Music
Rahim AlHaj, Iraqi Oud Virtuoso, on How Music Crosses Cultures
Janis Joplin’s Inimitable Voice
An authoritative new biography explores what drove the iconic Texan singer.
Texas-born rock icon Janis Joplin has been one of American culture’s most compelling figures for more than 50 years, in large part because of the intrigue she...Read More
Mr. Reynolds’ Opus
How Graham Reynolds became Texas’ top composer.
How Graham Reynolds became Texas’ top composer. by Rose Cahalan October 14, 2019 Walk into composer Graham Reynolds’ East Austin studio, and the first thing...Read More
Ken Burns’ New Documentary Builds a Bigger Tent for Country Music
Co-opted by whites, country music was largely shaped by black and immigrant musicians.
As a filmmaker, Ken Burns sees himself as a uniter and not a divider—an admirable endeavor in these polarized times, but not always a successful one. His 2017...Read More
The Highwomen Are the Superbly Talented, Feminist Supergroup Country Music Needs
On a stunning self-titled album released this week, the four musicians—two of whom are Texans—explore domesticity, motherhood, love, and loss.
In 1973, fresh from recording her raw, woman-to-woman plea to spare her relationship, Dolly Parton mixed “Jolene” in Nashville’s RCA Studio A. She wouldn...Read More
The Symphony Comes to South Dallas
Music education and enrichment opportunities are scarce in my neighborhood, but the Dallas Symphony aims to bridge the gap.
She is growing a cosmic garden, she is one of the fates stretching a string of life before her, she is Moses parting the sea before turning to bring the waves d...Read More
‘Texas Flood’ is a Soulful Portrait of Stevie Ray Vaughan
A new biography captures Vaughan’s journey from record-obsessed Dallas kid to all-time guitar god, taking care to convey what made his music transcendent.
Texas Flood: The Inside Story of Stevie Ray Ray Vaughan succeeds in just the way it must to reach both Vaughan’s fans and those first learning why he’s a sh...Read More
A Sweeping History of Texas Blues Celebrates Little-Known Musicians
More than 50 years in the making, The Blues Come to Texas is an encyclopedic tome stuffed with surprising trivia.
I have a faded copy of the July|August 1965 issue of the magazine Blues Unlimited, which includes an essay, “Working on the Project – T for Texas; T for Toi...Read More
The Encyclopedic ‘Country Music USA’ Tells (Almost) the Whole Story
Laird does a masterful job of showing how, for many performers, the whole question of authenticity has become ridiculous.
Country music historian Bill C. Malone has lived to see the 50th anniversary reissue of his landmark book, Country Music USA. Fellow scholar Tracey E. W. Laird ...Read More
Austin Writer Ed Ward Celebrates the Black Musicians Who Made Rock
Austin’s Ed Ward Celebrates the Black Musicians Who Made Rock ‘The History of Rock & Roll’ pays tribute to some lesser-known pioneers of...Read More
