For more than two decades, Rockefeller's was the Tiffany's of Houston live-music venues, a nicely appointed former bank that hosted immortals like John Lee Hooker, up-and-comers like Garth Brooks and, regularly, Texas heroes like Joe Ely and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Its high ceilings and balcony ringing the stage fostered an intimate atmosphere that made it feel like the crowd was right on top of the performers; tales of legendary shows under the "R" are legion. As smaller rooms grew less attractive to bigger artists, the owners of Star Pizza bought Rockefeller's and turned it into a wedding/private-event space for hire. But without a whole lot of fanfare, the owners changed course; Rudyard's alum Mike Sims has been booking shows there for coming up on a year now. In favor of high-priced touring talent, though, these days the calendar is full of regional favorites (Hamilton Loomis, Moses Guest) and plenty of veteran locals (Spain Colored Orange, The Mighty Orq, Journey Agents). The club's unexpected and welcome return fills a hole in Houston's music scene many fans barely knew was there.