I Traded My ABBA Tickets for a Kitchen Table — then this show changed everything
Once a Eurovision cynic, I walked out of ABBA Voyage stunned, converted, and grateful for the wake-up call. About 49 years ago, in Tokyo, I first heard ABBA. I wasn’t…
Rocks Back Pages: The World’s Largest Archive of Music Journalism
lead photo: Author Elise Krentzel and Founder of Rocks Back Pages Barney Hoskyns at their HQ There was an instant camaraderie — that rare, unspoken recognition between two people who’ve…
From the Keys of the Culinary World to Piano Man: Mark Roaquin’s Path from NYC Dining Rooms to Austin’s Steinway
New York: Where Service Became a Craft Ask Mark what shaped him most and he’ll take you back to New York City—where hospitality is a contact sport and excellence a…
Alexis Buffum: The Multi-Genre Crossover Gal of Austin
When I first met violinist Alexis Buffum, she appeared calm, grounded, and quietly radiant—the kind of musician whose artistry doesn’t shout but hums with depth. Behind that calm exterior lies…
GRISHA – Opening Act of Austin Classical Guitar’s 35th Season
Robert Rodriguez, the legendary Austin filmmaker, opened his Troublemaker Studios for ACG’s 35th Season. They filmed Alita: Battle Angel there. At the open-air set, I felt as if I was…
Duelling Piano Hands: Sohee Kwon and Shelley Ng
Tucked just off Research Boulevard, north of Great Hills Trail, rests a cultural gem: Austin’s only Steinway Piano Gallery. A temple to the legendary hand-crafted instrument, Steinway is to the…
A Resplendent Night of Orchestration & Operatic Singing
What do you get when you mix one of the most original living conductors (our own Farkhad Khudyev, Associate of Music in Orchestral Studies & Music Director of the UT…
A Toast to Texas
ATX Chamber and Jazz Music keeps blurring the line between concert and experience, pairing world-class artists with crafted culinary and cocktail moments. A Toast to Texas was another example of…
Jeff Goldblum & the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra: A Jazz Surprise in Austin
I had not heard about Jeff Goldblum’s involvement with the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra until recently, and the discovery came as a surprise. After all, I used to spend Monday nights…
The Poetry of Listening
Kevin Witt’s b-side opened the set at Batch with a question directed to the audience: “What is jazz?” And with the tune, Contemplation by McCoy Tyner, circling the room like…