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The pandemic dealt a crucial blow to music in Houston and around the world in 2020. As a review of this year's most-read stories shows, readers were excited to read about and attend in-person performances right up until the time that COVID-19 shut everything down.
In the following months, readers contented themselves with books, documentaries, TV specials and live streamed concerts. Here's what they thought was most important during the past year, pre- and post-COVID.
Surprisingly, or maybe not, the most popular Houston Press music story in 2020 was a review of the Eagles by Jesse Sendejas Jr. with photos by Robyn Tuazon that was published on March 6, about a week or so before who were in town for a two-night stand.
Star Entertainer Lineup at RodeoHouston
It was all systems go when the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo announced its Star Entertainer Lineup in January. After just a few shows in March, however, the city of Houston threw in the towel and declared it wasn't safe after the first known area cases of the coronavirus popped up. The result: RodeoHouston shut down.
Watch Street Survivors The True Story of the Lynyrd Skynyrd Plane Crash
A lot of people were intrigued by the movie done about one of the biggest rock tragedies — the plane crash that took the lives of several band members and crew.
The Quiet Beatle Was Anything But Silent
A book featuring scores of interviews over the years by George Harrison of the Beatles captured the attention of a lot of our readers in a review by Bob Ruggiero.
Writer Bob Ruggiero wrote about the death and life of Kenny Rogers, including his deep ties to Houston, where he was born.
Blue October and Bowling for Soup and Mardi Gras Galveston
Mardi Gras Galveston 2020 was all set. Headliners Blue October and Bowling For Soup were announced in January. About a month later, the annual festivities were canceled. Crowds of happily inebriated people vying for beads promised to be a super spreader event, masks or not.
Stay Calm and Listen to Good Music: A Coronavirus Playlist
In the beginning there was the coronavirus and a playlist curated by writer/photographer Gladys Fuentes to help everyone deal with their fears. Nine months later, it still comes in handy.
A New Midtown Venue: Red Dwarf
When Red Dwarf opened in July, it had positioned itself not just as a bar with a lot of live music but as a bar and coffee shop that as a restaurant was able to better contend with the state regulations governing what businesses could open and what could not.
Chris Frantz Remembers Talking Heads and Tina
An interview with Chris Frantz about his days with Talking Heads, the Tom Tom Club and his relationship with Tina Weymouth by Bob Ruggiero had a lot of people catching up with the classic rocker.
Country Legends Willie and Kenny (and Their Friends) Shine on Pair of Specials
In lieu of in-person performances, our readers were interested in two televised specials in April: Willie Nelson and Kenny Rogers. The first was an all-star tribute concert to Nelson; the second a posthumous documentary that aired in the month after his death.
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