Photos by Jason Wolter​Steve Earle Cactus Music May 3, 2011 "We used to make records for girls but now we make them for nerds," says Steve Earle as he situates his instrument before jumping into Hank Williams Sr.'s "I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive," the title of his new album and book. ... More >>

Out Today: Steve Earle Is Alive, Bootsy's Aged Funk, And The Late Poly Styrene's Last Disc

​Yep, it's the third week now that we have been listening to the new Foo Fighters album, Wasting Light. We even acquired it on vinyl this weekend, so we are doubly screwed. Now we just need it on cassette tape and one of those toothbrushes that play music in your skull like you are schizophren ... More >>

Out Today: Glee Warbles, Gorillaz Fall, Kinks Ride Again

​It's been a week since the Foo Fighters' album, Wasting Light, hit the stores, and Rocks Off has probably averaged at least one or two spins of the solid disc per day. Right now, we are actually on track four. Will anything top Light this week? That remains to be seen. Next week will bring ... More >>

Last Night: Miranda Lambert At RodeoHouston

Photo courtesy of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo​Miranda Lambert Reliant Stadium March 16, 2011 Shucks, ma. Our lil' ol' East Texas gal done all growed up. Sugar and spice and definitely everything nice, unless you piss her off, Miranda Lambert is a different kind of crossover act. A r ... More >>

Last Night: Justin Townes Earle At Fitzgerald's

Photos by Jim Bricker​Justin Townes Earle Fitzgerald's December 2, 2010 It's been a tumultuous year for folk-rocker Justin Townes Earle. Lucky for him, we're fast approaching year's end. This fall the Nashville native and recently settled New Yorker released his third album Harlem River Blues ... More >>

Died and Gone to Houston

City is ready for another honky-tonk close-up.

Steve Earle Emmy-Nominated For Treme Song

​Steve Earle, one of Houston's favorite musical sons, was nominated for an Emmy today for his song "This City," featured in the recent season finale of the HBO series Treme. Earle, who recently touted Houston's rich history and musical assets on an episode of NPR's World Cafe, wrote "This Ci ... More >>

Aftermath: Flogging Molly's Celtic-Punk Puppet Show at House of Blues

Photos by Marco Torres / Click here for a slideshow​Aftermath tuned up for Flogging Molly Wednesday night with a Jameson on the rocks and Steve Earle's "The Galway Girl" on our iPod. One of those should be obvious. As for the other, we needed the whiskey because it was kind of a long day at ... More >>

No, We Haven't Forgotten About That Other Guy Playing House of Blues Thursday

​Amidst all the rum, sodomy, and lashing going on this week about the Pogues hitting House of Blues Thursday, it's easy to forget that they have a pretty stellar opener warming up the crowd. Hmm, kinda reminds us of another Irish band that brought a really kick-ass young band with them a few weeks ... More >>

Lonesome Onry and Mean: Celtic Accordion Queen Sharon Shannon

​One of Lonesome Onry and Mean's favorite Pogues tracks is actually Steve Earle's great anti-war song "Johnny Come Lately" from Earle's Copperhead Road album. Earle has frequently spoken of his affinity for Ireland, particularly Galway, which we might call one of his retreats. It was through Earle ... More >>

Lonesome Onry and Mean: Plenty of Tickets Left for Steve Earle Thursday

Craig Hlavaty Lonesome Onry and Mean just bought some tickets to Steve Earle's June 18 Steve show at the Crighton Theater in Conroe and was surprised to learn there are still approximately 90 tickets left. The Earle show is a bonus show added to the citiy's annual Sounds of Texas Music Series. Earle ... More >>

Steve Earle: Townes

Return to Radartown

"Credibility Scare" alumnus Mark Germino plugs in after seven years.

Steve Earle to Play Conroe's Crighton Theater, Cactus Music for Townes

Steve Earle will play the Crighton Theater Thursday, June 18, as a last-minute addition to the Montgomery County seat's annual Sound of Texas Music Series. The show, says Conroe City Councilman Jay Ross Martin, is a "bonus that we got the chance to add." Earle's tribute disc to mentor Townes Van Zan ... More >>

Lonesome Onry and Mean: War, Still "Hard to Believe"

Photos by John Moulder I'm always looking for good lyrics that make sense of the current military situation. I recently got Slaid Cleaves' fine new album, Everything You Love Will Be Taken Away, which contains this wonderful verse in the song "Hard to Believe": "Here comes another blown up kid from ... More >>

Justin Townes Earle

Texas Music on Sirius/XM's Outlaw Country

Supersuckers

Lonesome Onry and Mean: Steve Earle at Verizon

Last Night: Steve Earle and Allison Moorer at Cactus Music

Steve Earle and Allison Moorer

Introducing…Lonesome Onry and Mean

Sole of Houston: This One's for Rory Miggins

The Shepherd Stroll, Part II

Various Artists

Heartworn Highways

Breakdown Lane

Chevy's unlikely new pitchman

Reckless Kelly

Saturday, July 12

Steve Earle

Sidetracks (E-Squared)

Ice Ice Baby

Varnaline's Anders Parker goes cold when asked about his inspiration

Meet the New Boss

John Nova Lomax

Born Again

Steve Earle has been working his way back to life

Playbill

Coming This Week

Go Tell It on the Mountain

The Dukes of Earle

Steve Earle has beaten the country-music establishment by staying true to his muse

Rotation

Last of the Hard-core Troubadours

Fishing for Insight

Rotation