One by Willie
February 3, 2021
Announcing Season 2 of ‘One by Willie’
Listen as our new season’s lineup of distinguished guests talks about their favorite Willie Nelson songs, from an outlaw classic to a Kermit the Frog cover.
Music
Storytelling and reviews about the artists and trends that define the sounds of the Lone Star State
Music
January 22, 2021
Texas Monthly Recommends: Nighttime Kayaking
Plus: the cult classic ‘Veronica Mars,’ Selena Gomez's new single, and a plant-based burger joint.
Texas History
January 20, 2021
How Manny Guerra Shaped the Tejano Music Scene
The San Antonio producer created a style that would endure for decades—and he helped Selena get her start.
Music
January 15, 2021
Willie Nelson Finally Shows Up for His SXSW Keynote, Thirty Years Later
Plus: Megan Thee Stallion’s ‘Love and Hip-Hop’ audition is eerily prophetic, Nick Jonas stars in ‘Jersey Boys,’ and Selena Gomez drops a new Spanish single.
Music
December 29, 2020
The Texas Tunes That Helped Get Us Through 2020
The smash singles, country albums, and even a bardcore remix that moved staffers this past year.
Music
December 28, 2020
Lomelda’s Hannah Read Is Just Looking for Home
An indie rock singer moves back to her hometown of Silsbee, Texas—to be at the center of the music industry.
Arts & Entertainment
December 21, 2020
Chopin Versus the Coronavirus: Classical Music Is Helping Houston Patients Heal
Being hospitalized during the pandemic is lonely and dehumanizing. In live, virtual, one-on-one performances, Houston Symphony musicians give the sickest patients a few minutes of peace.
Music
December 21, 2020
A Texas Monthly Blue Christmas Playlist
Feeling less than merry this December? Here are twelve great sad holiday songs to remind you that you’re not alone.
Music
December 18, 2020
The ‘Walker, Texas Ranger’ Reboot Is Ready to Kick Some Ass, Mourn Some Wives
Plus, Kacey Musgraves heads to Sesame Street, Jessica Simpson’s life becomes (another) TV show, and the year in McConaughey drawls to a close.
Style & Design
December 17, 2020
How Six of Your Favorite Texans Are Celebrating the Holidays This Year
Tootsie Tomanetz, for one, is capping off this pandemic year with lots and lots of Christmas lights.
Music
December 14, 2020
Margin Walker, Texas’s Largest Independent Concert Promoter, Is Shutting Down
For the music industry, the bad times are getting worse.
Music
December 13, 2020
A Mariachi Choir in San Juan Has Drawn Faithful Fans for 35 Years
Even during the pandemic, visitors still travel to the Rio Grande Valley to hear the musical stylings of the famous devotional group.
Music
December 12, 2020
The Unflappable Country Star Charley Pride Dies at 86
The venerated musician, who spent much of his life in Texas, racked up more than fifty Top 10 hits over a six-decade career.
Music
December 10, 2020
We Need to Talk About Selena
In the 25 years since her death, the singer’s memory has been flattened and commodified. Selena—and her fans—deserve more.
Music
December 8, 2020
A Final Elegy for Threadgill’s No. 1
A longtime patron remembers the intimate Austin venue—where one could eat pecan pie and see world-class musicians—ahead of its demolition.
Music
December 4, 2020
Texas Monthly Recommends: A Delectable Dallas Doughnut Shop
Plus, a trip to the garden store and a cozy Christmas album from Austin musician Molly Burch.
Music
December 4, 2020
Megan Thee Stallion Breaks Yet Another Record
Plus, Selena Gomez fans break ‘Saved by the Bell,’ Jim Parsons breaks the silence on his failed audition for ‘The Office,’ and McConaughey breaks out the clippers.
Music
December 2, 2020
Why Netflix’s Selena Series Ultimately Misses Its Mark
The initial installment of the two-part television show details the first 20 years of Selena’s life—yet it feels like we’ve hardly gotten to know the person the series is about.
