Best Thing In Texas
December 11, 2019
The Best Things in Texas: The Year of Lizzo
The flute-playing, body-positive, take-no-prisoners breakout star transformed our ideas of what a pop icon looks and sounds like.
Music
Storytelling and reviews about the artists and trends that define the sounds of the Lone Star State
Arts & Entertainment
December 6, 2019
Texas Monthly Recommends: A Mike Judge Production About Blaze Foley
Plus, a Dallas museum for holiday photos, a book about old Hollywood, and late-night pho in Houston.
Arts & Entertainment
December 6, 2019
Hollywood, Texas: Woody Harrelson Breaking Into Watergate
Plus: St. Vincent’s movie heads to Sundance, Kanye West and Joel Osteen reteam, and Post Malone owns the year.
Music
December 4, 2019
Willie Nelson Quits Smoking Weed: A Look Back at the Couple’s Relationship Milestones
The pair have been inseparable for decades.
Music
November 22, 2019
Hollywood, Texas: Everything’s Coming Up Lizzo
Plus: ’Undone’ gets renewed, Noah Hawley boards ’Star Trek,’ and this week in Matthew McConaughey.
Music
November 22, 2019
Levitation Presented a Vision of How Austin’s Music Festival Culture Can Move Forward
The former Austin Psych Fest aims to be a force for Texans preferring heavier sounds.
Music
November 21, 2019
On the Town With Miss Lavelle White
The 90-year-old blues legend currently holds down three weekly residencies in Austin.
Music
November 18, 2019
Kanye West, Joel Osteen, Kim Kardashian, and Dan Patrick All Hung Out in Houston This Weekend
Their beautiful dark twisted fantasy.
Music
November 15, 2019
Hollywood, Texas: Kanye West Takes Joel Osteen to Church
The rapper heads to a Houston megachurch, Netflix introduces its new Selena, and This Week in Matthew McConaughey.
Books
November 15, 2019
Texas Monthly Recommends: A Time Traveling Novel Based in Galveston
Plus: JM Stevens’ solo debut album, a documentary examining the border crisis through art, and an El Paso cereal bar.
Music
November 14, 2019
Texas Country’s Female Artists Take Center Stage at the 2019 CMA Awards
Kacey Musgraves and Maren Morris took home some of the biggest awards of the night.
Music
November 12, 2019
Travis Scott Proves His Festival’s Staying Power at the Second Annual Astroworld
The Houston rapper's homage to his hometown's bygone theme park included performances by many musical luminaries.
Music
November 7, 2019
A Love Letter to Lizzo: How the Houston-Raised Musician Made a Name for Herself
The artist found her musical roots in Texas. It took leaving for her to become a star.
Music
October 31, 2019
How the Toadies Turned a Lovely Texas Lake Into a Ghostly Song
The Fort Worth band crafted a dark legend about Possum Kingdom Lake that many are still eager to believe 25 years later.
Music
October 25, 2019
When Tekle Met Maggie: An Eritrean Refugee and a Rising Pop Star Share ACL Live’s Stage
Mezghebe fled East Africa, landed at Texas’s Casa Marianella, and performed with Maggie Rogers in Austin.
Books
October 21, 2019
The Secret Side of Janis Joplin
Holly George-Warren's biography of the Port Arthur singer covers the drugs and excess, of course. But it also uncovers the hard-working professional hidden behind all the live-hard-die-fast trappings.
Food
October 18, 2019
Texas Monthly Recommends: Sarah Jaffe’s ‘This Is Better’
Plus, a clothing company that sports El Paso pride and a one-stop shop for Mexican treats in Houston.
Best Thing In Texas
October 16, 2019
The Best Thing in Texas: Trae tha Truth, Houston Hero
The rapper continues to lift up those in need in his hometown.
Music
October 15, 2019
In Praise of ACL’s Late Night Shows Series
Music still sounds different coming from more intimate venues, where daytime festival acts can take center stage.
Music
October 10, 2019
How Big Thief’s New Album Brought Guitarist Buck Meek Back Home to Texas
The band’s guitarist discusses how his Wimberley roots informed the band’s latest release ’Two Hands.’
Books
October 8, 2019
Cristela Alonzo’s ‘Mixtape Memoir’ Is an Ode to Her South Texas Roots
South Texas–born Comedian Cristela Alonzo tells the story of her life through songs.
The National Podcast of Texas
October 8, 2019
Shawn Colvin: “Since I Was Five Years Old, Music Saved My Life, Over And Over”
On this week’s National Podcast of Texas, the Grammy-winning musician considers her struggles and her legacy as she enters the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame.
Music
October 7, 2019
Kacey Musgraves’s “Yeehaw” Chant, and Other ACL 2019 Highlights
Texan stars dominated the annual Zilker Park festival.
