The Avett Brothers

Killing the Music: The Mumfordization of Top 40 Radio

Twenty-eight. That is the amount of times in one day that I heard the songs play. Between my daily morning routine, my various commutes throughout the city, and a quick visit to CVS, "Home" came on eight times, "Ho Hey" seven, "Little Talks" also seven, and "I Will Wait" six. Phillip Phillips and c ... More >>

The Best Concerts In Houston This Week: Alicia Keys, Maroon 5, RiFF RaFF, etc.

Alicia Keys, Miguel Toyota Center, March 18 Alicia Keys just keeps rising. The Harlem-raised soul singer and pianist has reached the peak of her profession, exuding a retro vibe and flashing her classical training while becoming a fashion-forward style trendsetter. Along the way, Keys has gone mult ... More >>

Top 10 Educated Guesses for Free Press Summer Fest

Tomorrow, we will know who will be playing the fifth annual Free Press Summer Fest June 1 and 2 in Eleanor Tinsley Park. We know this because Monday, our rivals over at the Houston Chronicle revealed that they will have an exclusive announcement of the FPSF lineup sometime Thursday, thanks to what w ... More >>

Last Night: New Year's Eve Cataclysm at Fitzgerald's

Free Press Houston New Year's Eve Cataclysm Feat. Buxton, Infinite Apaches, Robert Ellis, Ben Godfrey Fitzgerald's December 31, 2012 Devil, your name be "Michelada." Who else could I blame for a New Year's Eve that seems to exist only as flashes and sounds and 11 pages of barely legible notes? Let' ... More >>

ACL 2012: Sunday's 10 Best & Funniest Moments at Zilker

The rains came early on Sunday morning, but by the time the ACL opened up for business before noon, there was hardly a cloud in the sky, making for an extremely warm and muddy day. The biggest acts of the day -- Red Hot Chili Peppers, Iggy & the Stooges, Crystal Castles, and the Avett Brothers -- he ... More >>

Closing Time: Some Unhappy With 103.7 FM's Christian Change

At 5 p.m. Tuesday, 103.7 KHJK left the Houston airwaves, leaving "Houston's Adult Alternative" without a substitute. Christian alternative format Air 1 Radio has taken its place. The changeover as a result of Cumulus Media's prepackaged bankruptcy buyout that included KHJK and sports-talk station K ... More >>

Christian Radio Group Buys 103.7 FM

Update to story originally posted on May 25, 2012: Sounds like the switch became official at 5 p.m. today, and our friends on social media are pissed. Apparently the indie format went out with Semisonic's "Closing Time" and R.E.M.'s "It's The End Of The World As We Know It." Well played. KHJK 103.7 ... More >>

Rocks Off's 2012 ACL Festival Houston Spillover Sweepstakes

This week has seen a temporary lull in festival season, after Bonnaroo and Electric Daisy Carnival this past weekend. Wait. Never mind. According to musicfestivaljunkies.com (who are these people?), three of them start today: BamaJam in Enterprise, Ala.; The Friendly Gathering in Windham, Vt.; and ... More >>

8 Keepers From Mail Call: Hacienda, Elvin Bishop, Janiva Magness, Etc.

Once again, the mailbox has overflowed like a backed-up sewer and Lonesome Onry and Mean has had to make some space decisions: Does this record go on the shelf (keep it, it's good, but I want to listen to something else now), in the Goodwill box (what were they thinking when they recorded this and, ... More >>

Best Of Free Press Summer Fest Day 2: Willie Nelson, Avett Bros., Wallpaper, Etc.

More FPSF 2012 Coverage: • Summer Fest line-up reviews on the Rocks Off blog. • Free Press Summer Fest 2012: The Sexy, Sweaty Crowds • Popsicles and Pizza: The Food of Summer Fest • FPSF: The Bands from Saturday • FPSF: The Bands from Sunday Nathan Smith: The best part of Summer Fest Day ... More >>

Last Night: Lumineers At Fitzgerald's

Lumineers Fitzgerald's May 30, 2012 Denver-based Lumineers packed Fitzgerald's to the rafters Wednesday night, turning the upstairs stage into a 90-degree cauldron of sweat. I still don't understand why, although I think I understand why the band is named after smile-enhancing denture products. On ... More >>

Hot Band Alert: Lumineers Light Up Fitz Tonight

A few times a year, word of mouth about a band spreads at an unusually rapid pace. You can almost track the buzz in real time. First you hear a murmur or see a headline on some music blog this band or that one might be good, then somebody you know tells you they think you would like them. Then you s ... More >>

