The Galveston County Fair & Rodeo is wraps up this weekend. The music lineup features Cajun and classic country. Admission to the concerts is included in the ticket price. For details, see galvestoncountyfair.com or follow our daily updates in this Fair and Rodeo Special Report.

Friday, April 20

Red Cap Band

If you miss Red Cap Band at the Fair and Rodeo, don't fret. The band is based in Santa Fe and plays at dance halls and bars all around Galveston County. Members include Joel Mora, Charlie Rollo and piano and J. Rivera. They list an eclectic bunch of influences from a wide range of genres. I couldn't find a video on YouTube for them, but click on over to their website to hear their work.



Wayne Toups

South Louisiana native The Josh Abbott Band has 11 albums and CDs under his belt. He blends rock, folk, R&B, Cajun and Zydeco for unique sound, and he's known for his energetic stage performances.

Saturday, April 21



Jarrod Birmingham

Jarrod Birmingham is no stranger to fairs and rodeos. This former professional bullrider boasts that he has "enough pins, plates and screws in his body to make it difficult to pass an airport scanner." The South Texas native is singing about what he knows, and he promises gritty vocals, true-to-life lyrics and a laid-back attitude.

Shine your boots, polish the mother-of-pearl snaps on your favorite western shirt and dust off your Stetson hat. The Galveston County Fair & Rodeo is back. Admission to the concerts is included in the ticket price.

This weekend's lineup features gritty, down-to-earth, working-class country rockers and a tad of Tejano. For a complete lineup and more information, visit the Galveston County Fair and Rodeo site or follow our daily updates in this Fair and Rodeo Special Report.

Friday, April 13



Whiskey Myers

Whiskey Myers started out playing private parties in the small towns of East Texas. Their popularity has been rising steadily since opening for Roger Creager in Gun Barrel City in 2007.



The Turnpike Troubadours

Hailing from Oklahoma, The Turnpike Troubadours have been touring the Midwest supporting their debut album, "Bossier City," which combines folk, country, Cajun and bluegrass influences.

Saturday, April 14



David Grace

David Grace, originally from Santa Fe, is a country singer-songwriter who's been on the Texas music scene for a few years now. He's making a return trip to the Galveston County Fair & Rodeo fresh off auditioning for NBC's hit singing competition show "The Voice." Grace sang Lynrd Skynrd's hit "Sweet Home Alabama," and judge Blake Shelton said he "damn near" picked David to move on in the competition. Nonetheless, the prime time exposure gained David new fans nationwide.



Josh Abbott Band

This year's Fair & Rodeo headliners, The Josh Abbott Band, is riding the wave of Texas country music in the wake of influences like Cross Canadian Ragweed, Jack Ingram, Pat Green and the Eli Young Band. Originally from the Lubbock area, Abbott found got a taste of success when he posted a demo on his MySpace page and listeners started requesting the song from the local radio station.

Sunday, April 15



Shelly Lares

San Antonio singer Shelly Lares' latest album, "Renacer," was released Jan. 24. It's her first release on her own new label, Shell Shock Records 3. This Tejano artist has been rocking stages for over 20 years.



Grupo Vida/The Electric Cowboys

Grupo Vida/The Electric Cowboys have racked up a slew of awards in the Tejano music scene for the past 10 years. After touring with several big country acts, they put out an all-country CD under the name The Electric Cowboys.

I don't know much about Tejano music, but the accordion player in that last video is having an awesome time, and I'm willing to bet if you head out the fairgrounds in Hitchcock and watch them live, you probably will, too.

Galveston got a big boost of publicity last week when ratings juggernaut American Idol aired the round of auditions shot at Galveston Island Convention Center.

Shots of thousands of hopefuls lined up at Reliant Stadium in Houston were interspersed with scenes of judges Steven Tyler, Jennifer Lopez and Randy Jackson sitting in front of a bank of windows looking out on a calm, teal Gulf of Mexico.

Shots of Houston’s skyline were mingled with cows grazing at Johnson Space Center and time-lapse sunsets on the Moody Gardens pyramids.

But whenever contestants got the "golden ticket" that ushered them onto the next round of the singing competition, they whooped it up with a dash onto the beach and into the water.

That kind of exposure — almost 17 million people tuned in — is huge for Galveston, said Leah Cast, Galveston Island Convention and Visitors Bureau public relations manager.

"People don’t realize how far the island has come after Hurricane Ike," Cast said.

The last time Galveston was in the national spotlight, debris littered the seawall and floodwaters were just receding.

Now, "people are talking about how great the island looked," Cast said.

Given how the episode was edited, it’s easy to see how out-of-state viewers could be left with the impression that Galveston was somehow part of Houston. But Cast doesn’t think that’s the case.

"It may not be a bad thing necessarily to be associated with Houston," Cast said. "Regionally, we are very close. If anyone is planning a trip to Houston, they see that the beach is just a short drive away."

While "Idol" might be one of the biggest shots in the arm for local tourism, Cast said the CVB actively goes after other shows and touts the benefits of filming here. Cast said the Travel Channel was here in October shooting a piece about ghost stories and legends, and TLC was here recently shooting "The Little Couple" in The Hotel Galvez. Contestants from shows like "Idol" and "The Voice" have been playing at island festivals and events, and Cast said this exposure very well could lead to more of that.

And now, back to our show.

