Storytelling and reviews about the artists and trends that define the sounds of the Lone Star State
Ybarra is one of only a few professional women accordionists on the conjunto scene. The accordion is not only her instrument of choice, but her heart and soul.
The film composer behind the scores for ‘Devotion’ and ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’ has never bought into the rigid rules of classical music.
A deep dive into “Wild Animals,” a song from the Dallas R&B artist’s newest album, ‘Girl in the Half Pearl.’
A debate between Andy Langer, Dan Solomon—and Ice Cube?
A bittersweet night for Queen Bey, a momentous night for Lizzo and Willie Nelson, and a confusing one for Chris Brown.
Cat Cardenas’s 2021 essay made a poignant case about the mistakes Selena never got to make—and how they would have deepened our love for her.
A longtime reporter makes some big decisions about what to listen to when you’re heading to Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, Austin, Fort Worth, or the Big Bend region.
The jazz vocalist pays tribute to the Dallas icon in ways that make her work feel fresher than ever.
Dylan lovingly highlights several Texas artists in ‘The Philosophy of Modern Song.’
“I can talk to my accordion and make it respond to me; I can make it happy or make it cry.”
Here’s what Steve Earle, Vince Gill, Margo Price, Kacey Musgraves, and the Austin-born actor told us to cue up—and why.
Fawcett set the standard in the 1970s—blond, thin, and smiling. Thankfully, that’s changed.
Decades after Willie Nelson performed on the pilot, the show is now a national institution—but not too national.
From George Jones to Attica Locke, these Texans have made lasting cultural impacts on the state.
Musician Tory Lanez was convicted of shooting the Houston rapper, but Megan is still dealing with the fallout from telling the truth.
For many legendary musicians, there was no finer guitar than one made by San Antonio’s Guadalupe Acosta and his sons. Their descendants are restoring their legacy.
John T. Floore’s Country Store in Helotes is a honky-tonker’s honky-tonk, a veritable institution of Texas music. The dance hall’s walls are covered with photographs of the legends that have graced its stage: Elvis Presley, Hank Williams, Bob Wills, Patsy Cline, B.B. King, Ernest Tubb, Bob Dylan, Merle Haggard,
This is the year that returned Beyoncé to our ears and Beavis and Butt-head to our screens.
From classics like ”Pretty Paper” and “Christmas Time in the Valley” to new releases from 2022, here’s the perfect playlist for celebrating the holidays in Texas.
At Blanco’s annual gathering, ethnicities, genres, and styles mix and clash, but are united by a common instrument.
The author of a 2014 Texas Monthly profile of King George explains why it was among the few stories in his career that made him cry while writing.
The Dallas-raised electronic musician is filling venues with his raucous, half-naked, almost fully improvised shows. Can he settle down just once and make a serious album?
The track from Abilene-based Old Fire’s new album, ‘Voids,’ evokes the bleakness of war and of the West Texas landscape.
The San Marcos–bred supergroup released two farewell albums last week, one of which is a reflective solo record that complicates the band’s legacy.
‘Live at Budokan’ is a mythical lost recording of Willie at the height of his powers.
It was a riotous, emotional affair that at times felt like a family reunion.
Will Beyoncé finally get her Album of the Year award, and more we want to know.
The Texas troubadour’s farewell lap was full of misadventures and unforgettable moments. Kind of like a classic REK song.
Multiple times throughout the documentary, Gomez repeats that she no longer craves stardom. But what the singer wants instead remains unclear.
Dive deep into a song from Adrian Quesada’s newest album, ‘Jaguar Sound.’
Jeannie C. Riley celebrated her seventy-seventh birthday with a big bash in the tiny town of Burton, where she reflected on the irony of her sixties megahit “Harper Valley P.T.A.”
From Johnny Cash to the Stone Coyotes, musicians have long made harrowing music about the Lone Star State.
With its fourth album and a big upcoming tour, Tulip, which is led by an ex-evangelical opera singer, is on the verge of its big break.
I went to ACL hoping to belt out songs about heartbreak with the Golden-born singer, but she kept things light and positive.
We expected political statements, massive crowds, and sweaty concertgoers. We saw two out of three.
The band’s first Texas performance in six years celebrated family, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and (almost) harked back to the last time I actually enjoyed this music festival.
The classically trained Houston pop star played a two-hundred-year-old crystal flute at a D.C. concert, causing a meltdown in some corners of the internet.
Going to Harry’s House—the singer’s six-night residency in Austin—with Texas State University’s Louie Dean Valencia.
After a terrible car accident, the self-taught pianist’s reprise was nothing short of amazing.
After years of breakups and makeups, the rock band is back with a poppier sound.
Twenty-two years ago, a Texas Monthly writer heard about a Houston DJ whose slowed-down mixes had become the sound of the city.
It’s a song the California-based singer-songwriter has loved since she was a young girl—but she didn’t really get to know it until she heard Willie’s version.
The Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter and virtuoso guitarist celebrates two of the greatest players he’s ever heard.
The hard-core honky-tonker talks to us live from Luck, Texas, about “Face of a Fighter” and the other Willie songs he leaned on when he was homeless.
Creating Texas Monthly’s special podcast series ‘One By Willie: Live From Luck!’ showed me that, like Willie himself, the Luck Reunion is all about family.
A Fredericksburg man wonders how Willie Nelson ever prevailed in a state that brought us Ray Wylie Hubbard, Jerry Jeff Walker, and Jimmie Dale Gilmore.
The three-time Grammy nominee talks to us live from Luck, Texas, about definitive covers, Billie Holiday, and building her family with Willie records playing in the background.
The queen’s new album nails the sweet spot between nostalgia and new wave, paying tribute to past trendsetters while blazing a new path forward for pop music.
Bob Freeman is a craftsman who carves, plays, and sings the praises of the traditional Native American instrument.
The 23-year-old from Georgetown emerges as Texas’s answer to Olivia Rodrigo and—dare we say it?—T-Swift with his sophomore album, ‘Superache.’