Top 10 Things to Expect at ACL Fest This Year

The Austin City Limits Music Festival burned the midnight oil overnight, announcing the 2012 lineup at precisely 12:01 a.m. Mercifully, all the rumor-spreading and speculation is now at an end and people can either go about the business of buying $200 three-day passes or shutting the hell up about R ... More >>

Shot In The Dark: Angels & A-Holes

When you're in the photo pit taking pictures for a publication such as Rocks Off, you can become the unwanted center of attention from both the audience and especially the artists. Most of the time you are only a few feet away from the performer, and often in their direct line of sight. They can and ... More >>

Summer Fest Releases Schedule & Stage Times

Time to make some hard choices, folks. Free Press Summer Fest just released the schedule for this year's two-day event June 2 and 3 in Eleanor Tinsley Park.

Summer Fest Adds Pretty Lights, Erykah Badu, 3 Dozen Locals

After raising ticket prices Monday night, Free Press Summer Fest announced more headliners Thursday morning. What are you getting for that extra dough? How about Pretty Lights, Erykah Badu, Fitz & the Tantrums, Phantogram, R3hab, David Garza? Respectively, that's one Colorado EDM space cadet, one ... More >>

Summer Fest Ticket Prices Go Up At 10 p.m.; More Talent "Soon-Ish"

Free Press Summer Fest is increasing ticket prices tonight, with a promise to compensate by adding more talent to the two-day music festival on the banks of Buffalo Bayou. According to FPSF's email blast this morning, the price of passes will go up at 10 p.m. tonight, and the festival will announce ... More >>

Billy Gibbons Interviewed: New ZZ Top Album Sounds Like Tequila

With ZZ Top ready to rock RodeoHouston Thursday, Rocks Off began to ponder whatever happened to the band's long awaited new-album. Last summer, guitarist Billy Gibbons told Rocks Off that the band's first collection of new material since 2003's Mescalero would arrive in stores this winter. So far ... More >>

Flaming Lips Return To Summer Fest With Avetts, Snoop Dogg, Willie Nelson, Descendents & Many More

Under cover of darkness, Free Press Summer Fest announced its 2012 lineup around 5 a.m. Monday morning. We'll get right to it: The Avett Brothers Snoop Dogg Willie Nelson Afrojack Primus The Flaming Lips (Performing Dark Side of the Moon)

Top 9 Comments On Summer Fest 2012: Where's The Women?

As most of Houston and the surrounding area knows by now, Free Press Summer Fest announced its 2012 lineup in the wee hours this morning. By now Rocks Off has had a few more hours to reflect on the festival, entering its fourth year at Eleanor Tinsley Park June 2 and 3, and also to take a shower. O ... More >>

Langhorne Slim

Four Local Bands to Keep an Eye On in 2012

At the tail end of 2011 these bands seemed to be popping up on bills more and more frequently. And it looks like they have no intentions of slowing down. Now, some of y'all grumps out there might just see them as competition, but not me, I look forward to seeing the audiences for these up and coming ... More >>

Commercial Break

103.7 is winning fans with its "adult alternative" format.

2 Become 1: Musical Match-Ups We'd Like To See

​Kanye "Hitler" West and Jay-Z released their (overused music writer word alert) epic Watch the Throne album this week, to mostly great reviews. This fall the first fruits from the recently announced Lou Reed/Metallica collaboration should be on the store shelves, which still sorta weirds us o ... More >>

Your Favorite Bands: How To Correctly Pronounce Their Names

​Back in December 1998, when Eminem was just hitting MTV and rap radio, we remember people pronouncing his name as "Eee-mine-im," and not the candy-inflected way it actually was. We even made the mistake during our first viewing of "My Name Is" late at night on the video channel and calling a ... More >>

Friday Night: The Avett Brothers At Verizon Wireless Theater

Ed. Note: This review was written by photographer Jason Wolter. Photos by Jason Wolter​The Avett Brothers Verizon Wireless Theater May 20, 2011 Friday night's Avett Brothers show started out much like any assignment would for me: In the pit photographing the Brothers' opening salvo and then ... More >>

Upcoming: Bootsy Collins, Dave Alvin, Wanda Jackson, Etc.

