Classic Rock, Classic Country: As per usual, Willie Nelson will play two nights at The Backyard for both locals avoiding SXSW and tourists willing to skip one night of showcases to see Austin's most enduring music legend. Willie's shows are tentatively scheduled for 3/14 and 3/15, and will go on sale sometime in February. In another move designed to access some tourist dollars, Direct Events has announced a relatively intimate show with Van Morrison at the Austin Music Hall on Tuesday, March 11. Van the Man apparently hasn't heard about the looming recession, as tickets are priced from $102 to a whopping $257. ...

Formed from the ashes of Split Enz, Crowded House may well have been the best pure pop-rock group of their era. Twenty-two years after their beginnings in Melbourne, Australia, Neil Finn and Nick Seymour have brought back Crowded House's classic songwriting and effortless melodies via a new album and tour. The group disbanded in 1996 and has weathered the shocking suicide of founding member Paul Hester, the disconnect of distance (Finn lives in Auckland,......

Coldplay's Chris Martin recently described Travis as "the band that invented my band and lots of others." That should give most people a solid idea of what to expect when Glasgow's indie-pop quartet stop into Stubb's Thursday night. After debuting with the raucous pub rock album Good Feeling in 1997, the band did an about-face with 1999's The Man Who, a moody, ballad-filled acoustic record produced by Nigel Godrich (Radiohead, Beck) that produced several......

Manic Street Preachers - Send Away The Tigers: Over a decade removed from their masterpiece Everything Must Go, the Manics seem to finally return to the stadium-rock sounds of that album on Send Away The Tigers. While not as strong as Everything, the new album has several bright spots, most notably the so-cheesy-it's-awesome duet "Your Love Alone Is Not Enough" with The Cardigans' Nina Persson. While there are some awfully clunky lyrics ("I'm just......

As SXSW grows into an ever larger behemoth, touring acts have been increasingly drawn to its critical mass like pop matter into an indie black hole. Now it's not uncommon for the parties and music to begin well into the film and interactive festivals. This Saturday was good evidence of this trend, with parties like Local Music is Sexy (Full disclosure: Yes, it was an Austinist sponsored event) and bands like Snow Patrol, who......

FRIDAY [9] art • Grand Opening Party for DRAW, 150 artists strong at Gallery Lombardi (7pm - 10pm) comedy • Todd Barry, Matt Bearden at Emo's Lounge music • Deerhoof, Macromantics, Experimental Dental School at Emo's music • Primordial Undermind at End of an Ear (6pm, Free) music • The Everyday People CD Release Show with The Hero Factor, Live Oak Decline at The Parish Room music • Lucinda Williams, Heartless Bastards at Stubb's......

THURSDAY [8] film • Super Happy fun Monkey Bash 5 at Alamo Drafthouse Downtown film • Now That's What I Call a Singalong: Pop Royalty at Alamo Drafthouse Downtown film • Terror Thursday: The Beast Must Die at Alamo Drafthouse Downtown art • Opening Reception for "In My Stairwell" by Mark Seliger at Fielding Lecht Gallery (6-9pm) art • Artistic License: Matthew Day Jackson at The Blanton (6-7pm) art • Public Tour: The Geometry......

It's been nearly five years since an appearance on KCRW's "Morning Becomes Eclectic" rocketed Alexi Murdoch's songs into Honda commercials,The O.C., and Garden State. The teen drama association doesn't do justice to the careful and serious tone of Murdoch's music, which he recorded and released independently despite multiple offers from the major labels. After a long silence since his Four Songs EP, Murdoch's 2006 full-length debut Time Without Consequence didn't pander to casual fans.......

MONDAY [5] art • Opening Reception for Sarah Canright and Melissa W. Miller: Measured Strokes at The Sarofim School of Fine Arts, Fine Arts Gallery (6-7:30pm) benefit/music • Heather Love Fest Benefit with Dan Dyer & Friends, John Pointer, Govinda, DJ Chicken George, BIGFACE, DJ Mahealani, DJ Chris, DJ Trey Lopez,DJ Orian, Performance by the Super Sonic Soul Squad, Complimentary Appetizers and TONS of Raffle and Silent Auction Prizes at Saba, Cedar Street, and......

Now that we're in mid-January, club bookings for winter and spring shows are beginning to emerge. While much internet browsing has already been done looking for the SXSW 2007 lineup, there are also plenty of great touring shows dropping in outside of those dates (thankfully). New shows from The Roots, Explosions In The Sky, Midlake, and a Willie Nelson/Merle Haggard double bill top the new additions, but there is plenty here for all musical......

Yes, the holidays are here. Not only does this mean Christmas-themed beers and colder weather, but it also heralds the ubiquitous radio station holiday concert. Tonight, it's 101X's turn, as they bring a triple bill of artists to the intimate room at Antone's. Headlining is New Jersey's Pete Yorn, a guy who obviously listens to lots of earnest stuff like Bruce Springsteen. Luckily for Pete, Bruce is this year's band to emulate, so songs......

Well, it certainly feels like winter. This marks a usually slow time on the roadshow scene, as bands head home for the holidays and clubs close up shop. Not so fast, though: December is still unusually active this year on the Austin music calendar, so have a look below and see which acts you should bundle up and head out to. December: 12/01 FunFunFun: Spoon, Peaches, Prefuse 73 + more (Waterloo Park) 12/01 Dressy......

