Culture
Ahead of his 92nd birthday in April, Willie Nelson is showing no signs of slowing down. The country music legend has had a lot to celebrate, from the launch of his new THC drink, Willie’s Remedy+, to the upcoming premiere of the Austin City Limits 50-year special, where
Culture
Texas hasn’t gotten its due as a major piece in the complex puzzle of American art. We’re here to rectify that. Every three weeks, H. Drew Blackburn will conduct a thoroughly scientific analysis of the 254 integral (one for every county) books, movies, tv shows, albums, podcasts, songs,
Investigations
EXCLUSIVE This story has been published in collaboration with the editorially independent student newspaper The Rice Thresher, where the author Riya Misra is editor in chief. This story contains descriptions of sexual trauma that may be triggering to some readers. Visit RAINN (Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network), which has
Culture
Over the course of her 35-year-career, Beyoncé has continually raised the bar. She’s changed the way artists release their music, revolutionized the album format, and defied the confines of genres to produce work that has received a whopping 99 Grammy nominations — the most of any artist in
Culture
The main character of “Wild Is Her Favorite Color,” the opening track on Jenna Paulette’s 2024 country album Horseback, is a familiar figure. She likes to drink tequila. She has an open heart like a desert sky. And “Ready to Run,” sings Paulette, is her favorite song. “It'
Arts & Entertainment
If there’s one thing Beyoncé’s Christmas Day performance had, it was soul. On Dec. 25, during the halftime show at the Houston Texans vs. Baltimore Ravens game, the winningest-ever Grammy Award recipient wasn’t just joined by chart-topping celebrities and world-caliber vocalists. Beyoncé also invited
Culture
“As Black people, the world is a lot more surreal,” Tony- and Emmy-nominated multidisciplinary artist Daniel J. Watts told me in 2023. “You have to pay attention to it enough to acknowledge — awareness — and you can't stare too directly at it, or it'll steal your
Culture
In the fall of 1974, something was brewing in Austin. Willie Nelson wasn’t yet a country legend. At 41 years old, he was still a year away from his first number one hit as a singer (“Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain”), considered something of a commercial failure as
Culture
For a decade, a concert hall housed inside an old National Guard Armory ruled the city of Austin. Located on South First Street, the Armadillo World Headquarters welcomed hippies and cowboys alike, all of whom came for the Lone Star beer and the legendary shows. Inside, you could catch emerging
Culture
Texas hasn’t gotten its due as a major piece in the complex puzzle of American art. We’re here to rectify that. Every two weeks, H. Drew Blackburn will conduct a thoroughly scientific analysis of the 254 integral (one for every county) books, movies, tv shows, albums, podcasts, songs,
Culture
Forty years ago, outlaw country musician and visual artist Terry Allen released “Lubbock (On Everything),” a masterful album about fine art, finding love, the echoes of Vietnam, and, of course, the Texas Panhandle. Its most famous song is the opener, “Amarillo Highway.” It was Allen’s declaration that — even though
Culture
Two hundred and seventy miles north of Edinburg, Abby Garcia walked into mariachi rehearsal at Texas State University on a Wednesday in September. Three years ago, she filmed with a documentary crew for “Going Varsity in Mariachi,” which Netflix released on August 29 after it dazzled the Sundance Film Festival