Chance the Rapper at 713 Music Hall, Houston
Saturday at 713. Stix on drums, Peter Cottontale on keys. Blessings turned the room into a choir.
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Moody Studios
Moody Studios. Austin. How a night — or a product — lands.
The Fold 8 Was Already the Book. Duo Is Apple Catching Up.
Samsung’s compact Fold 8 has been on people’s radar since July. Apple just put the same passport on a keynote and asked a hundred dollars more.
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Apple Folded the iPhone. The Hinge Is Two Grand.
Duo is a passport that opens to 7.6 inches and starts at $1,999. The slab still ships. The fold waits until October.
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Score Hit Home. I Couldn’t Wait.
The hype got me before Reel. A second-chance love story that will not skip the bipolar, the Harlem Renaissance, or the cost of staying. Book one is next.
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The Catfish Is Wearing Their Own Face Now
Credential catfishing does not steal a likeness. It builds a job, a degree, a roster spot — and sells the trust that comes with it.
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Dating Apps Want Your Face Before They Let You In
Tinder is making Face Check a condition of being on the app. A password can be changed. A face cannot.
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Beyoncé Reopened B’Day and Put Selena on It
Twenty years after her birthday album, the deluxe puts Houston on the spine: Slim Thug was already there. The Selena estate said yes.
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The Soul Train Awards Are Coming Back. CBS Has to Carry Them Too.
BET taped the last one in 2023, then paused the franchise. November 27 it returns from Chicago — on BET, and on CBS for the first time.
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Before the World Blows, Dallas Heard Erykah Badu First
She and The Alchemist finished a sixteen-track record in Dallas and Los Angeles. Last Wednesday she played it on vinyl downtown. Friday it went out.
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Shonda Rhimes Just Locked Another Five Years at Netflix
Shondaland stays exclusive to Netflix for television and film — and the deal keeps going into games, merch, and live rooms. Terms were not disclosed.
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The Room Versus the Record
A live night moves a body with other bodies. A record lets the feeling be repeated, paused, and survived. Both are medicine. They are not the same dose.
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Going to the Show Alone
A solo ticket is not a last resort. It is how a lot of people learn the room — and sometimes, other people — without performing a group chat.
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What Dolly Parton Left Black Culture — and What She Practiced
She died Tuesday in Nashville at 80. The catalog was country. The method was how she treated people when the hit left her hands.
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Gladys Knight Is Easing Off the Road. Dallas Is Still on the Calendar.
The Empress of Soul is not retiring. She is choosing fewer nights. Riverfront Jazz Festival still has her name on Friday.
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The Analog Week: Books, Records, and a Walkman Against the Noise
People are going back to objects that cannot ping. A novel, a record, a cassette. The point is not nostalgia. The point is a door the feed cannot open.
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ChatGPT Built a Version for Teens. Parents Still Cannot Read the Chats.
OpenAI turned on ChatGPT for Teens with study mode, quiet hours, and a hard limit: linked parents do not get the transcript.
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Staying Steady When the Week Will Not Sit Still
The news is loud. The feed is loud. The show is loud. Steady is not a mood. It is a few rooms you return to on purpose.
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The Mask Was Never Just About Them
A photo on a D.C. train became a metaphor for racism. It is also a picture of what it costs to look fine.
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A Week of Living Like the Album
Playlists flatten a record into a mood. An album week is the older practice: one body of work, seven days, no shuffle.
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House-Show Etiquette When You’re Not on the List
House shows are filling living rooms across Texas again. The door is not a club — and the neighbors are part of the night.
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Texas Is Not a Layover
Texas dates keep getting used as a hallway between coasts. The buildings will take the money. The cities are not the buildings.
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The Room Already Knew the Words
Singles fill a room. Deep cuts tell you who has been living with the album. Texas nights keep proving the difference.
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The Bag They Will Let Through
Clear tote or a clutch the size of a wallet. Moody Center, Toyota Center, and the clubs are not running the same rulebook — but they are all running one.
