Willie Nelson

Branford Marsalis on His Brief Time as an Angeleno Playing The Tonight Show

New Orleans-born saxophonist Branford Marsalis has been a household name since the early 1980s. Alongside his younger brother Wynton, he set the jazz world ablaze, earning his stripes on the bandstand with Art Blakey. From there, he found work in pop music (the Grateful Dead, Sting) and acting (Thro ... More >>

The Five Best Concerts in L.A. This Week

Tuesday, September 4 Krzysztof Urbanski conducts "Three Russian Masters" HOLLYWOOD BOWL The classical canon today is both questioned for its relevance and pounced upon eagerly by a new generation of composers, performers and conductors of prodigious technical and scholarly gifts. The young firebran ... More >>

Music Picks: FYF Festival, Jillinda Palmer, Gaslamp Killer

Patton Oswalt Considers Downton Abbey Via Twitter: Tea, Sauce Maggie Smith

As all PBS Anglophiles know, the highly anticipated second season of Downton Alley aired last night. (6 days, X minutes to go until the next one...) Why do we care? Because we're all secret monarchists who would trade every taco truck and empanada stand in this town for a sitdown cup of tea and toas ... More >>

Our Idiot Brother Review

The Live Show Rant: "Would You Run a Chainsaw Next to Your Child's Ear While Making Them Walk Through Beer?"

​Hate us or love us, the letters we get here at LA Weekly are generally entertaining. But sometimes one jumps out and makes us LOL, not fear for our lives. If it has valid points, we're printing it. So William T. Busch III, thank you for the following. "LIVE SHOWS HAVE DIED" What has happen ... More >>

Falling James' Gig of the Week: The L.A. Bluegrass Situation with the Watkins Family Hour and Friends

​ WHO: The L.A. Bluegrass Situation with the Watkins Family Hour WHERE: Largo WHEN: 4/28/11 The sounds of old-time Appalachian music were audible even before the audience entered Largo's sold-out Coronet Theater, as a crew of bluegrass musicians strummed, plucked and fiddled an impromptu aco ... More >>

Top 10 Most Recycled Women of Rock (Only Three Call Themselves Groupies!)

Jena Ardell​ Everyone has had a crush on rockstar before, but these woman actually pursued and conquered rockstars. In order to make our Top 10 Most Recycled Women of Rock list, these ladies had to have dated (or bedded) six or more famous musicians. There's one musician who appears on four o ... More >>

Top 10 Songs About Presidents (in Honor of Presidents Day)

Remember Clinton and the sax?​ Monarchs, political authority figures, and presidents have been inspiring pissed-off punk rock anthems or passionate, pleased glorification--whether subtle or direct--since human beings could pick up an instrument and pluck or pound out a feeling. And given our ... More >>

Designs For NFL Stadium In Downtown L.A. Are On Staples Center Chief Tim Leiweke's Desk

ZeregaStaples Center could get a big baby brother.​It took the city of Los Angeles several years to get its final medical marijuana dispensary law on the books. When the City Council doesn't like the taste of something, like telling its friends in the pot business that they can't operate too c ... More >>

Music Picks: Amanda Jo Williams, Usher, Masaki Batoh, Procol Harum

Also, Dustin Wong, Greg Dulli, Ghostface Killah

Country and Soul: Honky Tonk Hero Mike Stinson on Leaving Los Angeles, Adjusting to Texas, and Why You Can't Manufacture a George Jones

​Country singer-songwriter Mike Stinson, the consummate indie underdog, spent the better part of two decades in Los Angeles quietly churning out a slew of uniformly first-rate original honky-tonk ballads. While beloved by local fans (and music journalists), Stinson enjoyed few other rewards an ... More >>

The Pot Shop Boys

Returning with a new album, Cypress Hill discusses legalization, where you can get the best strains, and how great it feels to work for a stoner boss

A Jello Tribute to DEVO at Tender Greens

Photo Credit: K. Arens​Q: What's better than an energy dome? A: An energy dome made of JELL-O. On display at the new Tender Greens Hollywood: terraced mold of cherry JELL-O, like a translucent ziggurrat crowned by Cool Whip, beneath the caption "Crack that whip!". The poster, for a show th ... More >>

Billy Corgan & Spirit in the Sky at the Hotel Cafe: Dave Navarro, a New Drummer, and a Costume Contest

