Texas Music Magazine

Some bands are much more Beatles than Stones, and then much more McCartney than Lennon. It’s a long line of heart-on-the-sleeve nice-guy rock that runs through Coldplay and the Fray and doesn’t lose much steam in the hands of young Austin band the Reynolds Number.

The Post-punk pop rockers have conquered Houston. Next stop, the world. by WILLIAM MICHAEL SMITH

A LEGENDARY TEXAS rapper — and Rice University guest lecturer — has scored his most unlikely hit yet, not with a new single or mixtape but with a coloring book we reported was in the works a year ago.

THE HOUSTON BLUES COMMUNITY was shocked and saddened by the sudden passing of Texas Johnny (John Riley) Brown on July 1. Brown, 85, succumbed to lung and liver cancer complications.

Backed by horns and a balls-out rock ’n’ roll rhythm section, Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears exploded onto the Austin scene sometime in 2007.

For over 20 years, Sara Hickman has been making records that combine rock-solid melodies with wit and charm.

On the pleasantly woozy “Billings, MT,” environmental lawyer-turned-troubadour Breting Engel croons “I think I see a star / Or it’s just a streetlight.”

NO ONE QUITE expected the breakout success of Neon Indian, least of all the outfit’s 22-year-old creator, Alan Palomo.

A band with this kind of tenure and maturity can deliver the trademark licks, but still take some calculated risks, both challenging and delighting longtime fans. These tunes are going to be fun to hear live, and might just turn the heads of some new listeners. Now, when can we hear Volume Two?

After winning an Oscar and Golden Globe for “The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart),” Ryan Bingham and his band, the Dead Horses, should...