W. Brandt Wood, executive producer and partner, stands outside Stable Hall as construction wound down on the new concert venue at Pearl last year. Stable Hall, the new performance venue at Pearl, was designed to give 21st-century audiences a good experience while also honoring the history of the space. “We’re humble stewards of this room,” said W. Brandt Wood, whose Dallas-based company WoodHouse is the concept developer, operator and partner behind the space’s transformation. “This is a 130-year-old building that everybody loves. It is with kid gloves that we approached this project.” A guidi ..read more

Latin jazz, New Orleans jazz, Tejano, conjunto, country, alternative, rock ’n’ roll, blues, classical … whatever live music sound you crave, you’ll find musicians playing their hearts out in San Antonio on nearly every night of the week. You likely know the big spots: Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, the historic Majestic and Empire theaters, the Alamodome, Frost Bank Center and that legendary honky-tonk John T. Floore’s Country Store. But San Antonio has many other cool music havens worth visiting, from the new Stable Hall at Pearl to hidden gems The Cove and Sanchos. Here are more place ..read more

  San Antonio Philharmonic. Photo by Chris Stokes1. Reserve Tickets for a San Antonio Philharmonic Concert The symphonic organization that grew out of the now-defunct San Antonio Symphony, opens its second season Sept. 22-23 with violinist Chee-Yun and The Firebird by Stravinsky. Return Oct. 13-14 to hear acclaimed Norwegian trumpet player Tine Thing Helseth as she plays Arutiunian alongside the Philharmonic. saphil.org 2. Buy (or Appreciate) a Piece of Local Art at First Friday Visit the Blue Star Arts Complex for open studios, live music, local makers and plenty of chances to find a fav ..read more

Before Randy and Pauline Glickman agreed to move to San Antonio in the 1980s, the couple wanted to know whether the city had a symphony orchestra. “For us, basically an indication of a high-quality city with a good lifestyle is the availability of the performing arts,” says Randy Glickman, Ph.D., a retired researcher and UT Health San Antonio professor. “Knowing that San Antonio had a symphony and a lively music scene was a factor in considering this a good place to live.” The Glickmans became San Antonio Symphony subscription holders when they arrived back in 1981 and supported them until the ..read more

Kirk Whalum was just getting his start in Houston’s club scene when San Antonio launched its Jazz’SAlive festival 40 years ago. The Memphis native had moved to Texas, along with his wife Ruby, to attend college and says when he got a call inviting him to play at the Jazz’SAlive festival 30-plus years ago, it was a turning point in his career. “It’s incredible it’s been 40 years (of the festival),” Whalum says. “I have some really wonderful and pivotal memories of this festival and, of course, San Antonio is such a magical place. The culture there impacted me deeply.” Whalum will return as a he ..read more

Garrett T. Capps and the NASA Country Band will spend part of October in Europe, but they’re just as excited to be playing on the St. Mary’s Strip in their hometown. “San Antonio rocks,” says Capps. “It’s a privilege to be able to call it my home and know so many awesome people there.” Capps has been playing with the musicians who make up his NASA Country band for years in San Antonio, but People Are Beautiful, the album he released last fall, is Capps’ first full record to feature the band. “There’s definitely some real personalities and kind of legendary teamsters in the band,” says Capps, d ..read more

In a pastel yellow two-story house on the Inner West Side, Jaime Macias has created his own slice of community. The house had been part of the Macias family for nearly 50 years when, in October 2020, it became home to Jaime’s Place: equal parts bar, music venue and gathering place.  “The West Side has historically been the place where the poor have been concentrated,” says Macias, explaining that he was intentional about creating a welcoming atmosphere for the neighborhood.   The result, he says, was divestment from and stigmatization of the local community. Macias wanted to change t ..read more

This evening, boutique wine shop Casa Guipzot will host a special “Wine & Learn” evening with Conjunto legend and “Queen of the Accordion” Eva Araiza Ybarra. Born on San Antonio’s West Side, Ybarra has been performing as a Conjunto musician since childhood, when she taught herself to play the accordion by listening to the radio. In 2021, she was named the 2022 Texas State Musician by the state legislature. At this event, Ybarra will give a live performance and participate in an audience Q&A. Tickets are $55 per person and include two drink tickets and two gorditas. Guests must be 21 or ..read more

If the crowd at the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo is singing along when Clay Walker plays his newest single, he knows it’s a keeper. “The audience there knows what real country music is supposed to sound like,” says Walker, who will take the stage at the rodeo on Feb. 20. “If they like it in San Antonio, it’s going to be a hit.” The Texas native who was raised in the Houston area says playing a rodeo is a pinnacle for any Lone Star State cowboy and an experience he cherishes each time the invitation is extended to him. He chats with us here about the show and about his latest album, Texas ..read more

Catalina Cuervo has performed the lead in Maria de Buenos Aires nearly 100 times over the last 12 years but says it’s a thrill every time. “It’s been a blessing,” says Cuervo, who arrived in San Antonio last week to begin rehearsals for Opera San Antonio’s production of the show, Feb. 10 and 11 in the Tobin Center’s Carlos Alvarez Studio Theater. “It’s a lot of fun because it uses a lot of range in my voice that I don’t get to use in any other opera.” At the Tobin Center, Opera San Antonio is not only staging the Spanish opera but also turning it into an immersive experience. Rather than stand ..read more