Music
August 21, 2019
Texas’s Greatest Honky-Tonk Hits
From Ernest Tubb to Bob Wills to Willie, Texas has produced a jukebox worth of classics. Here are the best.
Music
Storytelling and reviews about the artists and trends that define the sounds of the Lone Star State
Music
August 21, 2019
Beto O’Rourke and Julián Castro’s Campaign Playlists Are Meaningless (But One Is Clearly Better)
An analysis of the two Texan presidential candidates’ rally songs.
Music
August 19, 2019
How Explosions in the Sky Became the Sound of Film and Television
Twenty years on, the band is Texas’s most subliminally recognizable export.
The National Podcast of Texas
August 12, 2019
Delbert McClinton: “I’ve Always Been a Fugitive From the Law of Averages”
On this week’s National Podcast of Texas, the legendary musician surveys the highs and lows and wears and tears of a sixty-year career.
Music
August 9, 2019
Texas Monthly Recommends: Driving and Listening to ‘Dallas’ by Silver Jews
Plus, a North Texas photographer’s Instagram and Brockhampton’s new music video.
Music
August 1, 2019
How McAllen’s New Festival Could Change the Valley’s Music Scene
McAllen’s new arts and music festival has potential to contribute to creative communities, if it’s thoughtful about how to best serve their needs.
Music
July 30, 2019
The Texas Gulf Coast Gets a Rock Orchestra Soundtrack
Austin rockers Montopolis will premiere The Living Coast—an audiovisual homage to the Texas Gulf Coast—on August 2 in Austin.
By
Wes Ferguson
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Music
July 26, 2019
Spoon’s Greatest Hits: Britt Daniel on Songs That Didn’t Make the Cut
Imagining a theoretical second disc for the Austin band’s best-of album, out this week.
Music
July 26, 2019
Texas Monthly Recommends: Dayglow’s Whimsical ‘Hot Rod’ Music Video
Plus, more under-the-radar hits, a carefree indie-pop music video, and a surrealist rock opera.
Music
July 26, 2019
Sound Check: Aaron Watson
West Texas native Aaron Watson has been a star in the Texas music scene for two decades. His eighteenth album ‘Red Bandana’ released in June, and it’s a phenomenal twenty-song opus. He performs “Trying Like the Devil" in the latest installment of our Sound Check series. Presented by Visit Fort
Music
July 25, 2019
Watch an Hour-Long Performance by Gary Clark Jr. on ‘Front and Center’
Clark and his band bring the heat on the PBS series.
By
Dan Solomon
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Music
July 25, 2019
Roy Head’s ‘Treat Her Right’ Gets the Star Treatment in Quentin Tarantino’s New Flick
The Texan’s 1965 hit is pivotal to ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.’
Music
July 23, 2019
George Strait Comparisons Aside, Cody Johnson Is 100 Percent Cody Johnson
The East Texas native got to the top of the country music charts by doing everything his way.
Music
July 22, 2019
Beyoncé’s ‘Lion King’ Album is Delightful, But Limited
“The Lion King: The Gift” features fun collaborations with West and South African artists, but fails to include other African regions.
Music
July 16, 2019
Premiere: Robert Ellis is ‘Gone to the Moon’ in New Video
To mark the 50th anniversary of Apollo’s 11 launch, Ellis covers Nina Simone’s classic version of “Everyone’s Gone to the Moon.”
The National Podcast of Texas
July 15, 2019
Willie Nelson & Friends: Live From Luck, Texas
On this week’s National Podcast of Texas, the music legend details his lifelong love for westerns and his family’s golden rules.
Music
July 12, 2019
Texas Monthly Recommends: Megan Thee Stallion’s First Late-Night Television Appearance
Plus, a fashion blogger’s inspiring posts, a must-see fireworks scene, and a podcast on contemporary poetry.
