In January, Alejandro Escovedo turned 73, an age when most performers try to squeeze a few more accolades—and a few more dollars—out of their past achievements. Think of all the elderly stars who announce a grand “Farewell Tour” or maybe a “Comeback Tour” if they’ve already played the “Farewell” card. Or all the aging legends who release an album with a galaxy of under-rehearsed guest stars. Escovedo could have done that. This native Texan has never had the big radio single that makes someone a household name, but he has a dozen studio albums that are revered by critics and musicians alike. In ..read more

One of the most recognizable figures in Texas, in country, and the music-loving world at large, the Red Headed Stranger is a beloved icon. It’s safe to say that Willie Nelson could host just about any old group of artists and people would turn up to watch and have a grand time. Which makes it all the more impressive that the folks behind Luck Reunion create such a phenomenal environment with a well-curated lineup of performers each year. The annual March event will take place on Thursday, March 14, just outside of Austin at Willie’s Luck Ranch, amongst antiquated buildings originally construct ..read more

The Conroe Crossroads music festival is set to take over Conroe, Texas, March 21-24, with over 35 shows over four days at 8 Conroe venues. The lineup includes artists known for genres ranging from Americana to zydeco, with blues, country, folk, soul, and more in between. This playlist includes a few top listens from most of the festival artists. Give it a listen, discover someone new, and make plans to see your favorites at Conroe Crossroads. Passes are available at conroecrossroads.com. The post TEXAS MUSIC PRESENTS: CONROE CROSSROADS 2024, THE PLAYLIST appeared first on Texas Music Magazine ..read more

In June 2022, soul singer Tameca Jones gazed out over an adoring crowd of friends and supporters at Antone’s. The sold-out show was a farewell for the artist, who had decided to depart for Los Angeles in pursuit of a wider range of career opportunities. Jones felt that Austin was particularly difficult for local Black artists, who were constantly left out of major venues or marquee productions like Blues on the Green. Even back then, she felt a twinge of uncertainty standing on that stage at Antone’s—an inkling that the road ahead might not be as smooth as she’d imagined. But she’d already mad ..read more

On Sunday night at ACL Live, rhinestones, fringe, and cowboy boots reigned as the Ameripolitan Music Awards held its annual event. Started in Austin in 2014 by Texas Music legend Dale Watson, the series left Austin back in 2018 and was subsequently interrupted by the pandemic, but it has finally returned to the Lone Star State. A reaction to modern, mainstream country music, the awards event aims to spotlight and honor some of the best rising talent in a handful of niche music genres: honky tonk, rockabilly, western swing, and outlaw country. Plus, there’s a focus on honoring the progenitors a ..read more

Many great venues have risen and fallen in the live music capital of the world, but none have had the lasting impact of the Armadillo World Headquarters. Located at the corner of Baron Springs Road and South First Street, the concert hall was a ’70s mainstay where clean-cut congressmen in suits mingled with long-haired hippies, and country music felt at home alongside rock ‘n’ roll. The cast of artists who played its hallowed stage boggles the mind: Willie Nelson, Bruce Springsteen, The Clash, U2, George Strait, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jerry Jeff Walker, and Frank Zappa, to name a few. This was th ..read more

Considered from one angle, songwriter Jess Williamson has no idea how famed producer Jack Antonoff (Taylor Swift, Lana Del Ray, Lorde) heard her music. But what does a mechanism like a streaming platform or an algorithm matter when we’re talking about cosmic forces? In a different sense, Williamson has a damn good explanation for how she landed on the radar of Antonoff: “There is some kind of weird, magical Taylor Swift energy going on that started when I went to see her concert in Los Angeles, and I can’t really explain it, but something is happening here.” For the uninitiated, Williamson is ..read more

It has been less than two years since the Dripping Springs country outfit Midland released their most recent album, The Last Resort: Greetings From, but the trio is already set to return with a new record later this year. The initial single, “Up in Texas,” dropped in December, and features a long string of cultural references to the state in which the group formed. It also serves as the title of a regional tour the band will undertake this Spring as they traverse the Lone Star State. We recently talked with bassist Cameron Duddy about the new song and everything on the horizon for Midland this ..read more

More than 20 years ago, a pre-teen Alejandro Rose-Garcia (better known today as Shakey Graves) boarded a yellow school bus for a field trip to Longhorn Cavern. This past December, the songwriter returned to the Texas state park for a one-of-a-kind recording project with a different perspective. “The Cavern was an hour drive from here, but in middle school it seemed like it was five hours away,” Rose-Garcia says. “It’s what you imagine when you think of a cave—rooms of crystals and cute little bats everywhere.” Appreciation of Texas’ wonders—both musical and natural—is the inspiration behind a ..read more

At first glance, you might mistake Truett Heintzelman and Philip Lupton for brothers. After all, the two men who comprise the folk duo Briscoe share more than a passing resemblance, both with shaggy red hair poking out from underneath flat brim caps and scruffy beards. People have been making the same assumption ever since the pair first met and started hanging out at a Central Texas summer camp as high schoolers. But things aren’t always what they seem. Sparse banjo plucks ring out in the opening seconds of Briscoe’s debut album, West of It All, which came out this past fall. The next several ..read more