Joe Nick Patoski

Senior writer Joe Nick Patoski has been writing about Texas and Texans for more than 50 years. The author of books about Willie Nelson, Selena, Stevie Ray Vaughan, the Dallas Cowboys, and Austin, Patoski hosts the weekly Texas Music Hour of Power on Marfa Public Radio and Wimberley Valley Radio. He lives near the Hill Country community of Wimberley.

Visit his website at joenickp.com.

Latest

A white building with a red door and a mural with a man and woman dancing

Gary McKee Is Keeping Texas Polka’s Spirit Alive

By Joe Nick Patoski

April 27, 2026

Two people and a dog sit on a transparent kayak that is underlit, illumiinating grassy waters.

Go Night Kayaking on These Texas Waters

By Joe Nick Patoski

March 24, 2026

Texas Spring Brings a Bounty of Birds

By Joe Nick Patoski

March 20, 2026

More

Winter Is the Unsung Season of Birding in Texas

By Joe Nick Patoski

February 5, 2026

Two people fly-fishing in a river surrounded by bare trees

Chasing Rainbows on the Guadalupe River

By Joe Nick Patoski

December 18, 2025

Selena Transcends Generations at The Wittliff Collections’ New Exhibit

By Joe Nick Patoski

November 13, 2025

Discover Ancient History on a Tour of the Gault Site

By Joe Nick Patoski

October 10, 2025

A scenic shot of a Hill Country river.The river glistens under a sunny sky surrounded by trees

Reflecting on the Hill Country’s Rivers After the Floods

By Joe Nick Patoski

July 17, 2025

A Summer Guide to the Guadalupe River

By Joe Nick Patoski

June 9, 2025

A New Book Looks at 100 Years of Austin Music

By Joe Nick Patoski

March 20, 2025

Wemby’s An All-Star in These San Antonio Murals

By Joe Nick Patoski

February 13, 2025

A man in a cowboy hat sits on a massive sculpture of a pair of orange and white cowboy boots.

Roadside Oddities

Roadside Oddity: The World’s Largest Cowboy Boots

By Joe Nick Patoski

December 19, 2024

A close up of a man in a black shirt with a guitar in hand and microphone in front of him inside a studio. Another man with a guitar is in the background.

Houston’s Full Moon Band Returns

By Joe Nick Patoski

November 8, 2024

A man in amber-tinted sunglasses stands out front of a church on a city street

Meet the Friendliest Tour Guides in Texas

By Joe Nick Patoski

October 22, 2024

An older man stands on stage in front of a microphone stand with his arms held open on his sides and palms facing up. The room is painted red with multicolored Christmas lights hanging overhead.

American Folk Music Honors the Lomax Family Legacy

By Joe Nick Patoski

October 14, 2024

A man in a red button-down shirt and red sunglasses stands next to a small glider plane in the desert.

Gliding Through the Skies Over Marfa

By Joe Nick Patoski

October 11, 2024

In Search of Bozo Texino

By Joe Nick Patoski

September 11, 2024

Umbrellas line the shore in front of a grassy knoll, looking out at a vast expanse of clear blue water and waves in the Gulf

A Tropical Getaway on South Padre Island

By Joe Nick Patoski

September 5, 2024

A man in swimwear rides a surfboard on a large blue wave

A Texan Learns to Surf at 72

By Joe Nick Patoski

June 3, 2024

A person rides a surfboard in blue water beneath a gray sky

Beat the Heat at These Texas Water Parks

By Joe Nick Patoski

June 3, 2024

A row of Cadillac cars buried in an open field

Fifty Years of Cadillac Ranch

By Joe Nick Patoski

June 1, 2024

Are You a True Texan?

By Amy McCarthy, Asher Elbein, Joe Nick Patoski, Kristin Finan, Melissa Gaskill, Robyn Ross, and S. Kirk Walsh

April 30, 2024

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

By Joe Nick Patoski

April 9, 2024

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

By Joe Nick Patoski

March 18, 2024

A man with a red bandana around his neck in an empty theatre filled with red seats

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

By Joe Nick Patoski

February 2, 2024

Singing Cowboy Tex Ritter’s Legacy Lives On

By Joe Nick Patoski

January 11, 2024

How the Dallas Cowboys Became Kings of the Broadcast Booth

By Joe Nick Patoski

December 20, 2023

Remembering Fort Worth’s Caravan of Dreams

By Joe Nick Patoski

October 27, 2023

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

By Joe Nick Patoski

September 12, 2023

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

By Joe Nick Patoski

July 28, 2023

The Cricket Craze Comes to Texas

By Joe Nick Patoski

July 10, 2023

Go With the Flow on the Comal River

By Joe Nick Patoski

June 27, 2023

Photo shows underneath the bridge, with a band playing in the distance at the base of an arch, with trees on the sides of the arch. Clouds in the sky are pink from the setting sun.

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

By Joe Nick Patoski

May 31, 2023

Weekend Getaways from Austin: Sonora and Blanco

By Joe Nick Patoski

May 30, 2023

In Remembrance of Inimitable Texas Writer John Nova Lomax

By Joe Nick Patoski

May 23, 2023

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

By Joe Nick Patoski

May 17, 2023

Explore Rio Grande Valley Wilderness at Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge

By Joe Nick Patoski

December 29, 2022

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

By Joe Nick Patoski

December 27, 2022

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

By Joe Nick Patoski

November 22, 2022

A colorful illustration of a man in a cowboy hat in a desert scene

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

By Joe Nick Patoski

November 4, 2022

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

By Joe Nick Patoski

October 21, 2022

An artist rendering of the Austin skyline with the Waterline on the right of the photo. Soaring to 1,022 feet, Waterline will become the tallest tower in Texas when it opens in 2026. Source: Atchain

A Brief History of the Rise and Rise of Texas Skyscrapers

By Joe Nick Patoski

October 7, 2022

Texas Producer Lloyd Maines Steps Out on His Own

By Joe Nick Patoski

September 13, 2022

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

By Joe Nick Patoski

July 27, 2022

An overhead view of Waco, with Baylor stadium on the right and the Brazos river separating two sides of the city

The Wild and Urban Brazos is a River Full of Contradictions

By Joe Nick Patoski

June 30, 2022

Meow Wolf Announces Plans for Texas Expansion in Grapevine and Houston

By Joe Nick Patoski

May 17, 2022

An illustration of a man in a black cowboy hat smoking a cigar

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

By Joe Nick Patoski

April 28, 2022

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

By Joe Nick Patoski

April 22, 2022

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

By Joe Nick Patoski

March 25, 2022

Experience Life in Texas’ Highest Community at McDonald Observatory

By Joe Nick Patoski

March 24, 2022

Get more Texas in your inbox

Sign up for our newsletters and never miss a moment of what's happening around the state.