​Amplified Heat: Sat., May 21. Continental Club. Avett Brothers, Langhorne Slim: CHANGED Fri., May 20. Verizon Wireless Theater. Band Of Mercy, Titan Blood: Thu., May 12. Mango's. Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Paul Wall: Sun., May 22. Arena Theatre. Boney James & Regina Belle: Thu., May 26. Arena ... More >>

Avett Brothers Postponed To May 20

The Avett Brothers on Facebook​Bluegrass stars The Avett Brothers' show scheduled for Thursday at Verizon Wireless Theater has been rescheduled to Friday, May 20, due to the birth of banjoist/singer Scott Avett's first second child. The group, which performed on this year's Grammys alongside ... More >>

Odd Pairs: Ten Upcoming Nights of Music Bring Wild Variations

Photo by groovehouseTry to guess who's playing the same night as Toadies.​Diversity is a big deal in H-Town. In fact, our cultural diversity creates such a wide variety of musical styles, it is hard to figure out just what kind of music town we are. In places like Memphis, Nashville, Seattle a ... More >>

The Woodlands, Arcade Fire Win Album Of The Year Grammy

city-data.com​ Congratulations to The Woodlands, that emotionally icy burb up I-45, for helping Arcade Fire when this year's Album Of The Year Grammy at Sunday night's awards show for their sprawling The Suburbs LP. The band, led by former Woodlands residents Win and William Butler, won over a hi ... More >>

Flogging Molly

Byrds, Burritos, and Bluegrass: Chris Hillman Interviewed

"'Pay attention. It's very strange out there.'" Chris Hillman (left) and Herb Pedersen​Often overshadowed by flashier, more volatile, or more tragic bandmates, singer and multi-instrumentalist Chris Hillman's cred as a pioneer of country-rock is nonetheless impeccable. As a co-founder of the ... More >>

The Happen-Ins

R&B-tinged rockers shun Austin's "dorky" alt-country scene.

Upcoming: Avett Brothers, David Allan Coe, Moody Blues, Etc.

​Adema: Wed., Jan. 12. Scout Bar Clear Lake. Against Me!, Cheap Girls, Fences: Tue., Jan. 25. Warehouse Live. Andy Bell (DJ Set): Sat., Jan. 15. Numbers. Avett Brothers: Thu., April 14. Verizon Wireless Theater. Big Freedia: Fri., Feb. 11. Fitzgerald's. Brent Nettles & The Texas Tea Part ... More >>

Houston Gets Over-The-Air Country-Music Channel

​Believe it or not, some of us get by just fine without cable or satellite TV. When Rocks Off goes home at night - the odd evenings we stay home, that is - not only do we enjoy the finest network television has to offer, but the cornucopia of choices across the digital-TV spectrum: B- and C-mo ... More >>

The Walking Dead

Texas City's Come See My Dead Person is very much alive.

A Brief Guide To Super Happy Fun Land's SXSW Overflow Fest

www.myspace.com/jodyseabodyandthewhirlsHouston psych-rockers and Overflow artist Jody Seabody & the Whirls​Thursday marks the beginning of Super Happy Fun Land's SXSW Overflow Fest, two weeks of performers stopping by the East End art space/music venue/sock-monkey emporium on their way to and ... More >>

American Central Dust: The Americana Class of 2009, Part 1

​We spent 2009 sorting through piles of folk and Americana releases, revising this list in our heads till the bitter end and failing repeatedly to understand the hype behind the Avett Brothers in the process. While a year of listening brought no shortage of pleasant surprises, our hands-down favor ... More >>

Sorry Dave, We Had To: Top Ten Songs to Listen to While Having Sex With Co-Workers

If The Late Show with David Letterman hasn't seemed very funny lately, it's probably because Dave has been spending more time apologizing for banging his subordinates than he has making fun of Paul Shaffer. Admittedly, it was a bold move: coming forward and confessing his past missteps in order to ... More >>

ACL 2009 Day One: Live Shots

Photo by Mark C. AustinThe Bright Light Social Hour​The artist lineup on day one of ACL was massive to say the least. And we caught as many of the bands as our fleet feet allowed as to. As we wait for the reviews to roll in, enjoy some of our favorite concert shots from the day so far.

ACL 2009 Day One: Aftermath

Photo by Mark C. AustinSchool of Seven Bells​Before we start discussing the great music we heard yesterday, we would like to take time to thank the Gods Of Rock for blessing Day One of the Austin City Limits Festival (ACL) 2009 with an amazing afternoon and evening of weather. Anyone who has ... More >>

Ha Ha Tonka

Aftermath: Dave Matthews Band at Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion

Photos by Craig HlavatyIt has to be hard keeping a musical thing fresh after almost two decades of road-dogging it, playing shows in excess of three hours at each venue for months at a time, all the while nursing the loss of a founding member and brother-in-arms. But somehow, the Dave Matthews Band ... More >>

Big Smith

Avett Brothers

Weary Boys

The Orange Show

Spain Colored Orange takes home four Press Music Awards