Film & TV
July 9, 2019
The ‘Red Headed Stranger’ Rides Again: Here’s What We Learned
We watched the recently restored 1986 film with Willie Nelson and fans in Luck, where it all happened.
By
Cat Cardenas
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The National Podcast of Texas
July 1, 2019
Lee Ann Womack: “Huge Country Music Success Didn’t Feed My Soul”
On this week’s National Podcast of Texas, the East Texas native discusses the joys of leaving Nashville’s machinery behind and coming home.
Music
June 28, 2019
Texas Monthly Recommends: Eugene Lee Yang Comes Out in New Music Video
Plus, an immersive art experience, a song nostalgic for hometowns, and a Southern Gothic rom-com.
Music
June 27, 2019
The Story Behind Guy Clark’s “My Favorite Picture of You”
I spoke to the man who shot the photo that inspired the song covered on Willie Nelson’s new album. (He’s my dad.)
Music
June 24, 2019
Aaron Watson: “I Relate More to Johnny Cash Than to Billy Graham, But They Both Loved Them Some Jesus”
On this week’s National Podcast of Texas, the fiercely independent musician discusses his new album, spirituality, and his country music heroes.
Best Thing In Texas
June 21, 2019
The Best Thing in Texas: Willie Nelson Performs a Guy Clark Tune on the ‘Tonight Show’
The Red Headed Stranger honors his fellow Texas troubadour with two tracks on his new album.
Music
June 14, 2019
Texas Monthly Recommends: Kevin Abstract’s Sophomore Album, ‘Arizona Baby’
Plus, more summer jams, an essay about coming of age in Houston, and an Instagram account where sneaker culture and preachers collide.
The National Podcast of Texas
June 10, 2019
Bushwick Bill: “I’m Not Going to Allow People to Love Me for Who I’m Not”
On a special National Podcast of Texas, a never-before-heard 2013 conversation with the Houston hip-hop pioneer about finding God, expelling demons, and his attempt to reshape his legacy.
Music
June 7, 2019
Bruce Robison and Kelly Willis Revisit the Astrodome in New Video and Album
‘Beautiful Lie,’ out later this month, is the newest collaboration from the state’s reigning couple of Americana.
Music
May 30, 2019
Okkervil River Frontman Will Sheff Speaks Candidly About the Music Business, Big Tech, and the Band’s New Subscription Service
The Austin indie band recently launched a live-album series that chronicles its 20-plus-year career.
By
Dan Solomon
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Music
May 29, 2019
Globe-Trotting DJ Spencer Brown’s Unique Form of Stress Management
The Dallas native has always suffered from anxiety. Becoming a famous, globe-trotting DJ made it worse—and gave him a way to channel it.
Music
May 24, 2019
Tobe Nwigwe Is a Visionary Hip-Hop Missionary
How the groundbreaking Nigerian-Houstonian rapper has gone viral—and why his art matters.
By
Katy Vine
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Music
May 17, 2019
Megan Thee Stallion’s “Fever” Is a Summer Party Album With a Feminist Agenda
The Houston rapper assumes a “hot girl” persona as she turns the tables on chauvinist hip-hop posturing.
Music
May 17, 2019
Texas Monthly Recommends: Khalid and John Mayer Make a Summer Hit
Plus, Mary H.K. Choi’s novel about young adulthood in Austin, a classic Cyd Charisse film, and Liza Koshy’s YouTube series.
Music
May 10, 2019
In Light of Kacey Musgraves’s Latest Video, A Brief History of Celebs as Centaurs
After Musgraves went there in “Oh What a World,” we decided to dig into the not-insignificant trend.
By
Dan Solomon
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Music
May 7, 2019
The Mount Rushmore of Texas Music Beats All Comers
Yes, we’re taking this week’s overblown Twitter fight way too seriously.
By
Dan Solomon
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The National Podcast of Texas
May 6, 2019
Rhett Miller: “I Was Terrified I Wouldn’t Be Creative Without Booze”
On this week’s National Podcast of Texas, the Old 97’s frontman discusses his new book of poetry for children, the creative benefits of sobriety, and the song he’s dying to have Willie Nelson sing.
