Joe Nick Patoski

Hunting for Vinyl at the Largest Record Convention in the U.S.

April 9, 2024

A New Book Details the Life of Terry Allen and His ‘Truckload of Art’

March 18, 2024

Maybe you’ve seen Terry Allen’s work.
His sculpture Caw Caw Blues, which contains the ashes of his friend Guy Clark, stands sentinel at the entrance of The Wittliff Collections at Texas State University in San Marcos.

It’s a New Season for Fort Worth’s Abraham Alexander

February 2, 2024

With Valentine’s Day on the horizon, Abraham Alexander’s love song “Tears Run Dry” is filling the airwaves.” The track, which comes from his debut album, SEA/SONS, was inspired by the story of family friends celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary.

Singing Cowboy Tex Ritter’s Legacy Lives On

January 11, 2024

Of all the actors, musicians, sports figures, and entertainers known as Tex, the most famous is practically unknown to younger generations today.

How the Dallas Cowboys Became Kings of the Broadcast Booth

December 20, 2023

Remembering Fort Worth’s Caravan of Dreams

October 27, 2023

Forty years ago, a most unusual performance and arts space opened its doors in downtown Fort Worth.

Nothing Beat the Heat Like That Mexican OT’s ‘Johnny Dang’

September 12, 2023

It may not be Spotify’s most-streamed song of the summer (that would be Morgan Wallen’s “Last Night”), but “Johnny Dang” by That Mexican OT wins my vote for the Texas Song of the Summer 2023.

On the Hunt for Mack McCormick, a Houstonian and Folklorist Who Loved Texas Blues

July 28, 2023

The first time I saw Mack McCormick’s name, it was attached to the liner notes on the back of the first albums issued by Arhoolie Records, the storied American folk music label founded by Chris Strachwitz.

The Cricket Craze Comes to Texas

July 10, 2023

Go With the Flow on the Comal River

June 27, 2023

It’s high noon on a scorching Saturday in August, and I’m standing on the banks of Hinman Island

In Appreciation of Echo Bridge, the Coolest Music Venue in Texas

May 31, 2023

Set on the San Antonio River, where live oak, pecan, mesquite, and willow trees line the banks and create a shady, bucolic scene, Echo Bridge in San Antonio is the coolest music venue in Texas you’ve never heard of.

Weekend Getaways from Austin: Sonora and Blanco

May 30, 2023

In Remembrance of Inimitable Texas Writer John Nova Lomax

May 23, 2023

A Musical About El Camino Real de las Tejas Cranks Out a Colorful History

May 17, 2023

There are two great stories of Texas, as far as Brian Beattie is concerned. One is the Alamo, about which much has been written, honored, preserved, and mythologized.

“I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” Hitmakers The Triumphs Call It Quits One More Time

December 27, 2022

For a Quick Road Trip, the President’s Ranch Trail Takes You All the Way With LBJ

November 22, 2022

Texas Honky-Tonker Charley Crockett’s Journey from the Street Corner to the Marquee Lights

November 4, 2022

Joe Ely Looks Back on His 50-Year Career Ahead of Austin City Limits Hall of Fame Induction

October 21, 2022

A Brief History of the Rise and Rise of Texas Skyscrapers

October 7, 2022

Texas Producer Lloyd Maines Steps Out on His Own

September 13, 2022

The call came at the exact minute he said it would. “When you’ve been working in the studio for 50 years, you learn that,” the booming voice on the other end of the line said.

With New Performances, John Lomax III Fuels the Lomax Family Legacy of Preserving American Folk Songs

July 27, 2022

John Lomax III has been part of my music life for half a century. We were both budding music journalists for Country Music magazine back in the 1970s, and he’s one of those displaced Texans I’d see whenever I visited Nashville over the decades.

The Wild and Urban Brazos is a River Full of Contradictions

June 30, 2022

Meow Wolf Announces Plans for Texas Expansion in Grapevine and Houston

May 17, 2022

On our visit to Meow Wolf in Santa Fe back in 2018, my wife and I came out with slightly different opinions.

Kinky Friedman Introduces Gold Star Kids to the Land That Shaped Him

April 28, 2022

He’s the bard of the Hill Country—a satirist, author, singer-songwriter, raconteur, and equal-opportunity offender. He’s run for Texas governor, not to mention state agricultural commissioner and Kerr County justice of the peace.

With a New Album Out, 81-Year-Old Delbert McClinton Reflects on His Six-Decade Career

April 22, 2022

“You’re 81. What the heck are you making a new record for?”
It’s an honest, semi-innocent question to pose to singer-songwriter Delbert McClinton when I get him on the phone the other day.

Spring Road Trips: Scenic Drives, the Gulf Coast, Big Bend, and the ‘Eiffel Tower’ Await

March 25, 2022

Ready to take the roads less traveled? Among this group of spring road trips, you have an option to avoid the traffic of Interstate 35 from DFW to the Hill Country and discover a different route to journey out to Big Bend.

