Local Texas Bands Releasing New Music, Bands From Out of Town Coming to Your City on Tour – We Have It All for You in This Month’s Texas Tunes

#1 Joshua Radin

Joshua Radin is gearing up to perform at The Heights Theater in Houston on Sunday, Sept. 10. The show will come just after the release of Joshua’s new album ‘though the world will tell me so,’ out Sept. 4 – check out the latest single via Joshua’s recent performances on Ellen. 

A world-renowned singer-songwriter with more than 1 billion streams and 1 million records sold, Joshua’s “poignant, refreshingly frank lyrics” (Rolling Stone) have earned comparisons to Elliot Smith and Paul Simon. He’s sold out shows on four continents, performed with artists like Ed Sheeran and Sheryl Crow, earned Gold certification for hit single “I’d Rather Be With You,” and gained super-fans like Michelle Obama and Ellen Degeneres, who invited him to perform at her wedding.

#2 Thom Kurtz

Austin-based songwriter Thom Kurtz mixes contemporary commentary with lyrical witticisms to create off-kilter cross-genre observations with his project Friends To The End. Kurtz’s trademark creative artistry, propelled by his arsenal of experimental theater pop songwriting, is flavored by such wide ranging influences as David Bowie to Steely Dan, Keith Jarrett to Duke Ellington, and Todd Rundgren to David Grisman. 

What Thom Kurtz calls Modern soft rock — always including top-of-the-line ensemble instrumentation blended with song-specific, custom-built vocals – is a kind of singer-songwriter storyteller fusion with shades of chamber pop, Americana, and art and prog rock.Check out his Soap Creek Saloon single  and Soap Creek Saloon instrumental feat Everett Wren. 

#3 Frankie and the Witch Fingers

LA psych rock band Frankie and the Witch Fingers are coming to Parish on Thursday, Sept. 14. Their first album in three years, Data Doom will be out Sept. 1 and also welcomes new members bassist Nikki “Pickle” Smith (formerly of Death Valley Girls) and drummer Nick Aguilar (previously a touring drummer for punk legend Mike Watt). Check out the music video for their latest single “Futurephobic.” 

At the peak of their powers after opening for the likes of Thee Oh Sees, Ty Segall and Cheap Trick (and headlining bigger rooms everywhere), it seems like they’ve finally arrived on Data Doom. Self-produced and recorded direct to tape in their Southeast LA studio, this album feels like they have taken their plethora of global touring experiences (along with afrobeat and proto-punk influences) and put that into each track. Their wildest, widest-ranging collection of songs harnesses this high energy psych into an epic, expansive narrative that explores the pitfalls of our evolved society. 

#4 The Steel Woods

Don’t miss The Steel Woods‘ upcoming Houston show on Friday, Sept. 15 at White Oak Music. The Steel Woods’ fourth studio album, On Your Time, will be out Oct. 6 via Woods Music/Thirty Tigers. 

On Your Time is the band’s first album since losing co-founder Jason “Rowdy” Cope, and this ambitious album not only showcases their musical evolution and episodic storytelling abilities but also serves as a tribute to the vision and legacy of Cope, who passed away just before the release of All of Your Stones. Led by Wes Bayliss, the band’s guitarist, lead vocalist and co-founder, The Steel Woods have poured their heart and soul into this album, creating a record that reflects their resilience, growth and unwavering spirit. 

#5 Shakey Graves

Shakey Graves shares that his forthcoming new album, Movie Of The Week, will be released Sept. 15 on Dualtone Records. A track from the album, “Evergreen,” is out now with an accompanying music video—listen/share HERE and watch/share the video HERE. Pre-order the album HERE. The album also features the recently released “Ready or Not,” a duet with rising star Sierra Ferrell.

“In late 2018, some friends of mine were making a movie, and they asked if I would do the soundtrack for it,” Alejandro Rose-Garcia, a.k.a. Shakey Graves says. “I started recording music along with footage, but when I started to turn a lot of it in, I realized that the director and I did not see the movie in the same way. A lot of the music was turned away. But I made all this really cool stuff and felt really invigorated.” 

When Rose-Garcia went into the studio with his band, he realized he didn’t have songs, but rather soundtrack ideas. “I sent them all a link to some of the soundtrack stuff. We came up with this way to record where we went through them like themes. I came up with the plot of an imaginary movie. And we started to treat it like a soundtrack to a movie.”

Shakey Graves will hit the road on an extensive North American tour this fall, kicking off Sept. 21 More info/tickets HERE 

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Cover photo by Rob Long on Unsplash

Gracie Watt is a regular contributor to Texas Lifestyle Magazine and a graduate of St. Edward’s University in Austin, with a degree in Journalism. Watt is also a Lifestyle Producer at NBC-affiliate KXAN’s Studio 512. When she’s not writing, Watt enjoys singing, playing the guitar and doing volunteer work.