There wasn’t much local talent on display in the "Idol" auditions, but Linda Williams, billed as a 24-year-old bartender from League City, made it through to the Hollywood round — although not without some (probably drummed up for the sake of TV drama) controversy.



The piece of her audition to Alicia Keys’ "Fallin’" that aired was as short as her skirt. So it’s difficult to gauge whether she was really any good. Tyler and Jackson sang her praises, though, while Jennifer Lopez called her "awful." It was the straw that broke J.Lo’s back after she’d been disagreeing with the guys on almost every other contestant.

So, what do you think? Was the show good exposure for Galveston? Will you cheer on local favorite Linda when the Hollywood round starts? On what other TV shows would you like to see the area featured?

Coast Magazine is expected to be delivered in Thursday's paper and at racks around the island the same day.

The magazine devoted to lifestyles on the Texas Coast was supposed to be in Sunday's paper. But last week, a truck carrying thousands of issues got stuck in a winter storm as it was headed south from a printer in the Midwest.

The Daily News doesn't print Coast, but outsources the job to a company that specializes in glossy publications. Coast usually is delivered to readers on the last Sunday of each month.

Can't wait? The E-Edition of Coast, which allows readers to browse the magazine online, is available at galvnews.com. And we've already released Coast articles on Facebook.

We apologize for the delay.

One of our Coast correspondents is searching for the best muffalettas in the county to list in the February issue.



The writer hasn't had any trouble finding the New Orleans-inspired sandwich, distinguished by its round shape and olive salad, on the island.

In fact, one of Texas' most famous purveyor of the muffaletta is Maceo's Spice & Import Co in downtown Galveston.

Here's a little history about Maceo's and the mufffaletta. The sandwich pictured in this blog is a Maceo creation.

Other island restaurants that make a mean muffaletta include such established venues as Benno's on the Beach and Sonny's Place, and newcomers ShyKatz Deli & Bakery and The Black Pearl.

She has a few more island restaurants to add to the list. But she isn't sure where to look for muffalettas on the mainland.

Can anyone out there point us in the right direction? We'd be grateful for the help.

And in your mind, what makes or breaks a muffaletta?

'Tis the season for blasting Christmas music in your car, on your iPod or at work and for being bombarded with it at stores and malls. Now here's a new song for your playlist.

Rising country artist and League City native Payton Rae has put out her own Christmas tune, "Christmas Time With You," a sweet, pleasant, nostalgic take on family traditions.



Payton has taken a thoroughly modern approach to her country music career. Instead of going the reality show route, all it took was some YouTube videos covering songs by teen heartthrob Justin Beiber to launch a fan base of thousands.

Her videos on YouTube have been viewed more than 3.8 million times. She's got almost 100,000 followers on Twitter (I've only got about 330. She should spot me a few.) and more than 33,000 "likes" on her official Facebook page, Payton Rae Music. Her first five-song EP, "Dare to Live," peaked at No. 4 in its first day on the iTunes country chart early this summer.

She shares a co-writing credit on "Christmas Time With You," along with Bruce Wallace, Karyn Williams and Brian White.

The video cuts between glitzy shots of her singing amid a flurry of bright pink lights and raw home video footage of hanging stockings and making cookies with her grandmother.

"My mom and I had the idea to put in old clips from Christmas from when I was a little girl, and I thought it was very cool that Stephen was able to use them. Those parts of the video make me very sentimental," Payton said in a news release.

So, what do you think? Will "Christmas Time With You" find a spot in your holiday playlist? What are your other favorite Christmas songs?

The roar of 100,000 or so motorcycles cruising the island isn’t the only hallmark sound of the Lone Star Rally. Rock, blues and country will echo around downtown today through Sunday from the Jaegermeister stage at 21st Street and The Strand.


The Zach Tate Band

Catch popular local act The Zach Tate Band at noon on Saturday. In addition to the official Rally gig, the band will also play this evening at The Loading Dock (504 25th St.), Friday night at Club 21 (2102 Postoffice St.) and Saturday night at Contenders (2411 Strand St.). See zachtate.com for information.

“We’re looking forward to a good party,” Tate said. “You meet so many cool people from around North America; Lone Star is a great event!”

Also playing at the free concerts downtown are rockers Etched in Stone from Bryan/College Station, Staci’s Edge from Houston, classic rock band OGRE, gritty Southern country-rock act Dun Ville out of Katy, Dimitri’s Rail, and Josh Fuller and Dirt & Diesel. And look for biker fest favorites Big Engine, Jasmine Cain, Ryan Rolando and the Ferrell Webber Band.

Jared Blake, a soulful country-rocker whose fame exploded thanks to a stint on NBC’s hit singing competition “The Voice,” also will play at the Rally.

If that weren’t enough, the Rock-n-Ride concert series takes place at the 21st Street Pier. Tickets start at $30. For information, see lonestarrally.com.

Headliners are the Marshall Tucker Band, FUEL, BuckCherry and The Fabulous Thunderbirds, with special performances by Micky and the Motorcars and the Flaunt Girls from the TV show “Full Throttle.”

So, if you’re a fan of live music, particularly hard rock or country, Galveston’s definitely the place to be this weekend. Even if you don’t feel like braving the hordes of hawgs downtown, places like Woody’s, B. Jiggers, Captain Jack’s or Float are sure to have your fix, too.