Music
November 30, 2020
Collings Guitars Are Worth Every Penny
In a nondescript space outside Austin, the team behind these world-renowned guitars carry on the exacting legacy of their founder.
One by Willie
November 27, 2020
‘One by Willie,’ Episode 8: Wesley Schultz on ‘Pretty Paper’
The Lumineers lead singer and cofounder on the power of lonesome songs during the holidays, and an apples-to-apples comparison between Willie and Bruce Springsteen.
Music
November 24, 2020
On ‘Good News,’ Megan Thee Stallion Owns Her Well-Deserved Fame—and Gets Down to Brass Tacks
The Grammy-nominated Houston rapper’s confrontational, irreverent debut album feels like an apt fit for the year we’ve had.
One by Willie
November 20, 2020
‘One by Willie,’ Episode 7: Lee Ann Womack on ‘Three Days’
The Texas singer-songwriter and country music star on a song she’s been singing since childhood, the origins of inspired lyrics, and how Texas country songs are designed for dancing.
Film & TV
November 13, 2020
Beyoncé Runs Your Peloton Class
Plus, Selena Gomez plays a mountaineer, Jennifer Love Hewitt joins the pantheon of talking dogs, and William Jackson Harper takes the lead in a rom-com.
One by Willie
November 13, 2020
‘One by Willie,’ Episode 6: Sonny Throckmorton on ‘What a Way to Live’
The lauded songwriter behind many of country’s greatest hits talks Willie's picking parties with Darrell Royal and why you should never beat Willie Nelson at poker.
One by Willie
November 6, 2020
‘One by Willie,’ Episode 5: Wynonna Judd on ‘Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain’
The country music legend remembers hearing it on the radio in rural Kentucky and describes Willie's kindness to her grandmother backstage at the CMAs.
Film & TV
November 2, 2020
Sweeping Landscapes and Other Soothing Texas Videos to Assuage Your Election Day Anxiety
Ahead of tomorrow’s nail-biter, we present a grab bag featuring a Big Bend documentary, Beyoncé clips, the Houston Zoo’s baby animal playlist, and more.
Music
November 1, 2020
Jerry Jeff Walker, Remembered by Lyle Lovett, Lucinda Williams, Dan Rather, and Many, Many Others
The New York–born singer-songwriter got to Texas as soon as he could—and spent the next five decades changing the lives of seemingly everyone he met.
Music
November 1, 2020
How Jerry Jeff Walker Helped Put Jimmy Buffett on the Road to ‘Margaritaville’
The king of the Parrotheads remembers the ups and downs of his half-century friendship with the late cosmic cowboy.
Books
October 30, 2020
Texas Monthly Recommends: A Soothing Japanese Bookstore in Houston, Austin, and North Texas
Plus, a psychedelic music festival, Fat Tony's new album, and a book that casts a critical eye on the true-crime genre.
Film & TV
October 30, 2020
Thomas Haden Church Will Star as the Texanist
Plus, how ‘Dallas’ brought down the Soviet Union, Netflix’s ‘Selena’ gets a real trailer, and Luke Wilson plays a fire-belching robot duck.
One by Willie
October 30, 2020
‘One by Willie,’ Episode 4: Jack Ingram on ‘I’d Have to Be Crazy’
The singer-songwriter talks the surprising complexity of Willie’s songwriting and a special request President George H.W. Bush made while Ingram was playing for him.
Music
October 29, 2020
On Texas Time: Surfaces, College Station’s Viral Pop Duo
Forrest Frank and Colin Padalecki on working with Elton John, what they hope to accomplish next, and more.
Music
October 28, 2020
Willie Nelson Singing ‘Under Pressure’ With Karen O Is the Duet We Didn’t Know We Needed in 2020
The legendary collaboration between Queen and David Bowie gets a remake by an intergenerational pair of icons.
