The East Texas–born country star is a songwriter first and a heartthrob dead last. The East Texas–born country star is a songwriter first and a heartthrob dead last.

Texas Monthly

14.07.2025

Post Malone Is Texas’s Newest Horse Daddy

He joins fellow horse owners Drake, Kacey Musgraves, and Miranda Lambert here at the end point of the countrification of pop music.

Texas Monthly

14.07.2025

The Abilene Band That Created a New Music Genre

Dexter and the Moonrocks have a y’allternative sound they call Western space grunge.

Texas Monthly

14.07.2025

At Beyoncé's Show in London, Culture Is More Powerful Than Politics

British fans embraced Queen Bey’s take on Americana as she dutifully respected her British subjects at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Texas Monthly

14.07.2025

Bonnie Raitt Thinks Willie Nelson Is a Bit Cheshire Cat and a Bit Yoda

In a special birthday tribute, the 13-time Grammy winner talks about duetting on one of the most important records of Willie’s career, “Getting Over You.”

Texas Monthly

14.07.2025

Meet the Music Director Behind Kelly Clarkson's “Kellyoke” Covers

‘The Kelly Clarkson Show’ keeps going viral thanks to Clarkson's cover songs. Jason Halbert has a lot to do with them.

Texas Monthly

14.07.2025

Beyoncé Won Best Country Album. Now the Award Doesn’t Exist.

On the heels of her ‘Cowboy Carter’ win, the Grammys are splitting the country album award in two. Why?

Texas Monthly

14.07.2025

Laci Kaye Booth Means No Disrespect with Her Song “George F***** Strait”

The East Texan is proud of her sexy tribute to men who get better with age—and of being called a country Lana Del Rey.

Texas Monthly

14.07.2025

There Are 70-Plus Songs Named “Texas.” We Ranked ’Em.

How does state pride sound at its most distilled? Artists like George Strait and BigXthaPlug have given us more answers than we ever expected to find.

Texas Monthly

14.07.2025

Everything Beyoncé Wore on Opening Night of Her Cowboy Carter Tour

The pop singer sparkled in stars, stripes, cowboy hats, and couture in California.

Texas Monthly

14.07.2025

Chaparelle Makes Country Look Good—but the Group Sounds Even Better

The Wimberley-based band’s debut album, ‘Western Pleasure,’ is more than skin-deep.

Texas Monthly

14.07.2025

James McMurtry Won’t Play His Famous Populist Anthem Anymore

But on his new album, "The Black Dog and the Wandering Boy," he’s still singing about folks in neglected places who feel forgotten.

Texas Monthly

13.07.2025

Beyoncé Shows Vulnerability as She Brings Cowboy Carter Home

There was plenty of swagger too, of course, at the first of two shows in Houston.

Texas Monthly

13.07.2025

How Waterloo Records is Reinventing Music Retail

The owners of the iconic Austin brand hope an eye-popping revamp will reinvent the record store experience in uncertain economic times.

Texas Monthly

29.03.2025

Willie Nelson’s Luck Reunion Remains the “Anti-Festival” Antidote to SXSW

“Just outside of Austin” but worlds away, Luck Ranch’s signature festival has found that big-name performances pair best with unrivaled casual vibes.

Texas Monthly

29.03.2025

Armadillo World Headquarters: Does a 1970s Music Hall Belong in New Austin?

Armadillo World Headquarters, which closed in 1980, was reborn last year. Now, it’s looking for a new permanent home in a very different city.

Texas Monthly

29.03.2025

Kinky Friedman’s ‘Poet of Motel 6’ Might Be His Best Album Yet

The record, which was recorded months before the Texas icon died, is an emotional look at mortality.

Texas Monthly

29.03.2025

Larry Gatlin on the Wisdom of Letting Willie Nelson Be Lead Dog

The pride of Odessa recalls the New York recording sessions that produced ‘Shotgun Willie,’ ‘The Troublemaker,’ and “She’s Not for You.”

