Every March, the start of South By Southwest signals the arrival of thousands of tourists, sponsors, actors, artists, musicians, and countless takes about whether this might be the end of South By Southwest as we know it. The panic reached a fever pitch last weekend when organizers announced changes to next year’s festival, prompting many […]
Category: Music
Posted inCulture
At 92, Willie Nelson is Going Strong With Another Luck Reunion, ACL Special and THC Drink
Ahead of his 92nd birthday in April, Willie Nelson is showing no signs of slowing down. The country music legend has had a lot to celebrate, from the launch of his new THC drink, Willie’s Remedy+, to the upcoming premiere of the Austin City Limits 50-year special, where he’ll be honored for his appearance in […]
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Does Gen Z Even Know SXSW Is a Music Festival? Does it Matter?
Texas hasn’t gotten its due as a major piece in the complex puzzle of American art. We’re here to rectify that. Every three weeks, H. Drew Blackburn will conduct a thoroughly scientific analysis of the 254 integral (one for every county) books, movies, tv shows, albums, podcasts, songs, and magazine articles — you name it […]
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Houston’s Top Horn Musician Allegedly Harassed Rice Students for Decades. And the School Knew.
EXCLUSIVE This story has been published in collaboration with the editorially independent student newspaper The Rice Thresher, where the author Riya Misra is editor in chief. This story contains descriptions of sexual trauma that may be triggering to some readers. Visit RAINN (Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network), which has a 24/7 hotline and helpful […]
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Meet the Firefighter & ‘Texas Girl’ Who Presented Beyoncé with Album of the Year at the Grammys
Over the course of her 35-year-career, Beyoncé has continually raised the bar. She’s changed the way artists release their music, revolutionized the album format, and defied the confines of genres to produce work that has received a whopping 99 Grammy nominations — the most of any artist in Grammy history. In the industry, she is […]
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The Chicks Are Everywhere in Country Music. Except Its Hall of Fame.
The main character of “Wild Is Her Favorite Color,” the opening track on Jenna Paulette’s 2024 country album Horseback, is a familiar figure. She likes to drink tequila. She has an open heart like a desert sky. And “Ready to Run,” sings Paulette, is her favorite song. “It’s so interesting when young artists mention The […]
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The ‘Soul’ That Carried ‘Beyoncé Bowl’: The Show Was ‘Electrifying’ to the Students Who Shared the Stage
If there’s one thing Beyoncé’s Christmas Day performance had, it was soul. On Dec. 25, during the halftime show at the Houston Texans vs. Baltimore Ravens game, the winningest-ever Grammy Award recipient wasn’t just joined by chart-topping celebrities and world-caliber vocalists. Beyoncé also invited 197 students from Houston-based HBCU Texas Southern University’s marching band, called […]
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‘Beyoncé Bowl’ NFL Halftime Performance Was a Master Class in Black Joy & Authenticity
“As Black people, the world is a lot more surreal,” Tony- and Emmy-nominated multidisciplinary artist Daniel J. Watts told me in 2023. “You have to pay attention to it enough to acknowledge — awareness — and you can’t stare too directly at it, or it’ll steal your ability to do anything. So, it’s threading the […]
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How Austin City Limits Changed Music History — And Helped Launch Willie Nelson’s Career
In the fall of 1974, something was brewing in Austin. Willie Nelson wasn’t yet a country legend. At 41 years old, he was still a year away from his first number one hit as a singer (“Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain”), considered something of a commercial failure as a solo artist, and burned out […]
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‘Armadillo Forever’ Brings Austin’s Revolutionary Music Venue into a New Era
For a decade, a concert hall housed inside an old National Guard Armory ruled the city of Austin. Located on South First Street, the Armadillo World Headquarters welcomed hippies and cowboys alike, all of whom came for the Lone Star beer and the legendary shows. Inside, you could catch emerging stars and major acts like […]