Last night at Hollywood's Hotel Café, Billy Corgan and his Sky Saxon-inspired Spirit in the Sky band -- which featured Dave Navarro of Jane's Addiction -- introduced to Los Angeles one Mike Byrne, the 19-year old drummer and newest Smashing Pumpkins member. Kristin BurnsBilly Corgan and Spirit i ... More >>

Ziggy Plays Guitar

GO LA: Mort Sahl, Ziggy Marley and Everything In Between

What to do in L.A., May 1-7

SXSW Day 3: On Rap's "Little Emperor" Phase and Showing and Proving

Maybe we ought to blame Kanye--even though this trend started well before him, and will likely persist long after he retires to pursue French anime interior spaceship design. Like it or not, 'Ye's massive success re-removed a lot of barriers into the major label rap game. No longer did you need st ... More >>

Saturday Night in LA: Phosporescent, Von Bondies, Dan Auerbach, Lyrics Born,

Saturday night in LA and you're looking for music? Here are four good ideas: Phosphorescent, Viva Voce at the Regent Theatre Chris Martins writes: Phosphorescent's Matthew Houck may be a city slicker by day, but once the sun sinks under the prairie, the cowboy comes out. Houck was raised in Alab ... More >>

B-Real of Cypress Hill: Smoking "The Birthday Cake" With a Master

Rapper, stoned, is tired of being typecast as "stoner rapper"

Sprechen Sie Berlinale? Looking for "Slow Cinema" Among the Polyglot Unhappy Meals at the Berlin International Film Festival

German director Maren Ade's Everyone Else is competition's most impressive film

Rock Picks: Scarcity of Tanks, the Walkmen, Chromeo

Also, the Ettes, the Dogs, George Jones and others

Record Reviews: Bodies of Water, Conor Oberst

Also, the Pinker Tones

Brick's Pick's: Central Avenue Jazz Festival

Hootenanny '08, Oak Canyon Ranch, Orange County, 7/5/2008

Hootenanny featuring Grant Lee Phillips, Big Sandy and his Fly-Rite Boys, Royal Crown Revue, Chris Shiflett, James Intveld and Russell Scott and his Red Hots. Also Tiger Army, Mike Ness and Glen Glenn Is there anything more quintessentially SoCal than the 50s love of the pyschobilly scene on a hot ... More >>

SXSW Day 5-The Triumph of the Blogosphere...High Times at High Times...Why in God's Name Am I At The Perez Hilton Party?

Bloggers are every journalist's favorite whipping boy. If a shitty band gets too popular, blame the bloggers. If the standards of professional journalism have eroded too much, blame the bloggers. If by 2010, Vampire Weekend has inspired legions of college freshmen to dress as ironic yachters, bla ... More >>

Eye Mind: The Saga of Roky Erickson and the 13th Floor Elevators

Going up?

Shows and Tickets Coming Up

Ryan Adams - Royce Hall, UCLA, Jan. 30 and Bridges Auditorium, Claremont, Jan. 22. Both shows on sale Saturday Avenged Sevenfold, Atreyu, Suicidal Tendencies - San Diego Sports Arena, Dec. 7 - All ages Andrew Bird, Handsome Family - Orpheum, Dec. 7 Black Ghosts, Mezzanine Owls, Tweak Bird, more ... More >>

Rock Picks: Ruins, Beirut, Turbonegro, Metric

Also, Bill Callahan, Emmylou Harris and more picks for the week of October 4 –11

Trouble, a .22 and Billy Joe Shaver

Billy Joe shot Billy

Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson and Loads of BBQ

Stagecoach Country Music Festival at the Empire Polo Fields, Indio, May 5-6

Stagecoach Country Music Festival

At Empire Polo Grounds, Indio

Aloha From Hell

Jerry Lee Lewis, still on fire

Twin Stars

Leigh & Chandra Watson are more than indie-rock backup singers. The Watson Twins are magical

Exquisite

Unembarrassed and undestroyed, Leonard Cohen at 71

A Fan's Notes

A salute to a new season for American Idol — and the Dodgers

Country & Folk Listings

Rock & Pop Listings

For January 27 - February 2, 2006 Country listings follow.

Concerts of the Year

Blue Moon

After 20 years, Bobby Bare emerges with the year’s most beautiful album

The Psychic Hipster’s Pop 10

Girls Incited, City Burned

American Idolatry

The Contemporaries

South of Here

Greg Leisz essays the roots

California Tuffy

Carla Bozulich in the time of the preacher

Is Anybody Listening?

The beautiful chaos of Kill Radio

Julie London

1926–2000

Give the Drummer Some

Earl Palmer, rock & roll's heavy hitter

Tramp on Your Street