Texas Monthly

29.03.2025

Adrian Quesada on the Flamenco Heart of Willie Nelson’s ‘Teatro’ – Texas Monthly

The Black Pumas guitarist, producer, and songwriter examines the Latin and Tex-Mex elements in Willie’s music, how they got there—and why that makes Willie “the most American thing we have.”

Texas Monthly

29.03.2025

SXSW Is Finally Changing. Is It Too Little, Too Late?

This year’s music fest felt small-time. Next year it will be folded into Film & TV and Interactive. Maybe that’s a good thing. Or maybe it’s a last gasp.

Texas Monthly

29.03.2025

Mark Seliger on the Song that Informs His Portraits of Willie Nelson

The revered photographer talks Trigger, Fourth of July Picnics, and “Stardust.”

Texas Monthly

29.03.2025

Conor Oberst Recalls the Summer He Discovered Willie Nelson’s Demos

The indie rock, pop, and folk icon on the craft of songwriting, four-track home recordings, and the counterintuitive wisdom of “Undo the Right.”

Texas Monthly

01.03.2025

Bleachers’ Evan Smith, One of “Jersey’s Finest New Yorkers,” Is From Texas

Pop-rock band Bleachers and its front man, Jack Antonoff, are very famously from the Garden State, but Dallas-born saxophonist Evan Smith provides the group with some Texas soul.

Texas Monthly

01.03.2025

Charlie Sexton on Willie Nelson’s Real-Deal Jukebox Country Music

The Austin producer, bandleader, and guitar hero discusses the reasons he loves the early sixties demo for “I Let My Mind Wander.”

Texas Monthly

01.03.2025

Academy Awards: How 'Sing Sing''s Oscar-Nominated Ballad Got Made

Abraham Alexander and Black Pumas cofunder Adrian Quesada wrote and recorded “Like a Bird” in Fort Worth and Austin. Now they’re part of Hollywood’s biggest night.

Texas Monthly

01.03.2025

Amanda Petrusich on Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson’s ‘Pancho & Lefty’

The acclaimed music critic reframes the duo’s classic 1983 LP as a concept album about easing into middle age.

Texas Monthly

12.02.2025

The Creators of ‘Take It Away’ on Telling the Johnny Canales Story on Film

Filmmakers Adrian Arredondo and Myrna Perez talk about getting to know the man at the heart of Tejano Hollywood’s golden age.

Texas Monthly

12.02.2025

Larry McMurtry’s Grandson Makes Music That Surprises ‘Lonesome Dove’ Fans

Curtis McMurtry writes, records, and performs songs that are more Austin than Archer City.

Texas Monthly

12.02.2025

John Mellencamp Believes Willie Nelson Deserves a Nobel Peace Prize – Texas Monthly

The heartland rocker on the origins of Farm Aid, standing up to record execs, and “Funny How Time Slips Away.”

Texas Monthly

12.02.2025

Paul Begala on Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, and the Lost Art of Empathy

The CNN political analyst discusses the two legends’ duet “Heartland,” the farm crisis that inspired it, and a kind turn Willie did for his mom.

Texas Monthly

12.02.2025

Grammy Awards 2025: Beyoncé’s ‘Cowboy Carter’ Wins Album of the Year

Plus: how Kacey Musgraves, Drake, and more Texas stars fared.

Texas Monthly

03.02.2025

Big Musicians Are Fans of "Sound Toys" from Brand New Noise

Mick Fleetwood, the Black Keys' Patrick Carney, and Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy are just some of the artists drawn to the whimsical recording devices.

Texas Monthly

03.02.2025

Max Baca on the Many Origins of Tejano Music – Texas Monthly

Grammy winner Max Baca on playing bajo sexto with the Texas Tornados and carrying on conjunto music for the next generation.

Texas Monthly

03.02.2025

Beyoncé, We Love You, but the Saguaro Cactus Does Not Grow in Texas

The icon released a teaser for her NFL Christmas performance in Houston that has the potential to disappoint some Lone Star botanists.

Texas Monthly

03.02.2025

Terry Allen’s Grandson Calder Steps Into the Family Legacy

Singer-songwriter Calder Allen comes from a family of artists, including outlaw-country musician Terry Allen.

