It's official: Houston is taking it's A game to Austin for the 2008 South By Southwest music showcase. From March 12 through 16, you can catch some of your favorite local acts play in the so-called music mecca of the American South. Some of our favorites get to tackle the festival, including Katie Stuckey and (The Band Formerly Known As) The Dimes. In fact, Austin will get the full spectrum of Houston music this year.......

A lighter week for concerts, but many home-state bred musicians are in town. Tomorrow night, we recommend San Antonio's Girl In A Coma, but if you prefer 90's rock, you might want to catch Dallas' The Toadies return to Verizon Wireless. Speaking of returns, Bandera's Robert Earl Keen brings his annual Christmas show to town Friday night. Saturday, Warehouse Live is hosting a few local bands, headlined by Million Year Dance. Not from Texas,......

The day was sunny with very few clouds overhead. The music was local and there was lots of it. Over fifty bands were scheduled to perform in the span of about nine hours at three locations with five stages and the block party fans came out in force to soak up the sun and music. There were artists, creating and selling art, there were art installations, a smattering of food and merchandise vendors. There was......

Local bands AWAKE and Together. We Are Instruments play at the ultra-hip Super Happy Fun Land. Other local favorites Prodigal Sons and Lanky open for emerging Geffen pop artist Matt White at Jet Lounge. Thursday, check out Twelve Girls Band: a dozen classically-trained musicians (all women, of course) playing both traditional Chinese songs and popular pop songs. Friday night, Beaumont's own classic blues-rocker Johnny Winter returns to Houston at the Meridian. Saturday, block-off your......

Last night, Warehouse Live played host to the annual Houston Press Music Awards. Houstonist was there to absorb all of the entertainment and was treated to some of the best local music around. The Dimes (pictured above) walked away as big winners, with three awards – Best New Act, Best Indie Rock, and Song of the Year, for “Delilah,” which they performed on stage midway through the night. Other performers included Million Year Dance......

As you get ready to head out for your July 4th holiday, we thought you might like to have some tunes to play on the way. Houstonist contributors have put together a collection of songs that are currently on the most played list on our iPod. There is a variety, so you should find something you like (and if you're open-minded musically, you'll probably like them all). This month, we have a couple of Houston......

Back in January, B.B. King had to cancel two shows at the Grand 1894 Opera House in Galveston at the last minute while he was rushed to UTMB for flu symptoms. We're glad to have him back: his make-up shows are this Thursday and Friday night in Galveston. John Mayer and Ben Folds play a double bill in The Woodlands on Saturday. Australian rock band Wolfmother hits Warehouse Live on Sunday. The best bet......

Just because there are no multi-million selling artists coming into town this week doesn't mean you should sit home. Actually, it's a great week to check out some quality local and regional artists. The Continental Club is hosting a killer Texas country/rock line-up Saturday night -- it includes Hayes Carll, Jesse Dayton and The Weary Boys. Also, Houston's Arthur Yoria is celebrating the release of his new CD at Rudyard's the same night. Other......

Here are some upcoming shows that were recently announced: Norah Jones – 6/12 @ Jones Hall Dave Matthews Band/Robert Earl Keen – 9/21 @ Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion The highlight of the week has to be indie-band Clap Your Hands Say Yeah's show Thursday night at Warehouse Live. However, some of the graying crowd may prefer the combo of Chicago and Kool & the Gang in The Woodlands on Friday (and we wonder how......

Looking for something to do this weekend? Look no further than, well, just keep looking at what your reading. Two great festivals begin this weekend, and both continue next weekend. Lucky you. Double your pleasure, double the fun. Houston International Festival: iFest Spotlights China Sorry if you missed the Houstonist ticket giveaway, we are all out. But you can still see some of the greatest acts visiting Houston this year for only $10. A steal!......

Last week, we told you about many of the SXSW bands doing “layover” shows in Houston. Well, Super Happy Fun Land is taking it one step further by hosting the SXSW Overflow Fest 2007, which officially kicked off over this past weekend. Don’t worry, you still have plenty of chances to see several dozen new, independent musicians from all over. If tonight doesn’t work for you, there’s always Tuesday night, Wednesday night, etc. Each night......

It’s a Whitman’s Sampler of concerts this week: metal, blues, alternative, country, Celtic, zydeco, reggae, etc. If you can find the genre you like, that’s your problem. May we suggest Raul Malo tomorrow night at Warehouse Live. The former leader of The Mavericks recently released an album of covers that seriously challenge the originals. Also, the H-Town Blues Festival sounds like a good line-up (you may want to bring your Prozac). And metal is......

Wednesday You can call him Black Francis or Frank Black, it doesn’t matter. What does matter, is that the Pixies leader is playing solo shows again, after a very successful reunion tour with his band over the past two years. We’d love to see Kim Deal as a surprise guest, but we won’t hold our breath. 8 p.m. at the Meridian | tickets and info Bound Stems is a “math rock” band. What is......