Written by Eddie Ferranti It is amazing how time flies sometimes in the music world we live in. Seems like yesterday that we were hot on the trail of Hayes Carll’s career along with side kick buddy John Evans. The two had been paired as the Ego Brothers throwing wild Toga Party gigs at the…

Written by Eddie Ferranti Sometimes nostalgia creeps into a gig without even knowing it these days. Dating myself a tad, I flashed back to John Cameron Swayze doing the old Timex watch commercials about how they “Take a lickin’ and keep on tickin’” as I rocked the night away with the South Austin Moonlighters at…

Written by Eddie Ferranti Recently, I had the pleasure of taking my HMR Bossman, Samuel Barker, on a “Nickel Tour” of my birthplace in NE Ohio. We had a blast and it was more than ironic that the first gig I covered upon coming back to Houston was Chrissie Hynde and her new look Pretenders….

Written by Jim Bille The atmosphere at the Toyota Center was charged with anticipation when the The Black Keys brought their Turn Blue World Tour to Houston to perform to a near sellout crowd. With the release of their latest album, Turn Blue, the Keys are once again leading their fans down a new age…

Written by Jim Bille The Tedeschi Trucks Band is something special. By now everyone should be aware of this Beauty and the Beast combination, Beauty as in Tedeschi’s incredibly soulful voice and Beast as in Truck’s unworldly guitarmenship, if you don’t know about it you need to get out from under that rock and listen…

Written by Eddie Ferranti Cackalack, North Carolina is famous for some famous spice sauces derived from naturally delicious sweet potatoes among other things.  One of thee other things happens to be a gent by the name of Jonathan Byrd.    HMR saw him at this venue before, http://www.houstonmusicreview.com/mambo/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1840&Itemid=7) , but this go around a few things had…

Written by Robert B. Johnson (@RobertSatellite on Twitter) Just over six months ago, I saw Bastille for the first time. A band torpedoing into popular music, Bastille was sold out for months going into an April show at House of Blues. This time, Bastille returned to Houston’s rarely-used multi-purpose venue, NRG Arena (formerly Reliant Arena)….

Written by Robert B. Johnson (@RobertSatellite on Twitter) Writing a review for an Alt-J show is no easy task. Everything about the band is different. From the way they dress to the music they make, Alt-J is both nondescript and remarkably unique. When Alt-J played Houston’s Bayou Music Center, the band didn’t talk between songs…