Experience Life in Texas’ Highest Community at McDonald Observatory

March 24, 2022

The astronomical research station in the Davis Mountains welcomes visitors for star parties and a sky-high lodge

Bobbie Nelson, Pianist and Big Sister to Willie Nelson, Dies at 91

March 11, 2022

He called her Little Sister Bobbie, but she was in fact Willie Nelson’s big sister in so many ways.

Spring Road Trips : From Kolaches to the Comanche to the Kings Highway

March 8, 2022

Warm weather has arrived, and so has the urge for adventure. The first of our two-part spring road trips series takes you on three different journeys: a kolache trail that offers two different routes to find the delicious Czech pastry; a drive following the steel arrows that recall the 19th-century era of Comanche Chief Quanah Parker; and an overnight journey following the historic El Camino Real, also known as the King’s Highway.

How to Find Wildflowers Year-Round Across the State

February 24, 2022

Wildflower season isn’t just a spring thing

Made in Louisiana and Revered in Texas, Cajun Music Legend Marc Savoy Has a Boundless Influence

December 15, 2021

Fossati’s Delicatessen in Victoria Is the Oldest Deli in Texas

November 24, 2021

It’s Closing Time for Longtime Austin Institution Dry Creek Cafe and Boat Dock

October 27, 2021

The Lost Gonzo Band Talks Jerry Jeff Walker, Austin Music in the ’70s, and Reuniting at Gruene Hall

October 15, 2021

The old band getting back together again is a familiar trope. But this isn’t any old band.

The Eastside Kings Festival Celebrates the Blues Music that Shaped Austin’s Scene

August 30, 2021

As an ambassador of Texas blues music, Eddie Stout has played bass in a number of bands, organized overseas tours for local blues musicians, and recorded more than 40 blues and roots artists for his Dialtone Records and Pee Wee Records labels.

McDonald Observatory and Big Bend Communities are Forming the World’s Largest Dark-Sky Preserve

August 4, 2021

Did you know that stars shine so bright in the West Texas desert that you can see in the dark on a clear night?

Remembering Bassist Dusty Hill, the Foundation of ZZ Top’s Enduring Texas Groove

July 29, 2021

The death of 72-year-old Joe Michael Hill in Houston on Tuesday marks the end of a remarkable life in music.

Take a Dip at Soon-to-Reopen Balmorhea Pool in West Texas

June 24, 2021

Behold the Bounty of the Blanco

June 24, 2021

San Antonio Accordion Master Flaco Jiménez Lets His Accordion Do the Talking

April 29, 2021

Leonardo “Flaco” Jiménez is San Antonio music royalty. Known as “El Rey de Texas” for his mastery of the accordion, the 82-year-old comes from a pioneering family of conjunto, the soul music of South Texas Mexican Americans.

A New Book Shines a Light on the Many Faces of Dallas-Fort Worth Musical History

April 27, 2021

Explore the Texas Panhandle with These Four Spring Daytrips

April 15, 2021

In the third part of our spring day drives series, we’re heading to the Texas High Plains.

Spring Into Action with Day Drives to the Davis Mountains, Rio Grande Valley, and Edwards Plateau

April 2, 2021

Whether you’re a Texas history buff or a fan of cowboy culture or an explorer of high-mountain peaks, these spring road trips are just what you need to get away for a day and visit parts of the state you may not normally think of for one-day excursions.

Spring Day Trips Around Austin, Houston and East Texas That Will Make You Want to Hit the Road

March 19, 2021

Even though COVID-19 restrictions have been eased, and more and more people are able to receive vaccines in the state, there is still a need to play it safe.

San Marcos’ Famed Sundance Records Pops Up This Week Before Reopening Permanent Store

March 8, 2021

A Traditional Healer Searches the Texas Brush Country for Medicinal Plants

February 25, 2021

Take a Trip with Musician Powell St. John’s Art at Waxahachie’s Webb Gallery

February 23, 2021

Almost 60 years ago, a trio of university students formed a folk music ensemble in funky little Austin.

The Rainbow Bridge of Southeast Texas: Making Drivers Think Twice Since 1936

January 16, 2021

I am looking at a picture of the Rainbow Bridge—and it gives me the creeps. The bridge is too high, the road rises at too sharp an angle.

Hey Baby, Que Taco! Flaco Jimenez’s Son Opens a Food Truck in San Antonio

January 12, 2021

For 13 years, Leonardo Jimenez has been a constant by the side of his father, Leonardo Sr., better known to the world as Flaco Jimenez, the San Antonio conjunto accordion legend and multiple Grammy Award winner.

6 Texas Daytrips to Drive Away the Winter Blues

December 30, 2020

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, my wife and I have been laying low. Our ages and autoimmune issues put us squarely in the highest at-risk category.