Music
October 28, 2020
Billy Joe Shaver, the Blustery, Tenderhearted Country Star Known as the “Wacko From Waco,” Dies of a Stroke
After contracting COVID-19 earlier this year, the musician had spent most of this past summer in isolation—where he was still writing songs.
Music
October 28, 2020
Khruangbin Might Be the Biggest Band in the World of Vinyl
The Houston psychedelic rockers are a fixture on listeners’ turntables.
Music
October 27, 2020
Musician Xavier Omär Never Felt at Home Anywhere. Then He Got to Texas.
A sense of belonging reverberates all throughout the San Antonio R&B artist’s new album, ‘If You Feel.’
Music
October 24, 2020
Jerry Jeff Walker, a Trailblazer of the Cosmic Cowboy Sound, Dies at 78
The country icon was, as fellow musician Lucinda Williams put it, an “American treasure.”
Music
October 23, 2020
Meet One of the Rangers Who Made It to the World Series—The Team’s DJ
This year, Michael Gruber learned to work Rangers games without fans. His new gig is a World Series without the Rangers.
Film & TV
October 23, 2020
Won’t You Say You Love a Dark ‘Barney’ Movie?
Plus, ‘Seinfeld’ stars yadda yadda yadda for Texas Democrats, ‘Smokey and the Bandit’ races to TV, and the Matthew McConaughey blitz has begun.
One by Willie
October 23, 2020
‘One by Willie,’ Episode 3: Alejandro Escovedo on ‘Half a Man’
For Escovedo, the song conjures memories of his father, as well as ghost stories, old pot dealers, and a cowpunk music video.
Music
October 20, 2020
Mathew Knowles Helped Make Beyoncé a Superstar. Now He Wants to Share His “Secret Sauce.”
In his new teaching role at the University of Houston, the straight-talking music mogul promises students a primer on success and celebrity.
Music
October 19, 2020
The Late Johnny Bush on How He Wrote Willie Nelson’s Perennial Show Opener, ‘Whiskey River’
‘Whiskey River’ had only one verse and a chorus, but Willie Nelson said that was all it needed.
Film & TV
October 16, 2020
Selena Gomez Could Be Your Next Scream Queen
Plus, Demi Lovato releases an anti-Trump song, Sandra Bullock gets back into rom-coms, and the Legendary Stardust Cowboy gets the documentary treatment.
One by Willie
October 16, 2020
‘One by Willie,’ Episode 2: Lyle Lovett on ‘Hello Walls’
The four-time Grammy winner talks the solitary nature of songwriting and a big wet kiss Willie once planted on Faron Young.
Music
October 14, 2020
Why Quinn Mason, a 24-Year-Old Composer From Dallas, May Be Classical Music’s Next Superstar
Mason, one of the most sought-after young composers in the country, has a new work set to premiere in November.
Music
October 9, 2020
Watch an Animated Rendering of Willie Nelson From the All-Virtual Austin City Limits Music Festival
Nelson’s rendition of ‘On the Road Again’ gets special treatment for this year’s all-virtual festival.
Film & TV
October 9, 2020
Hollywood, Texas: ‘Dazed and Confused’ Cast to Reunite Online, Online, Online
Plus, Kacey Musgraves meets Scooby Doo, Borat meets Sid Miller, and Austin meets ‘Walker, Texas Ranger.’
Music
October 9, 2020
Willie: A Special Project
Dive into this collection devoted to Willie Nelson where you’ll find new essays about the Red Headed Stranger, our new podcast "One by Willie," a comprehensive ranking of every album Willie ever published, and more.
One by Willie
October 9, 2020
‘One by Willie,’ Episode 1: Margo Price on ‘Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground’
In the first episode of our new series, the Grammy-winning artist talks about writing sad songs and tells a great dirty joke she learned from Nelson himself.
The Texanist
October 8, 2020
The Texanist: What Would the World Be Like if Willie Nelson Had Never Happened?
An Austin man ponders the unthinkable.