Texas Monthly

03.02.2025

Joaquin Castro on the Power of Celebrating Latino Recording Artists

The San Antonio congressman talks about his relationship to tejano and why recognizing Latino musicians is a matter of national importance.

Texas Monthly

03.02.2025

How Linda Escobar Became the Queen of Conjunto

Tejano music legend Linda Escobar talks about building community around conjunto and taking the music across the world.

Texas Monthly

03.02.2025

Juan Gabriel Is Gone, but the Singer’s Spirit Lives On at a Juárez Museum

Visitors can watch Juanga, as he’s fondly called by millions of fans, as he croons, smiles, sashays, and flirts with the audience.

Texas Monthly

03.02.2025

Eva Ybarra Has an Accordion Lesson for You—If You Can Keep Up

The Queen of the Accordion shares her many musical influences and why she’s never played the way other people want her to.

home›Texas Monthly›Music

Texas Monthly - Music

Remembering Ozzy Osbourne, an Unlikely Texas Icon

Parker McCollum Wants You to Listen to His Music, Not Look at His Face – Texas Monthly

Post Malone Is Texas’s Newest Horse Daddy

The Abilene Band That Created a New Music Genre

At Beyoncé's Show in London, Culture Is More Powerful Than Politics

Bonnie Raitt Thinks Willie Nelson Is a Bit Cheshire Cat and a Bit Yoda

Meet the Music Director Behind Kelly Clarkson's “Kellyoke” Covers

Beyoncé Won Best Country Album. Now the Award Doesn’t Exist.

Laci Kaye Booth Means No Disrespect with Her Song “George F***** Strait”

There Are 70-Plus Songs Named “Texas.” We Ranked ’Em.

Everything Beyoncé Wore on Opening Night of Her Cowboy Carter Tour

Chaparelle Makes Country Look Good—but the Group Sounds Even Better

James McMurtry Won’t Play His Famous Populist Anthem Anymore

Beyoncé Shows Vulnerability as She Brings Cowboy Carter Home

How Waterloo Records is Reinventing Music Retail

Willie Nelson’s Luck Reunion Remains the “Anti-Festival” Antidote to SXSW

Armadillo World Headquarters: Does a 1970s Music Hall Belong in New Austin?

Kinky Friedman’s ‘Poet of Motel 6’ Might Be His Best Album Yet

Larry Gatlin on the Wisdom of Letting Willie Nelson Be Lead Dog

Adrian Quesada on the Flamenco Heart of Willie Nelson’s ‘Teatro’ – Texas Monthly

SXSW Is Finally Changing. Is It Too Little, Too Late?

Mark Seliger on the Song that Informs His Portraits of Willie Nelson

Conor Oberst Recalls the Summer He Discovered Willie Nelson’s Demos

Bleachers’ Evan Smith, One of “Jersey’s Finest New Yorkers,” Is From Texas

Charlie Sexton on Willie Nelson’s Real-Deal Jukebox Country Music

Academy Awards: How 'Sing Sing''s Oscar-Nominated Ballad Got Made

Amanda Petrusich on Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson’s ‘Pancho & Lefty’

The Creators of ‘Take It Away’ on Telling the Johnny Canales Story on Film

Larry McMurtry’s Grandson Makes Music That Surprises ‘Lonesome Dove’ Fans

John Mellencamp Believes Willie Nelson Deserves a Nobel Peace Prize – Texas Monthly

Paul Begala on Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, and the Lost Art of Empathy

Grammy Awards 2025: Beyoncé’s ‘Cowboy Carter’ Wins Album of the Year

Big Musicians Are Fans of "Sound Toys" from Brand New Noise

Max Baca on the Many Origins of Tejano Music – Texas Monthly

Beyoncé, We Love You, but the Saguaro Cactus Does Not Grow in Texas

Terry Allen’s Grandson Calder Steps Into the Family Legacy

Joaquin Castro on the Power of Celebrating Latino Recording Artists

How Linda Escobar Became the Queen of Conjunto

Juan Gabriel Is Gone, but the Singer’s Spirit Lives On at a Juárez Museum

Eva Ybarra Has an Accordion Lesson for You—If You Can Keep Up

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