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Charge It Before You Leave
A dead phone at let-out is how a ticket, a ride, and a group chat disappear at the same time. Charge it at home. Carry a small battery.
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Wear the Damn Earplugs
Texas clubs, sheds, and arenas will cook an unprotected ear. Concert plugs cut the damage and leave the mix standing.
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The Camera They Will Let You Bring In
A photo pass is a different night. For a general-admission ticket, the camera that gets through is the one that does not come apart.
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I Hope a Love Like This Never Finds Me.
I had a great time with Obsession. I also spent the whole back half going please do not let anybody love me like that.
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Stop Calling It a Throwback
Juvenile in San Antonio. Mary J. Blige at Moody Center. Nobody in those rooms was visiting the past.
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The Pregame Is the Night
The set is two hours. A pregame that turns the ticket into a rumor is a wasted night. Eat. Water. Leave for the door with time to spare.
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Church to Club and Back
Choir on Sunday. Somebody’s cousin DJing on Saturday. Texas rooms have been bilingual. The contradiction is pretending anyone has to pick.
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Afroman at Echo Lounge, Dallas
Quentin Moore and Jo La Fo opened. Then the flag fit, the jeweled cup, and Because I Got High. Echo Lounge got the bit.
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The Afters Problem
Most Texas rooms empty at 11. House lights are not a closing time. They are a transfer. Know the next room before the encore.
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Wale and Smino at South Side, Dallas
Third and last Texas date on Everything Is A Lot. South Side Ballroom was packed. Same tour as Stubb’s, different building.
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Wale and Smino Brought “Everything Is A Lot.” to Stubb’s in Austin
A new album, a first co-headline, and a Stubb’s crowd that knew every word.
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Juvenile Took San Antonio Back to the 99 and the 2000s
Boiling Point Tour. Young Juve mid-set. Then Ha, Slow Motion, and Back That Azz Up. San Antonio did not come for a museum.
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Sabrina Claudio Brought the Room Down at Echo Lounge
Dylan Sinclair opened. Then Claudio held Echo Lounge with stillness and a voice that does not need a light show.
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A Twisted Fairytale With Real Emotional Depth. I Was Not Ready.
When the Wolf Comes Home by Nat Cassidy
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My First Historical Romance and It Was a Perfect Introduction to the Genre
The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden
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A Slasher Made Cozy — And Somehow It Absolutely Works
The Autumn Springs Retirement Home Massacre by Philip Fracassi
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The Ending Had Me In My Feelings and I Was Not Prepared For That
Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy
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Goddamnit, Donut. This Book Has No Business Being This Good.
Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman
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LOVB Austin Survives Madison in Five
There is a specific kind of volleyball that only happens in a fifth set. The score resets, the crowd gets louder than it’s been all night, and every single point feels like it costs something. LOVB Austin found that version of themselves on Friday and it was worth the three sets it took to get there. Austin took down LOVB Madison 25–19, 14–25, 23–25, 25–20, 15–13 in a match that had no business being that tense and was better for it. The win moves them to 6–5 on the season. Madison came out swinging in sets two and three and
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I Read the Book. I Watched the Movie. I Have Feelings About Both.
Indifferent. Could have lived without the movie existing. Amanda Seyfried deserved better material.
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YFN Lucci Brought the Already Legend Tour to Dallas and the City Showed Up
Already Legend Tour in Dallas. YK Neice and OMB Peezy on the stage. The room knew the words before he opened his mouth.
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My First Pandemic Novel and It Hit Harder Than I Was Ready For
Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng by Kylie Lee Baker
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This Book Just Felt Good and Sometimes That’s Exactly What You Need
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
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This Book Wrecked Me and I Mean That as the Highest Compliment
Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby
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Good on Its Own, Just Harder to Appreciate After the First Book
This Could Be Us by Kennedy Ryan
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Disturbing AF. Also Has a Real Point. Both Can Be True.