Film & TV
October 4, 2019
Texas Monthly Recommends: Matthew McConaughey in So-Bad-It’s-Good “Serenity”
Plus, a melancholy Norah Jones duet, Austin singer Christelle Bofale’s EP, and chef Aarón Sanchéz’s new memoir.
Music
October 3, 2019
Remembering the Rio Grande Valley Punk Scene Veteran Eric Fly
He was the sort of local icon that lives at the heart of every enduring, tight-knit music scene.
The National Podcast of Texas
October 1, 2019
Jackie Sherrill and Bonnie Bishop: Lessons From Football and the Music Business
On this week’s National Podcast of Texas, the former Texas A&M coach and his musician stepdaughter discuss winning and losing with dignity.
Music
September 30, 2019
My Friend Spotted a 44-Year-Old Photo of Himself in Ken Burns’s “Country Music” Documentary
The story behind the story behind Austinite Mike Shea’s three seconds of international fame.
Music
September 26, 2019
Will Johnson’s Steady Ascent
The inventive Texas musician is back with the seismic ‘Wire Mountain.'
Music
September 25, 2019
San Antonio Native and Creative Polyglot Noël Wells Seeks Refuge in Music
After breaking out in comedy and film, Wells is telling stories in new ways.
Music
September 24, 2019
Eric Clapton Makes Dallas the Center of the Guitar Universe Once More
The legendary musician’s two-night Crossroads festival boasted a savvy mix of long-beloved and rising stars.
Music
September 23, 2019
The Valley Comes Alive in Charley Crockett’s Songs
Recorded just before he had two heart surgeries, the singer-songwriter’s new album took him back to his South Texas roots.
Music
September 20, 2019
Dallas Rapper Bobby Sessions Makes Music to Manifest Justice
The artist is advocating for a new investigation into the death of his cousin, which happened at the hands of Dallas Police.
Music
September 17, 2019
Midland Rolls With the Punches
On their second album, the Dripping Springs-based trio doubles down on the classic country sound that made them famous.
Music
September 16, 2019
The Making of An Urbane Cowboy
Both before and after Lee Hazlewood wrote hits for Nancy Sinatra and Duane Eddy, he was a Texas musician.
Music
September 16, 2019
Ken Burns Talks Waylon, Willie, and How Texas Defined Country Music
The ’Country Music’ documentarian on the Outlaws, forgotten forces, and how Texas country music could bring us all together.
Music
September 12, 2019
Paul Cauthen’s ‘Room 41’ Resides In Between Vulnerability and Swagger
A near-two year stint at Dallas's Belmont Hotel almost broke the country musician and gave way to his new album.
Music
September 12, 2019
The Highwomen Are the Best Thing in Country Right Now
The genre has long shut women out, but this supergroup challenges traditional male-dominated narratives.
Music
September 11, 2019
Daniel Johnston Will Live on in Ways Few Artists Get To
The artist’s iconic ”Jeremiah” frog mural in Austin is seemingly indestructible, and so is his musical legacy.
Music
September 11, 2019
Why Lizzo’s “Truth Hurts” Is 100 Percent Deserving of a Grammy Nomination
Two years after its initial release, the song is reaching its popularity peak and potentially up for a belated award.
Music
September 6, 2019
Texas Monthly Recommends: Taylor Swift’s New Song With the Dixie Chicks
Plus, a Houston rapper’s freestyle, a San Antonio native’s bittersweet debut album, and an Austin photographer’s colorful Instagram.
Music
September 6, 2019
How the ‘Yeehaw Agenda’ Disrupted Texas Country Culture for Good
An internet movement has democratized country ephemera through the eyes of black cowboys and cowgirls.
Music
September 3, 2019
Travis Scott’s Documentary Situates Astroworld, and Houston, Front and Center
‘Look Mom I Can Fly’ traces the rapper’s ascent and his efforts to elevate Third Coast hip-hop.
Music
August 30, 2019
Remembering The Texas International Pop Festival, The Lone Star State’s Answer to Woodstock
The Lewisville music festival is celebrating its 50th anniversary this weekend.
Music
August 28, 2019
On Her New Album, Jazzmeia Horn Wants to Embolden Listeners to “Do Something About It”
The Dallas native’s jazz statement ‘Love and Liberation’ is a call to action.
Music
August 27, 2019
The Unlikely Meme-ification of Stevie Ray Vaughan
An aggressively odd Instagram account both celebrates and pokes fun at the legendary Texas blues rocker.
The National Podcast of Texas
August 26, 2019
Tanya Tucker: “You’re Gonna Love Me, or I’m Gonna Kick Your Ass”
On this week’s National Podcast of Texas, a conversation with the country legend Brandi Carlile calls “the original female outlaw.”
Music
August 23, 2019
Texas Monthly Recommends: Normani’s Retro Pop Hit ‘Motivation’
Plus, Black Pumas’ debut album, an introspective single by Big Thief, and a shop inspired by the West Texas desert.
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
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.