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Jason Isbell raises the bar for Americana at ACL Live
Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit, with a set that brought to mind Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium, on Thursday, Feb. 11, 2016, at ACL Live. Photo by Peter Blackstock When Jason Isbell says he can’t think...
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Ameripolitan Awards bring Pride and respect to the Paramount
Charley Pride performs at the Ameripolitan Awards at the Paramount on Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2016. Photo by Peter Blackstock The most meaningful moment in Tuesday’s third annual Ameripolitan Music Awards...
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At home, with heart, Gary Clark Jr. blazes through “Artists Den” show at...
Photo by Glen Brown, courtesy of “Artists Den.” On Monday, Gary Clark Jr. joined Chris Stapleton and Bonnie Raitt in an on-air tribute to B.B. King at the Grammys, then spent the rest of the night...
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Review: Carly Rae Jepsen is killing pop to keep it alive
“Slay! Slay! Slay!” is truly the only thing you need to hear from your audience. Carly Rae Jepsen performs in concert at ACL Live on February 20, 2016. (Suzanne Cordeiro for American-Statesman) On...
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Joe Ely, Raul Malo, Rodney Crowell spark Texas Heritage Songwriters’ show
Joe Ely and Robert Earl Keen at the Texas Heritage Songwriters Association Hall of Fame show at ACL Live, Sunday, Feb. 21, 2016. Photo by Ted Parker Jr. By John T. Davis Special to the...
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SXSW 2016: Houndmouth closes out Capital One House
A popular evening draw during SXSW Interactive this year, and one that further blurred the lines between the Interactive and Music tracks, was the four-day run of Capital One House at the new Antone’s...
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ruído/mm brings the kismet to SXSW showcase
By Steve Scheibal Ruído/mm is a terrific band out of Brazil that specializes in distorted, spookily atmospheric instrumentals. They played a midnight set on Wednesday night to a few dozen grateful...
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Poliça’s lovely brooding plays on Rainey Street
By Steve Scheibal Poliça draws from many musical worlds without really belonging to any of them. The Minneapolis group’s melodies are flowing and lovely, but their arrangements are a few degrees of...
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SXSW 2016 review: DJ Khaled knows the keys to success (and has famous friends)
Khaled and Bun B (Andy O’Connor / FOR AMERICAN-STATESMAN) It’s shocking that DJ Khaled chose to appear at the Music portion of SXSW and not Interactive. He first came to prominence with his association...
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Ramones tribute rocks, in fits and starts
By Steve Scheibal Right as the Grammy Museum cranked up its official South by Southwest tribute to the Ramones on Thursday, legendary punk bassist Mike Watt was taking the late, lamented,...
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Robert Plant mixes old and new at ACL taping
Robert Plant & the Sensational Space Shifters at ACL Live, Monday, March 21, 2016. Courtesy of KLRU-TV/Austin City Limits; photo by Scott Newton When Robert Plant announced at the end of Monday...
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Explosions in the Sky comes home to its legend
By Steve Scheibal Austin band Explosions in the Sky inherited a post-rock outpost on Texas’ musical plain and turned it into a cross-disciplinary hive of creativity and inspiration. Thanks in part to...
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‘Thong’-mania and 5 more things that marked Dru Hill’s Urban Music Fest set
The sky had cleared by evening, but a afternoon deluge and a sudden temperature drop kept crowds light at day one of the 2016 Urban Music Festival at Auditorium Shores. Thankfully, festival organizers...
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Little Green Cars’ big Monday night in Austin
Little Green Cars at the Parish, Monday, April 11, 2016. Photo by Peter Blackstock It had already been a memorable evening. After expressing genuine happy surprise to see the Parish mostly packed on a...
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The stars at night are big and bright for Beach House at ACL Live
Victoria Legrand can’t see the stars in Baltimore, she says. So, it seems, she and band mate Alex Scally just make their own. Beach House filled ACL Live at the Moody Theater to the brim Monday for a...
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James Bay makes his debut on ‘Austin City Limits’
James Bay taping “Austin City Limits” at ACL Live, Tuesday, April 12, 2016. Courtesy of KLRU-TV/Austin PBS. Photo by Scott Newton Filling out the 20 or so tapings that happen for a typical “Austin City...
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The Who’s “Tommy” gone bluegrass, and more from Friday at Old Settler’s
When all goes well at Old Settler’s, it’s hard for any area music festival to be better. Friday felt like one of those days, with mild temperatures accenting the bucolic setting as compelling...
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Old Settler’s Fest made it through a little rain with Jayhawks, McCourys and...
“The sun’s about to come out!” That was Jayhawks keyboardist Karen Grotberg’s joking promise as darkness had fallen on Old Settler’s Music Festival in Driftwood, along with the first steady rain of...
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Tony Bennett eclipses the bounds of time at Bass Concert Hall
Tony Bennett and band at Bass Concert Hall on Sunday, April 24, 2016. Photo by Arnold Wells for American-Statesman We should all look, sound and feel as good as Tony Bennett does if and when we reach...
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Rhiannon Giddens blazes brightly with her band at ACL taping
Rhiannon Giddens and band taping “Austin City Limits” at ACL Live on Monday, April 25, 2016. Photos ourtesy of KLRU-TV/Austin City Limits. Photos by Scott Newton It was something I’d never seen on...
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