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For Singer Bill Callahan, Home Is Where the Art Is
Bill Callahan once wrote a galloping tune named “America!,” in which he tips his hat to a certain lineage of Texas country musicians who had served in the armed forces. “Captain Kristofferson! Buck...
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Gorgeous Photos of Texas Punk’s Glory Days
In the late seventies and early eighties, Texas punk rock fixtures the Big Boys frequently closed out their sweat-drenched concerts with a rallying cry: “Now go start your own band!” While plenty of...
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Go-Go’s Bassist Kathy Valentine Remembers the Sounds of 1970s Austin
In the seventies, teenagers galvanized by rock and roll noodled around on guitars, sang into hairbrushes, and dreamed about becoming stars. Kathy Valentine lived the real thing. By the time she was...
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Mid-century Modern Love on Instagram
With its flattering filters and highly curated content, Instagram’s performative display can conjure feelings of anxiety and inadequacy, at least for me. But during the pandemic, I’ve come to see it...
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I Wasn’t a Big Willie Nelson Fan. These Ten Songs Turned Me Into One.
My parents came to the United States in the late eighties from their native Colombia, and as my family moved from New York to Maryland and then down to McAllen, Corpus Christi, and Houston, we tried to...
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The Unflappable Country Star Charley Pride Dies at 86
Some country music legends, such as Willie Nelson, are beloved for spinning yarns impossible to dislodge from either your head or heart. The late Billy Joe Shaver was a showman as much as he was a...
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Hot Pepper Jelly
The first time I made hot pepper jelly—a sumptuous and piquant blend of spicy peppers, sugar, lemon, and apple cider vinegar—I expected to feel the burn on my tongue, not on my fingers. Alas, I...
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Three Texans Put Their Souls Into Pixar’s Newest Film
Joe Gardner feels out of tune. The protagonist of Pixar’s latest effort, Soul, out on Christmas Day via Disney Plus, Joe (Jamie Foxx) is a fortysomething middle school band teacher in Queens, New York,...
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Why Selena Is Still the Queen of Tejano (and Punk Rock!)
Though Selena has been gone for nearly three decades, her music is as alive as ever. She has spurred dead-ringer impersonators and tribute bands, such as Austin’s Bidi Bidi Banda. Even acts that stand...
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Selena sigue siendo La Reina de la música tejana (¡y punk rock!)
A pesar de que Selena nos dejó hace casi tres décadas, su música sigue más viva que nunca. Ha inspirado a imitadores casi idénticos a ella y a bandas musicales de tributo, como la Bidi Bidi Banda de...
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Selena at 50: Celebrating the Life, Art, and Influence of a Tejano Legend
Kacey Musgraves ascended the star-shaped stage at NRG Stadium, where the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo convenes every year. Bathed in purple light, the East Texas–bred country musician began a song...
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Selena a los 50: celebrando la vida, el arte y la influencia de una leyenda...
Kacey Musgraves subió al escenario en forma de estrella del NRG Stadium, donde el Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo tiene lugar cada año. Bañada en una luz morada, la cantante de música country criada...
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Taking a Walk-through of the Dark Side
As I walk up to the imposing octagonal house, I can’t believe I’m actually here. I peer unsuccessfully through the tinted windows, waiting for someone to let me in one of the two identical black doors....
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A Scintillating but Uneven New Documentary Probes the Life of Trini Lopez, a...
One night in 1960, the multi-hyphenate musician Trini Lopez stepped off the stage at the Cotton Club, in Lubbock, where he’d just ripped through a rollicking set, and picked up the phone. A local DJ...
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The Cluck Stops Here: Texas Restaurants and Bars Struggle to Sell Cheap...
In early spring, Patsy Vivares, co-owner of Houston eatery Sticky’s Chicken, drove to her local supplier to purchase her usual order: a forty-pound box of chicken wings. When she pulled up to...
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How Austin’s Willie Wells Pioneered the Modern Batting Helmet
One afternoon in 1939, Willie Wells stepped up to the plate in Buffalo, New York, clutching a bat in hand. As a seasoned ballplayer in his early thirties, Wells had shored up a reputation that made his...
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A New Documentary Pens a Poignant Love Letter to Numbers, a Storied Houston...
On a recent Friday night, a steady stream of revelers lined up at the intersection of Westheimer and Mason in Houston’s Montrose neighborhood, their foreheads beading with sweat from the July humidity....
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How Alvin Ailey Built a World Where Black Dancers Felt Free
An interviewer once asked the late choreographer and dancer Alvin Ailey if he’d had to sacrifice anything. “Everything,” Ailey replied without hesitation. “Dancing presents an enormous sacrifice. I...
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West Texas Farmers Battle Them, but Now Tumbleweeds Have Become Trendy Decor
This past spring, Austin residents Anna Uliassi and Arin Fullerton piled into a car along with their two dogs, Arlo and Iris, and hauled a trailer behind them. While driving toward Big Bend National...
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Thanks to Jordan Santana, Texas Is Poised to Become a Skateboard Mecca
In mid-May, Jordan Santana packed her skateboard and flew from Houston to Des Moines, Iowa, for a competition that was supposed to seal her trip to the Tokyo Olympics. The seventeen-year-old had taken...
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