New Braunfels

Dallas’ Four Must-See Art Shows

The Wall Street Journal Seems to Think Bucee's, Home of the Beaver Nugget, Has Jumped the Shark

If you've driven south on I-35 -- or if you've ever turned onto Lawther from Northwest Highway -- you've seen the Bucee's billboards. The ones with the buck-toothed beaver in a red cap hawking some mysterious concoction called beaver nuggets. It's an obnoxious marketing campaign, but it gets your at ... More >>

How Hating the New Toadies Album Sent Me Into An Existential Abyss

Recently, I was gently reminded that the Toadies have a new album out, called Play.Rock.Music.. I listened to the album a couple times and tried to wrap my head around it. I waited for something to grab me: A hook, a melody. Instead, I found myself wincing. I couldn't bring myself to engage in the m ... More >>

The Best Texas Country/Red Dirt Songs of the Past 15 Years

The 15 Best Songs From the Past 15 Years of Texas Country/Red Dirt/Whatever It's Called

As we look upon the massive machine Texas country has made chug along over the past several years, it's easy to see 1997 as a pivotal time. In college towns and major metropolises alike, the masses were demanding more music from people that shared their pride, enthusiasm and thirst for something dif ... More >>

New River Rules in New Braunfels Are Puttin' the Big Hurt on Tube Rentals on the Comal

Twice in my life I thought I was going to die. Both times were on the Comal River in New Braunfels at the exact same place about 20 years apart. For those of you who haven't been, along the river is what appears to be a completely docile 3-foot waterfall that looks like part of a ride at Hurricane H ... More >>

Ray Wylie Hubbard Through The Lens Of a New Generation

Ray Wylie Hubbard Through the Lens of a New Generation

The Dirty River Boys All-Time Top Five Texas Music Venues

Dirty River Boys - "Carnival Lights" from Compound Productions, LLC on Vimeo.Texas Music is a term so broad it barely means anything outside of basic geographical terms. And Texas Country is almost as uselessly generic, given the wide swath of acts and sounds that fit under the million-gallon hat th ... More >>

Javi Garcia Prefers Dark Subject Matter: "I Am Not Interested In Writing a Pop Song," He Says.

He's just 30 years old, but alt-country singer-songwriter Javi Garcia has the world weary soul and voice of someone in their 50s. As such, even though the New Braunfels native has only been playing music professionally for a couple of years, his songs reek with the pathos and anger of post-addicted ... More >>

Ryan Turner On Hank Williams, Kenny Chesney and The Problem With Modern Country

Opinionated, but still down-to-earth, Austin's Ryan Turner is the epitome of an old-school country singer. He prefers Merle Haggard to Kenny Chesney any day, and believes most popular country singers have simply lost their way. Turner has just released a new EP called Sweet Time, a five-song affa ... More >>

The Problem With... Lady Antebellum's "Just A Kiss"

Bless my lucky stars! Lady Antebellum is back on the charts! In the fall, they'll be releasing an album with the ominous title, Own The Night, which makes them sound like they're vampires or a street gang wearing 19th century dresses with huge skirts. I do declare: They must have watched Vampire D ... More >>

While Hinojosa Applied for Georgia Job in Secret, Texas Lawmakers Considered Making Superintendent Searches More Public

Photo by Patrick MichelsDISD Superintendent Michael Hinojosa at the Ann Richards Middle School groundbreaking ceremony earlier this year.​Right now, DISD trustees are meeting once again in closed session (Leslie drew the short straw on this one) to discuss their pick for an interim superintendent ... More >>

The Black Angels, Quiet Company, Whiskey Folk Ramblers Among New Dia De Los Toadies Adds

​Last we checked in with the booking goings-on for the fourth annual Dia de Los Toadies festival, there were only three bands attached to the thing: The Sword, Ume and, of course, the Toadies themselves.Now, almost three months later, the fourth annual late August festival in New Braunfels (get yo ... More >>

The Many, Ongoing Interests of Ray Wylie Hubbard

Toadies Announce The Sword and Ume As First Two Bands To Join 2011 Dia De Los Toadies Bill

​Back in January, the Toadies announced that, for the fourth year in a row now, they will be hosting another Dia de Los Toadies affair this summer on August 26 and 27. Then, in February, the band announced the location: This year's event will be taking place this year  at Whitewater Amphithea ... More >>

Gig Alert/Bonus MP3: Hear Drew Kennedy's "Rolling Around in the Bed," Then Go Ahead and Do It Again Tonight at Adair's

Drew Kennedy​New Braunfels' Drew Kennedy travels around Texas quite often, sharing stories and songs in the grand folk singer tradition. But there's more in Kennedy's bag than just some vagabond ideal.Kennedy comes across as a cleaner and less political version of Steve Earle; he's released three ... More >>

Dry Comal Creek Bottles Up
Something Really Dry

​Once known for making inconsistent, if not downright weedy wines, Texas winemakers have been slowly but surely improving quality as the vineyards become established, the vines get older, and the winemakers themselves receive better education, training, and practice in their craft. Also, learn ... More >>

Good Friday: Dia De Los Toadies, AllGood Cafe's 10-Year Anniversary Party, Spooky Folk, Little Black Dress, Ween, Frankie Muniz, Dead Confederate, The Cush, Bowling For Soup, Milton Hopkins, Florene, Spector 45, B.B. King and More...