Tender Is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica
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I Bought It for the Cover. The Book Was Fine but the Cover was Great.
Home Is Where the Bodies Are by Jeneva Rose
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John Marrs Does Twists and I Keep Falling For It Every Time
Dead in the Water by John Marrs
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Had Me Then Lost Me — Which Is Its Own Kind of Annoying
My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
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Austin Keeps Finding Ways to Win the Fifth Set
LOVB Austin is building a reputation for themselves in fifth sets and Wednesday night at Cedar Park was more of the same. Atlanta pushed them to the limit across five sets and Austin came out on top anyway, 25–22, 21–25, 25–14, 21–25, 15–13, moving to 5–3 on the season. It wasn’t clean. Sets two and four belonged to Atlanta entirely and there were stretches where Austin looked like they were still working something out. Head coach Eric Sullivan said as much after the match. “We still have some stuff we have to smooth out and figure out,” he said, “but
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So Many Twists. I Was Confused. I Was Also Invested the Whole Time.
My Husband’s Wife by Alice Feeney
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That Twist Had Me Staring At the Ceiling for Twenty Minutes
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
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62 Pages That Hit Harder Than Books Four Times as Long
The Yellow Wall-Paper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
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The Book Wrecked Me. The Show Just Made It Worse. Highly Recommend.
Watched this immediately after the book. Still wow. Still wtf.
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More Questions Than Answers and Somehow That’s Exactly Right
I Who Have Never Known Women by Jacqueline Harpman
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A Great Concept That Ran Out of Story Before It Ran Out of Pages
A Short Walk Through a Wide World by Douglas Westerbeke
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Emma Stone, Yorgos Lanthimos, and a Satirical Gut Punch I Was Not Expecting
Dark satire, conspiracy theories, Emma Stone. Yes. Also — this film is doing something real.
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Matt and Ben in a Cop Movie Should Have Been Easier Than This
It lost my attention early. Not bad, not good. Somewhere in between.
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Tessa Thompson Walked Into My Netflix Queue and Rearranged My Weekend
Thoroughly enjoyed this before the big twist. And then the big twist happened.
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This One Hit Different And I Can’t Fully Explain Why
Let Me Write This Gently, My Baby by Lisa Marie Lovett
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Watched It After the Hype Died. Now I Understand the Hype.
So bizarre but I thoroughly enjoyed this. The hype was not lying.
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Sarah Snook Put That in a Body Bag and I Binged All Eight Episodes in a Day
Caught my attention in the first ten minutes and I did not leave.
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LOVB Austin Survives Five-Set Battle in Season Opener
The home squad proved they can dig deep when it counts If you showed up to H-E-B Center on Wednesday night expecting a clean sweep, you clearly haven’t been paying attention to how professional volleyball works. LOVB Austin’s season opener against Nebraska was messy, intense, and exactly the kind of back-and-forth battle that makes this sport worth watching. Austin took it in five (22–25, 25–20, 22–25, 25–22, 15–9) but not before Nebraska reminded everyone why they’re not to be taken lightly. The Give and Take Nebraska came out swinging and took the first set off a series of long rallies
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The Chimp Won. I Came Ready to Be Disappointed and He Won.
I went in expecting to roll my eyes for ninety minutes. That did not happen.
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YFN Lucci & Friends at Winter Fest
Day after Christmas at Freeman Coliseum. Dee Baby, Boston Richey, OMB Peezy, then Lucci. San Antonio packed the bill.
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Mario at Echo Lounge
Nothing But Us Tour at Echo Lounge. Close enough that the hits felt like they were in the room with you.
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GIVĒON Brought Dear Beloved to Irving
Dear Beloved Tour at the Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory. Free Nationals and Sasha Keable on the bill.
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Tyler Perry’s Straw, and Whether I’m Tired
Tyler Perry’s Straw has people split. Black women unraveling in silence again. Some of that is real. The loop is still a loop.
