By: Erin Dyer Free Press Houston spoke with Jordan Pannell, a young, influential Houstonian making advancements in discovering, representing, and promoting local arts and music by means of Local Live (including Local Live Media, L.L.C, LocalLiveMedia.com, LocalLiveHouston.com, and LocalLiveRadio.com). If you are unfamiliar with Local Live, do yourself a favor and check it out. Like, right now. After all, awareness and involvement in our city will ultimately emanate continuous growth of Houston as a prominent art community as we reinvest in ourselves and our cumulative, raw talent. FPH: So, you are the founder of Local Live– tell us a little about ... Read More »

King: A Filmed Record … Montgomery to Memphis (Kino Classics, 1/15) represents monumental filmmaking. Taking the subject of Martin Luther King, his words and actions from 1955 through 1968, King: A Filmed Record has been restored to its original three-hour length by the Library of Congress. This documentary pulls out the most amazing news clips of the civil rights movement, and to top that off many of King’s speeches are included. Everybody has heard the “I have a dream” speech but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. King was a powerful orator and these moments show just how persuasive ... Read More »

Almost 20 years ago, the nation turned its eyes on a small town in Crittenden County, Arkansas-West Memphis. In 1993, three 8-year-old boys-Stevie Edward Branch, Christopher Byers, and Michael Moore-were found hogtied and mutilated in a nearby river. The town fell to hysteria, screaming for justice. The police department and townsfolk went to work looking for the seditious culprit(s). A few days after the discovery of the bodies, the witch hunt showed up on the doorstep of Jason Baldwin while him and his close friend, Damien Echols, were watching TV. The two were arrested, along with Jessie Misskelley Jr., for  the murders of the three boys. ... Read More »

Last Saturday, on January 12th, a friend of mine, along with his wife, boarded a plane headed for Peru, their ultimate destination being in the mountains near Manchu Picchu. However, this was no ordinary vacation that the two were embarking on. My friend, who we’ll call Steven, and his wife Anne, went to Peru on a mission. They planned to do something that is both extraordinary and incredible; throughout this week, they have been partaking in an ancient Peruvian ritual that extends back hundreds, if not thousands, of years. As I write this, they should be more than ¾’s of ... Read More »

By Maxwell Morgan The Texans most successful season in franchise history came to a close Sunday, as the New England Patriots defeated the Texans 41-28 in the Divisional Round of the playoffs at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. For any NFL fan, losing in the playoffs is devastating. All Superbowl hopes and dreams are crushed in a single afternoon or evening. Oh how Texans fans wanted to crush Tom Brady and the Pats, but through missed opportunities and poor quarterback play there was no crushing to be had. Which leads to the most important question; How do the Texans improve ... Read More »

When the 2025 Sundance Film Festival launches tomorrow a film shot in Houston and aptly titled Houston will have its world premiere as one of a dozen films in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition. The synopsis on the Sundance website describes Houston as such: “Clemens Trunschka is a corporate headhunter and an alcoholic. Drinking increasingly isolates him from his life and leads him away from reality. While searching for a CEO candidate in Houston, his addiction submerges him into his own darkness.” Free Press Houston talked to writer/ director Bastian Günther via Skype about the premiere of his second feature. ... Read More »

“Every human being is creative-it’s not a gift; it’s not a luxury; it’s an integral part of our cognitive make-up.  Because we call “creativity” by so many different names, we don’t always fully appreciate the full extent of its presence in our lives.  The arts belong back in schools because they’re among the effective, efficient, and powerful ways to nurture creativity.” According to Dr. Anthony Brandt, the integration of arts into school curriculum has become a modern-day civil rights issue. Dr. Brandt, Associate Professor of Composition and Theory at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, will be presenting the knowledge ... Read More »

This Week’s Featured Show Friday, January 18 A Sea Es Walker Lukens B.E. Godfrey @ Fitzgerald’s (free!) Houston musician Austin Smith released one of the most fun albums of the year in late 2025.  Not only that, but he wrote and recorded almost the entirety of the record himself.  Live, for the most part, Smith is backed by a full band that brings the songs to life.  Although the album is full of great songs, “Doubler” is definitely the stand out track.  A song that sounds like it’s destined for a car commercial or movie soundtrack, it showcases Smith’s songwriting ... Read More »

Even though Nick Flynn’s The Reenactments basically chronicles his on-set presence during the filming of Being Flynn the memoir includes diversions into a number of subjects: a university museum that houses a priceless collection of glass flowers, the term homunculus, dark energy and the work of Samuel Beckett, phantom limbs and the pain they cause, theories of memory, and even current research that allows doctors to map and record the brain while its owner is watching movie trailers. fMRI or Fuctional Magnetic Resonance Imaging may one day lead to people watching their dreams on Youtube, Flynn spells out in Chapter ... Read More »

By Meghan Hendley As we shed the layers of 2025, stroll into the New Year, and seek out new insights, there are many local gems offering unique visual experiences that deserve a first and second look. In this New Year, Rice Gallery will feature programming that is unusual, daring, and often times otherworldly. From the minuscule to the massive, the gallery transforms their space into a sensory wonderland choosing pieces and installations that involve exquisite detail partnered with intriguing concepts that help make visual art so enticing.  Additionally, the gallery features work that was created using common materials or recycled ... Read More »