Music

Denton’s Uptown BumsYour dad’s favorite songwriter, Robert Earl Keen, plays Billy Bob’s Texas tonight; hard-rockin’ has-beens Van Halen will disappoint an arena full of nitwits Saturday; and former Fugee Wyclef Jean performs Sunday at the House of Blues while soul singer Sharon Jones performs with Amy Winehouse’s backing band, The…

On a Friday afternoon one week after the Transoma Five reunion show, Sloppyworld is doing a fantastic job of living up to its name. It’s dark and filthy, lit only by a few barely functioning fluorescent tubes. Dozens of bottles—empty, half-full or broken—litter the floor and every horizontal surface. Hundreds…

Sharon Jones doesn’t sugarcoat her words. “I’ve been to six funerals [recently]. I’ve sung at four,” she says. The 51-year-old soul singer has seen tough times lately, from her brother’s death and her mother’s stroke to the loss of many close friends, but she’s as resilient a survivor as you’re…

FADE IN: INT. MGM GRAND PENTHOUSE SUITE, LAS VEGAS (NIGHT) The camera lingers on the full-length windows and panoramic view of the glittering Strip below before slowly panning around the lavishly appointed room. WOLFGANG VAN HALEN sits on an overstuffed couch, playing Halo 3 on the room’s giant flat-screen TV…

Along with his backwoods drawl and folksy demeanor, singer and guitarist Malcolm Holcombe displays an alarming and plainspoken intensity that mirrors his passionate songs and performances. “It’s a fucked-up America,” Holcombe says. “I just try and put songs together that I think are befitting our time of crisis.” Driving through…

For Every Day is a quartet of really young guys from Flower Mound whose music contradicts both the members’ ages and their faith-based associations. Normally, religiously infused rock (especially that of the emo-punk variety) succumbs to vague references to finding the light and a limpid infirmity that makes one question…

North Carolina native Michael Holland has been an Americana sensation for more than 15 years, both as a solo performer and as a member of the acclaimed Jennyanykind. His most recent effort, Simple Truths and Pleasures, may be the best overall collection of folk, bluegrass and country he’s ever put…

Since releasing 2005’s Descending Like Vultures, Rogue Wave has found itself the victim of circumstances that pretty much measure up to its name. There was the split with Sub Pop, the record label that, among other successes, brought the San Francisco band exposure on TV shows such as Weeds, Friday…

Droning, disorienting, ominous and sometimes satirical, Dallas noise collective Loop 12’s sound-art compositions (the term “music” might be a bit restrictive here) definitely aren’t for everyone. Rickety analog tape equipment meets looping software as the musicians and artists compose these psychedelic soundscapes on the spot for each performance. The 10-minute…

With hip-hop increasingly a boys-only drug cartel, it’s not surprising that the top urban hit makers are increasingly females in the R&B genre. Like Alicia Keys on her recent chart-topper As I Am, Mary J. Blige plays things safe on her own new blockbuster CD, Growing Pains. The album functions…

In the ’70s, when Austin City Limits was just getting off the ground, Craig Calvert and Connie Mims brought Wheatfield to the Hill Country stage and found immediate success. Wheatfield’s slick, acoustic folk was the perfect panacea for those burned-out hippies looking to mellow out along the Colorado River. Eventually,…

Ross Cashiola, leader of the fascinating unit known as Hotel Brotherhood, splits his time between Chicago and, of all places, Marfa. But one could hardly think of a better environment for Cashiola to create his innovative mix of Nick Drake and Giant Sand. The sculptor/songwriter accepted an internship with an…