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ACL 2025: Heat, T-Pain, Doechii, and Shania Walking Out
Zilker in the dust. Eight dollars for water. T-Pain made 2008 stand up. Doechii stole the weekend. Sabrina brought Shania. I still went.
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Teddy Swims at Moody Amphitheater
I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy at Waterloo Park. Cian Ducrot opened. Texas got three of these dates.
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Timbaland Made an AI Girl from the Bronx and People Are Right to Be Mad
Stage Zero. TaTa. Suno, ChatGPT, a backstory, a career. Real women from that zip code are still waiting on a call.
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Brandy and Monica Are Finally Touring Together
The Boy Is Mine Tour, Oct. 16 through Dec. 7. Kelly Rowland, Muni Long, Jamal Roberts. A full R&B night, not two hits and a DJ.
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GloRilla Went Back to Church in the “Rain Down On Me” Video
Kirk Franklin, Maverick City, Kierra Sheard, lace socks, choir robes. Gloria Hallelujah Woods never left.
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Cardi B’s Second Album Is Called Am I the Drama? Of Course It Is
Seven years after Invasion of Privacy. Am I the Drama? lands September 19. Twenty-three tracks.
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Coco Jones at Emo’s. No Band. That Voice.
Packed Emo’s. Lady London opened. No band, two dancers, a mic — then Here We Go (Uh Oh) snatched the room back.
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Wu-Tang at Moody Center
Forever: The Final Chamber at Moody Center. Run the Jewels opened. C.R.E.A.M., Method on the barricade, champagne.
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Kehlani’s “Folded” Is a Quiet Goodbye
Clothes still folded. Door still open. Not a screaming breakup song — the kind that stays in the car.
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Atlanta Tech Week Looked Like Us
RenderATL, Tech Square, a rooftop with AfroFuture. Black engineers as the room, not the diversity slide.
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My First Austin FC Game
Q2 against Portland. Black and verde, drums before kickoff. The supporters’ section knew every chant.
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Mario, then Ne-Yo, then Mary. No More Drama turned Moody Center into church.
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LOVB Austin vs. Madison at Strahan, Five Sets
March 29 at Strahan. Five sets. Annie Drews Schumacher had 30. Madison closed 15-11 in the fifth.
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Austin Spurs Beat Salt Lake in Cedar Park
Western Conference semis, April 3, H-E-B Center. Flynn 28. Duke Jr. a double-double. 123-113.
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Eric Bellinger at The Parish
Around the World Tour at The Parish. Mic on. Jastin Martin opened and came back out with him.
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Tyler, The Creator Turned Moody Center Into His House
CHROMAKOPIA at Moody Center. Lil Yachty opened. Shipping containers, a living-room stage, Yonkers through the new album.
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Kehlani, EmpowHer, and a Show That Didn’t Happen
EmpowHer postponed over a “safety & security matter.” She had posted about Palestine. The cancellation still happened.
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Sinners Is a Vampire Movie Until It Isn’t
Coogler, 1930s Mississippi, Michael B. Jordan as twins, a juke joint. There are vampires. That is not really what it is about.
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DreamCon Is Going to Houston
RDCWorld’s con heads to Houston. Black anime, gaming, cosplay. Megan Thee Stallion on the bill.
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RiverBeat in Memphis: Mud, Missy, and the River
Tom Lee Park, May 2–4. Rain on Friday. Busta, Luda, Missy in the armor. Memphis by the river.
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Netflix’s Forever Hurt On Purpose
Mara Brock Akil took Judy Blume and put Black kids in suburban Atlanta in 2018. The leaving was louder than the loving.
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DreamHack Dallas Was a Million Square Feet of Nerd
Kay Bailey Hutchison, BBQ in the halls, a proposal on stage, Vitality ran the table.
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Snow Tha Product on Cinco de Mayo in Phoenix
Dale Gas Tour at The Van Buren. English and Spanish at the same volume. Cómo La Flor with the lights up.
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