Caleb Wilbourn finds a home in the Terlingua desert

I rinsed out my eyes for the fifth time as purple clouds escaped over the Santa Elena Canyon. The dust storms can really put a callus on your pupil out in Far West Texas, home to picturesque settings that could serve as the backdrop in a John Ford western. Caleb Wilbourn parked his van out …

Advertisement

Kerrville Celebrates 50 Years

The mixmaster I’m keen to has eight freeways colliding like rapids on an expedition… where you grip the wheel and grind your teeth as you twist like a bobsled in a corkscrew. The 50th annual Kerrville Folk Festival has a much more inviting mixmaster, one paved with gravel and steeped in tradition. A passageway to …

Redbird Listening Room’s One Year Anniversary

I’m crunching stones on a gravel road in the river beds of Blanco, Texas praying my crumbling tires won’t explode. I’ve got an hour to cut around Canyon Lake and cruise through Wimberley for the Redbird Listening Room’s one year anniversary. “This old house was built in the 30’s,” co-owner Dallas Burrow said, “and honestly it was …

Bear Tales: The Legend Of The Hill Country Delta Blues

A beam of sunlight in the crystal-clear sky pierces my eye as we drive past rural farmland and a John Deere outlet store northeast of Austin. The modern sign welcoming you into Taylor is fitting for the massive growth the community has faced recently, as the housing market pushes city dwellers into nearby small towns. …

Calliope Musicals Perform At Viva Utopia

Glowing disco balls pulse atop the outdoor stage west of San Antonio, Texas. Calliope Musicals burst into song with all of their might as cheers echo around the canyons in Utopia. “Here’s to the ones who love me,” Carrie Fussell announces to the campers as she lifts her hands high into the air. It’s a …

Splice Records’ River Retreat 2022

Blue and green Christmas lights dance along the archway that guides campers to the main stage. The River Retreat is one of several events Splice Records holds throughout the year at the KL Ranch Campground, a beautiful stretch of land in New Braunfels that sits along the Guadalupe River. Each day is separated into themes that take …

Folk Family Revival Benefits The Austin Mosaic Music Collection

Over the past year, Folk Family Revival has made one of Austin’s best kept secrets their home away from home.  Creased cowboy boots shuffle across the dance floor at Sam’s Town Point as owner Ramsay Midwood entertains the crowd. Midwood’s warm blend of country and blues makes you feel right at home, like a campfire …

Mike Flanigin Releases “West Texas Blues”

West Texas Blues​ is a live studio album born out of organist Mike Flanigin, and guitarist Sue Foley’s Texas Blues Party. Streamed live on Facebook, the hour-long program focused on regional history and included interviews with blues legends C.C. Adcock, ​Angela Strehli and Derek O’Brien. “That’s almost what jump started the album in a sense.” …

Greyhounds Release Primates

The Greyhounds’ July release “Primates” delivers an expansive, neo-soul sound drenched in 1970s disco and African Jazz. Recorded at songwriter and guitarist Andrew Trube’s East Austin studio, the material has embraced a new purpose in the wake of Coronavirus culture and a halt to live performing. Trube and keyboardist Anthony Farrell worked with Los Lobos’ …

Show Review: Chris Ruest And Rob Stone Bring Traditional Blues To Texas

My eyes struggle to adjust to scattered Christmas lights as I seek refuge from the bitter-cold night. I fend off shaky pool cues as I pass a busy quarter table in Austin’s Eastside entertainment district. Long-time local guitar slinger Chris Ruest is tuning up his vintage Airline on the corner stage at the White Horse …