​This weekend marks the third annual (and biggest yet) Dia De Los Toadies Festival.Each year the location of the festival changes, so The Toadies and nine other Texas bands will take over Whitewater On The Horseshoe in New Braunfels tonight, and all day tomorrow. This year's most exciting new addi ... More >>

Dia De Los Toadies III

Friday, August 27, and Saturday, August 28, at Whitewater On The Horseshoe in New Braunfels

100 Favorite Dishes: Double Cheese Potato Cakes At Red's Patio Grill

​As a countdown to the Dallas Observer's "Best of Dallas" 2010, City of Ate is serving up 100 of the favorite dishes we crave, savor and hope to scarf down again soon. These dishes are in no particular order. Some are little known, others celebrated. Some are pricey, others can be eaten on the che ... More >>

Dia de Los Toadies' Releases Final Lineup, Reminds Of Tubing Opportunities Afforded By New Fest Locale.

Lots of great shows coming up in the coming months--but you already knew that. Most likely, you already knew about the third annual Dia de Los Toadies fest on August 27 and 28 in New Braunfels, too.Did you know the complete lineup, though? It's got the Toadies (duh). But the all-Texas bill also feat ... More >>

Centro-matic, Three Others Added To The Third Annual Dia De Los Toadies Lineup--And Three Or Four More Adds Are Still To Come.

​ It was back in January that we passed along word of the return of the third annual Dia de Los Toadies festival, which this year will take place on August 27 and 28 at Whitewater on the Horseshoe in New Braunfels. Then, back in March, we passed along word of the first two impressive adds confirme ... More >>

Springtime for Dallas and Plano with Tequila and Chili at Red's Patio Grill

Photos by Chris MeeseyRed's fire-roasted chicken quesadillas.​Spring's awakening. The city returns to life after winter's long slumber. Of course, March means college basketball and St. Patrick's Day, but it also means the start of patio season, the all-too-brief time when we can dine alfresco be ... More >>

Toadies Announce Dia De Los Toadies Tres, Hint At As Many As Two New Releases in 2010

​A pretty exciting e-mail just popped up from the folks at Kirtland Records: Specifically, the release is centered around the Toadies, announcing the third annual Dia de Los Toadies Festival, which, in 2010, will take place at White Water Rocks in New Braunfels, between San Antonio and Austin, Tex ... More >>

Gig Alert: Wade Bowen, Sean McConnell, Adam Hood and Seth James at Poor David's Pub Tonight

​Folks who like their Americana earnest and earthy should think about heading down to Poor David's Pub tonight to catch a crowded bill of country singer-songwriters.Headlining this acoustic evening is Wade Bowen. Born and raised in Waco (although we shouldn't hold that against him), Bowen now resi ... More >>

Free Jenny

What's In My Closet? Jackass Edition

I did go 10 days without food and I'm committed to finishing this on December 13. But there was a time when I was a real, live thrill-seeker. Found some evidence recently. I wasn't insane in a Johnny Knoxville way or a one-on-one interview with Charles Haley sorta way, but as in "Hey, ... More >>

On The Range: Combination Plates

Dwight Eisenhower (right) took Mamie for a Tex-Mex combo plate at The Original Mexican Restaurant in San Antonio before WWILet's get one thing straight: Tex-Mex has never pretended to represent Mexican cuisine in its entirety. In fact, according to Robb Walsh, author of The Tex-Mex Cookbook, the ge ... More >>

Our Dallas Dynasty

Jack Lowe Is "Very Embarrassed " About DISD's $64 Million Budget Shortfall

Your Weekend Planner: Vacation Edition

Mark Cuban's Four-Letter Word

Darryl Lee Rush

Live from the River Road Icehouse (Palo Duro Records)

Trainer Keeps A-Rollin'

Re: Sam Coats' Concrete Problem

SMU Profs to Bush: Bring the Library if You Must, But Keep the "Think Tank"

Down South

The Ice House features art beyond the Trinity

Wheeler Dealers

Feds allege scam artists bilked Medicare for millions

Sisters in Crime

Female authors find a lucrative trade in Texas lawlessness

Pay for Play

Seventy-three DMNers get sent packing

Texas shtick

Love & War in Texas sounds more like a movie than a restaurant. Either way, it's an epic of indulgence.

Courthouse bully

Legal assistant Jim Carrao works the dark corners of the justice system. He serves papers, does background checks, files annoying cases--and knows just enough law to be dangerous.

The Chief of conjunto

Santiago Jimenez Jr. maintains his father's historic musical legacy

Hank, junior

Wayne Hancock rides shotgun down the Lost Highway