Several more venues are celebrating the holidays this week with showcases. The Meridian is hosting the annual Holiday Babes Christmas Party tomorrow night with our favorite local musical babe, Katie Stuckey. Verizon Wireless will be a haven for country singer/songwriter lovers tomorrow night (includes Roger Creager and Bruce Robinson). Warehouse Live celebrates twice with the Jingle Balls Friday night, showcasing local favorites Paris Green and Glass Intrepid, and their annual Eve of Christmas Eve......

Here are a few things that have been said about local rockers Southern Backtones. "The only way this could get any beautifully darker is if it grew black wings and flew away." - Ft. Worth Weekly "Alt-rock guitars, darkly poetic lyrics and a vocal style reminiscent of the mid-90s Britpop movement...the musicianship and songwriting on this effort are top notch. Highly recommended." - Exclaim! Canada's Music Authority "Smacks of mass appeal!" - Houston Press "If......

VIEWER'S CHOICE EDITION So tell us what you want, what you really, really want. Since the announcement that England's favorite fabulous five will be reuniting, we've been unable to concentrate on our weekend plans. With so much drama in the HOU, it's kinda hard figuring out what we should do. So we need your help. (in so many ways). Leave your comment as to what YOU think WE should do tonight. Here are our top......

The big show this week, of course, is the reunion of The Police. But if you don’t feel like paying $100 to see Sting sing songs he sings at his solo concerts too (OK, yes, it’s different since Summers and Copeland are with him, but is it that different?), then you can opt for some other good shows Friday night: singer/songwriter Radney Foster (now writing hits for other people) plays two shows at the......

Downtown is the place to be for Cinco de Mayo, everything's waiting for you! Commonly confused with Mexico's Independence Day - tomorrow is a celebration of General Seguin's victory over French occupational forces in the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. There's the Bayou City Crawfish Festival (which benefitsTexas EquuSearch - and has a mechanical bull that Sissy can ride!), the 7th Annual Dragon Boat Festival, held at Allen's Landing (1000 Commerce) AND Mas......

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!......

This year's music line-up for April's International Festival has been announced. It includes some alt.country, funk, blues, reggae, folk, cajun, and traditional African music. So what's this year's theme? You guessed it: China. Actually, the folks at iFest are good about booking a diverse array of musicians, no matter what the theme is. This year's headliner is one of our favorite singer/songwriters from the south: Lucinda Williams. 54 year-old Williams just released her first album......

This summer’s Houston Calling happy hour was such a success, that the blog is organizing another one with a new array of bands for this coming Monday, Oct. 23rd. Once again, some of Houston’s best local bands will be featured: the rock-flavored Bright Men of Learning, punk-rock Something Fierce, and alternative-rock Southern Backtones. You can preview these bands through this podcast. Houston Calling is a branch off the Done Waiting music website, and is focused......

Tuesday San Francisco’s Birdmonster has a good fan base on the west coast, and as their travels take them east, that base is growing. The alternative band influences include punk, country, and hip-hop, givng them their own original sound. Free show! Music: “Cause You Can” 9 p.m. at The Proletariat | info Wednesday Groups like the John Evans Band make you proud to be a Texan. Some call them rockabilly, but we think its......