- Wild Horses Couldn't Sell Those Cheap Seats: Charles Attal must be having some trouble filling those far corners of Zilker Park, because KGSR sent out an email this week offering four Rolling Stones tickets and four concert T-Shirts for $199. If you're keeping score, this is roughly half of the original $95 ticket cost. If you'd like to take advantage of the offer, head over here. - New Concerts Going On Sale his......

A few years ago, Snow Patrol were broke guys in Scotland with a knack for writing jangly rock songs. These days, their latest album debuted in the Billboard Top 40 and at #1 in the UK, they spent last year opening for U2, and their last CD went triple platinum in Europe. While Snow Patrol have already played Austin twice this year (at Stubb's in March and May), they'll be back in the States......

When we were in high school, we used to put on our hemp necklaces, Doc Martens, and zip-off pants and go to concerts like Edgefest – you know, big generic shows filled with big, generic bands and thousands of kids dressed just like us taking in the music under a haze of very low-quality smoke. The Snow Patrol show this past Friday at Stubb’s gave us some unfortunate flashbacks. Nothing's wrong with Snow Patrol,......

FRIDAY [26] [party] Salvage Vanguard Theater opening party at 2308 Manor Rd (Free, 6-10pm) [link] [DJ] Escape Hatch with DJ Starsign at Shady Tree Studios (Free, 7-10pm) [link] [music] Liars, The Apes, and Deerhunter (inside) at Emo's [link] [music] Pinback and Mary Timony (outside) at Emo's [link] [music] Snow Patrol and the Duke Spirit at Stubb's [link] [music] Black Tusk, Vitality (Houston), Bitter End, Balls Out, Navajo Radio, G&G, Porch Crowd, Not The Government at......

Irish indie rockers Snow Patrol released their second US album, Eyes Open, earlier this month, following up on the tremendous success of their debut stateside LP, Final Straw. "Run" reached the top 5 in the UK singles chart; its eminently singable chorus and mainstream accessibility ensured their status as one of the most popular British bands here in the states (according to wiki, "Run" was played roughly twenty eight thousand times on US radio stations......

MONDAY [22] [film] Letters from the Other Side at Congregational Church of Austin (7pm, Free) [link] [film] Hands on a Hard Body at Austin Java (8pm, Free) [link] [film] Jarhead at Cafe Mundi (8pm, Free) [link] [film] True Stories at Rounders Pizzeria (8pm, Free) [link] [film] Salt of the Earth at MonkeyWrench Books (8pm, $5) [link] [film] Anime Monday at Ventana del Sol (7:30pm) [link] [tv] 24 Season Finale at Alamo Downtown (7pm, Free) [link]......

With new shows on sale from Sonic Youth, INXS, Echo and the Bunnymen, and Rancid, it seems to be college radio nostalgia week for the concert update. There are also a nice batch of new indie shows, including Tapes 'n' Tapes for Pitchfork fans, Dios Malos for the mellow types, The Futureheads for the edgy punky stuff, and even Tilly and the Wall for you tap dancers. On with the shows: May: 5/10 -......

Last week, we posted a major concert update for May and June. If you missed it, just click the Expand-O-Tron for the recap. You're welcome. This week has already brought a flurry of updates including two new shows at The Backyard. Here they are (Austinist looks out): 5/28 - Eagles Of Death Metal @ The Parish Room 6/03 - Film School + Margot & The Nuclear So-And-Sos @ Emo's 6/10 - Radio 4 +......

Summer is coming, and the post-SX lull appears to be ending for Austin gigs. Many SX bands are scheduling return appearances, and our outdoor venues are beginning to release May and June schedules. The following list offers some highlights (for comprehensive listings, check Pollstar or Showlist Austin): 4/15 - Calexico (free early show) @ Emo's 4/15 - Deathray Davies + The M's @ Emo's 4/24 - TV on the Radio + Celebration @ Emo's......

Alright. It’s a bit late for you to be trying to get reasonable entrance into anything now. So, unless you’re willing to pony-up some serious duckets for a wristband/badge/handgun, you’re going to need an alternate plan to view/hear live music. For free. Throw free booze or maybe even some free food on there too. Fuck it! It's the SxSW 2006 Free-Day-Party-type Party Time. But you have to understand that the free day/night venues/parties must......

Ladies and gentlemen, fair folk of Austin: Coachella is awesome. The festival gates opened at 11, but we decided to start the day off with a lazy swim at the resort pool and thus didn't arrive until 3. The traffic and lines were horrendous, rendered even worse by the midday sun, but these were to be expected so we shrugged them off. Snow Patrol delivered a strong set at the main stage featuring songs off......

It's the night before Austinist embarks on our Spring Road Trip to the Coachella Music Festival in the California desert, and we've all but finalized our itinerary and list of distractions to keep our eyes off the road. Here's what we're taking along for the ride out and back: All those recent copies of New Yorker, The Nation, The Believer, Harper's, Saveur, Paste, and maybe even the piles of SXSW schwag that have been......

FRIDAY [fun] Austinist contributors Katie Spence & Reed Becker will be wandering around Austin's "financial district" wearing Ken Lay masks in support of the new documentary film, "Enron: The Smartest Guys In The Room" - 2ish this afternoon [art] Tex-Mex Casserole Opening Party at Flux (new collaborative work from Dennis Hodges & Brandon Petree. 6-10) [music] Crack Pipes Record Release party at Beerland (with John Schooley & His One-man Band) [music] True Penny at El......