Chip Taylor inducted into Songwriters Hall of Fame
Bigger-than-life Chip Taylor has been inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. About time. Jon Voight spoke kindly about his brother at the... Read more →
Have a “Liberty Lunch”
Austin's Independence Brewing is releasing a beer in honor of the famous, but departed, "Liberty Lunch", the famous Austin live music venue that... Read more →
Get ready for Kerrville!
The annual Kerrville Folk Festival will convene May 26th through June 12th, 2016, in Kerrville, Texas. The mother of all Texas music festivals. This... Read more →
“On This Darkest Day” by Chip Taylor
In 2011, Chip Taylor was preparing to play a festival in Norway when a lone killer took the lives of seventy-seven, mostly children, in the capital... Read more →
Ana Egge touring Denmark
Those lucky Danes will be hosting the incredible Ana Egge, with The Sentimentals, throughout Denmark from June 23 to July 1, 2016. Check dates... Read more →
Make plans for Telluride Americana Music Fest
The 10th Annual Telluride Americana Music Fest & Songwriter Showcase, July 20th through 23rd, 2016, Telluride, Colorado, will feature Austin... Read more →
Happy 60th Michael!
My brother and I are more than 8 years apart, his birth planned, mine was not. In the high school and college years, he was a hippie (to be fair, it... Read more →
The High Desert
The parched and windswept void of the high desert gives a finite measure of life, a balance of blood and dust. For every birth, a death. For every... Read more →
Ruthie Foster’s take on the classic “Ring of Fire”
If anybody did it as good as Johnny Cash, its got to be Ruthie. And you thought you knew this... Read more →
The late Guy Clark with an ode to his life-long love, Susanna
Bet they're dancing in the clouds right... Read more →
Steve Earle’s Camp Copperhead
June 27th through July 1, 2016, Steve Earle and special guest Shawn Colvin will convene the third annual "Camp Copperhead" songwriting camp at the... Read more →
Joe Ely at El Mercado
Caught Joe Ely this week at the El Mercado restaurant on South 1st. Just Joe, his guitar and a hundred or so disciples. Whooping and hollering,... Read more →
“Speed of the Sound of Loneliness” by John Prine, with Nanci Griffith
John Prine and Nanci Griffith perform his wistful... Read more →
Vince Bell’s Resurrection
We almost lost the great Vince Bell in 1982, when his car was broad-sided by a drunk driver in Austin. Grievously injured, he was in a coma for a... Read more →
Freddie King and Eric Clapton
Wish we'd been... Read more →
“Couchville Sessions” by Darrell Scott
Darrell Scott has just released "Couchville Sessions", a collection of gems recorded in his living room in the early 2000's. Vintage stuff from the... Read more →
Guy Clark has passed
The great Guy Clark, troubadour, poet and tall Texan, left us yesterday. The world seems a little shallower today. Hope he's with... Read more →
Justin Trevino at Arkey Blue’s
One legend deserves another. Justin Trevino will play Arkey Blue's Silver Dollar Bar in Bandera, Texas on May 28th, Mr. Trevino is the master of... Read more →
“Dearly Departed” by Shakey Graves, with Esme Patterson
Hard to keep up with the fertile imagination of Mr. Graves. Wondering where this train might take... Read more →
Sunday morning with Leeann Atherton
"Going to church" means a lot of things in... Read more →
Ruthie Foster to Cuba
Join Ruthie Foster and Seth Walker for a cultural excursion to Havana and environs. Hosted by Cuba Tours & Travel, November 3 through December 6,... Read more →
T-Bone Walker Blues Fest
The great T-Bone Walker hailed from Linden, Texas, and ultimately traveled the world as one of the great bluesmen, often credited with electrifying... Read more →
Miles Zuniga release in the works
For all of us wishin' for some more Miles Zuniga, he is working on The Help Machine, to be released before the end of 2016. In the meantime, catch... Read more →
“Honeypot” by Bob Schneider
A little sunny pick-me-up for a Monday morning. Sway away,... Read more →
New Release by Mary Chapin Carpenter
Mary Chapin Carpenter has released The Things That We Are Made Of, her fourteenth album. Produced by the omniscient Dave Cobb, a stripped... Read more →
Mercer Street Dance Hall
Mercer Street Dance Hall is a classic Hill Country honky-tonk in downtown Dripping Springs, Texas, a half hour or so from central Austin. Nightly... Read more →
Scoot Inn
Dating back to 1871, the past lives of the Scoot Inn include neighborhood grocery, chili hut, gambling house and bootleg whiskey depot. This place... Read more →
Levitation Festival abruptly canceled
The annual Austin outdoors "Levitation" festival was canceled yesterday, one day before it was to begin, due to the possibility of torrential... Read more →
Jeff Plankenhorn at Guero’s
We just caught the slidemaster outdoors at Guero's Taco Bar on a beautiful spring evening. Heartening to see Jeff Plankenhorn singing mostly his own... Read more →
New Release by Will T. Massey
Will T. Massey has recently released a new collection of original work, The Weathering. More fine wisdom from a delicate... Read more →
“Trouble Find Me” by Jeff Plankenhorn
We've featured this song before, but it's so damn good, here it is again. Jeff Plankenhorn's take on "if it weren't for bad luck, I wouldn't have... Read more →
New release by Michael Fracasso
Michael Fracasso has just released Here Come the Savages, another lovely journey into a very full... Read more →
Hill Country Guitars moving to Dripping Springs
Hill Country Guitars, the downtown Austin purveyor of luscious tone woods, is moving to 302 Mercer Street, Dripping Springs, Texas 78620. Once the... Read more →
Bob Schneider and Lonelyland at the Saxon Pub
Just caught the man for his Monday variety show at the Saxon Pub. Bob was energized and well-coiffed, and welcomed the audience for a rollicking tour... Read more →
Sam Baker to release “A Night at the Folly”
A new record by Sam Baker is a rare and fine event. On May 6th, Sam will release A Night at the Folly, a live performance recorded at the listening... Read more →
“‘Sweet Old World” by Lucinda Williams
Rumors abound about the inspiration for this achingly gorgeous song. Lucinda Williams recites the simple pleasures we take for granted, the pleasures... Read more →
Make Plans for Music on the Mesa
Head to cool Taos for the Second Annual "Music on the Mesa" festival, June 3rd through 5th. Steve Earle, Shawn Colvin, Ray Wylie Hubbard, The... Read more →
Ra Sushi & DJ Robert Michael
From time to time, I am reminded how music can unexpectedly ignite emotions and take you back to days long gone. The setting this time was Ra... Read more →
New Release from Jeff Plankenhorn
Slidemaster Jeff Plankenhorn just released SoulSlide, featuring Jeff, his guitar and voice, and his many talented friends, including Ruthie Foster... Read more →
John Prine’s “Hello in There”
John Prine's favorite song. A gorgeous portrait of the dusty realities of growing... Read more →
Shawn Colvin and Steve Earle team up for new release
Two creative giants will release Colvin and Earle on June 10, 2016. Shawn Colvin has been shining up Austin and the nation for a couple of decades... Read more →
Hayes Carll releases “Lovers and Leavers”
On April 8, Hayes Carll will release "Lovers and Leavers". Produced by Joe Henry, expect a stripped down approach to new songs from a quality Texas... Read more →
34th Street Cafe
Be careful, 34th Street Cafe might become your next haunt in Austin. A cafe, yet so much more. Good people and great, fresh food combine to make... Read more →
Hill Country Guitars
Hill Country Guitars showcases a stunning selection of quality guitars and is the place where most Austin songwriters find themselves on a regular... Read more →