Music
April 30, 2019
Grupo Fantasma on Their Latest Album and Being Pigeonholed As “Latin Music”
The Grammy-winning jazz-funk-rockers are back with American Music: Vol. VII, their first album in five years.
By
Katy Vine
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Music
April 26, 2019
The New Taylor Swift Video Teases a Possible Dixie Chicks Collaboration
Could the pop star's next single feature Natalie Maines, Martie Maguire, and Emily Robison?
By
Dan Solomon
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Music
April 26, 2019
Texas Monthly Recommends: Maren Morris’s ‘Game of Thrones’ Song
Plus, Brené Brown’s Netflix special and the Vincent van Gogh exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.
Music
April 24, 2019
Otherworldly Singer-Songwriter Chrysta Bell Returns to Texas
Best known for her collaborations with David Lynch, the ‘Twin Peaks’ actress is ready to reclaim her Austin and San Antonio roots.
Music
April 18, 2019
‘Homecoming’ Is Beyoncé’s Ode to the Power and Creativity of Blackness
The Netflix documentary (and surprise album!) offers an unfiltered look at how the Texas singer made music history at Coachella.
Music
April 17, 2019
Willie Nelson Previews His New Record for Some Lucky Fans
The singer takes about fifty people to church on his Luck Ranch to listen to 'Ride Me Back Home' and share a few stories.
Music
April 16, 2019
In Laredo Visit, Yo-Yo Ma Asks That We Celebrate What Unites Us
On the U.S.-Mexico border, the world-renowned cellist emphasized the arts’ ability to help us understand each other and “build bridges, not walls.”
Music
April 12, 2019
Texas Monthly Recommends: Musgraves and Midland on Brooks & Dunn’s ‘Reboot’
Plus, the second coffee table book from El Arroyo, a dreamy music video, and something just a bit quirkier out of Texarkana.
Film & TV
April 8, 2019
Beyoncé’s Netflix Documentary Looks Amazing
Queen Bey’s unforgettable 2018 Coachella set gets a feature-length documentary.
By
Dan Solomon
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Music
April 5, 2019
Famed Cellist Yo-Yo Ma to Perform on Laredo’s International Bridge
Following a Friday concert in San Antonio, Ma will travel to the border to celebrate the region’s culture and spark conversations about all that unifies Mexicans and Americans.
By
Cat Cardenas
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Music
April 5, 2019
Developing the Next Generation of the Lubbock Sound at the 806 Songwriter Retreat
Over two days at a ranch in Stephenville, artists share lyrics, melodies, and whiskey as they establish their place in Texas music.
Music
April 5, 2019
With the Release of ‘Free Spirit,’ Khalid is Growing Up
The American Teen’s return is a major statement.
By
Dan Solomon
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The National Podcast of Texas
April 1, 2019
Steve Earle: “Anybody Who Knows Me Knows I Will Never Shut Up”
On the latest National Podcast of Texas, the Grammy-winning singer-songwriter talks about his new tribute to Guy Clark, the state of the union, and how Bruce Springsteen and Michael Jackson changed his life.
Music
March 30, 2019
A Year After ‘Golden Hour,’ Kacey Musgraves’s Songs Still Make Me Cry
On understanding how to be alright with a slow burn.
Music
March 29, 2019
Texas Monthly Recommends: Lizzo Sets the ‘Tempo’ With Missy Elliott in Her Latest Single
Plus, a hip-hop powerhouse from Houston, an immersive history exhibit in Austin, and a fictional boy genius in East Texas.
Music
March 21, 2019
Premiere: The Final Chapter of Terry Allen’s ‘Pedal Steal’
The Lubbock native talks about his trippy, blood-flecked radio plays, the border wall, and working with Jo Harvey Allen.