HWY 261

Sterling is back in the booth with The Reverend this week as we showcase tracks from Todd Snider, specifically songs from his new album featuring Sterling on bass (High Lonesome and Then Some) + the "Purple versions" of several of Todd's earlier songs that he re-recorded in stripped-down fashion and and released a few years ago.

Dennis Jay returns to the KZSM studio ahead of his debut performance at The Redbird Listening Room tomorrow night. Dennis and The Rev talk horses, and Dennis plays a pair of great original songs from his catalog (South of Seguin and Adios Moonlight). The Rev also leans to Texas-connected prerecorded tracks that have a spooky season theme. Artists played include Sammy Wells (covering Paul McCartney...

Sterling is still on "house arrest" while his immune system works itself back up, so The Reverend is solo in the booth again today to welcome Phenomenal musician Keith Davis back into the KZSM broadcast booth. Keith has been on the show several times as both a solo artist and a sideman for other guests, and he's plugging both his newly released EP and his first full band show as a solo artist in 1...

Sterling is laying low for health reasons today, so The Reverend hosts The Trips return to the KZSM studio as a solo DJ. The band talks about their new and upcoming projects, including the music video they recently filmed for February (featuring The Rev as a zombie, no less!), their live music calendar for October, and Sammy's self-imposed TikTok challenge to learn a cover of one song each from al...

Sterling is back in the booth after a few weeks on the DL, and he and The Reverend used today's episode to pay tribute to the late Al Barlow, a clever and influential songwriter, who passed away last week at the age of 71. Sterling knew Al for decades, and The Reverend got to interact with the man a few times too, so they share stories along with a highlight list of some of Al's most memorable son...

The Reverend is flying solo today as Sterling recovers from a serious health issue. KZSM's Production Committee Chair, Chris Gardner, brought The Rev along to Austin last night for a Magnolia & Johnson Electric Co. show. The Rev figured this would be a great opportunity to feature the work of a prolific Texas-based artist in Will Johnson, and Chris graciously agreed to curate a "starter playli...

Sterling has been sidelined by a medical condition, so The Reverend is hosting solo as he welcomes Star De Azlan into the KZSM studio. Star's new single, Adios Cowboy, will be released September 26th. She plays an acoustic version of that tune live on the air, as well as a brand new song. Prerecorded tracks included songs from Nathan Hamilton, Keith Davis, Mark Allan Atwood, Tom Russell, The Rev....

Sterling is back from his touring with Todd Snider and Dallas Burrow! He and the Reverend welcome local phenoms Hank Weaver, Cameron Allbright, and Ashton Naylor who are playing together tonight at Cheatham St. Warehouse in San Marcos, TX. Prerecorded tracks centered around the Jennings family in honor of the forthcoming Waylon album "Songbird." Tracks played were all from Waylon Jennings, Jessi C...

Joey, Bramwell, bassist of Austin's 80s throwback cover band Prime Meridian, joins The Reverend in the booth and spins cover songs with Texas connections.

Sterling is still on tour with Dallas Burrow, so The Reverend is still solo in the KZSM booth as he welcomes Rob Dark Smith, Keith Davis, and Trey Martinez into the studio. This is Rob and Keith's second visit to HWY 261 in 2025; last time they were promoting the release of The Anvil, today they're plugging the show that the three of them are playing tonight at The Redbird Listening Room in New Br...

Today The Reverend welcomed a couple of members of Austin-based Americana band Briscoe, Truitt & Phil. They are about to hit the road for a middle America tour on Monday, and they played us a couple f great songs that'll be in the setlist on this tour, Roughnecks & The Well. The Rev also played the title track of their forthcoming album, Heat of July, at the end of the show. Other prerecor...

Sterling in still on the road playing bass in the current incarnation of the Todd Snider Band, so The Reverend is solo again this week, but not entirely, because today The Rev welcomed guest artist David Rosenblad into the KZSM studio. David played a couple of great unreleased tunes (Living, Loving, & Being in the Present; Rise Up) in addition to telling listeners where he'll be playing live i...

The Reverend is flying solo in the booth because Sterling in at war with his own sinuses, so the playlist for August 1st, 2025 is a mixed bag of rockin' tunes from (mostly) Texas artists. Artists played on today's episode: Texas Tornados, Reverend Horton Heat, Deep Blue Something, Toadies, Tripping Daisy, The Mars Volta, Blue Healer, Micky & the Motorcars, Reckless Kelly, Spoon, Old 97s, and D...

Sterling is returning from a recording session in Nashville Friday, so The Rev is broadcasting solo in the booth again this week. Today's episode focuses on the Cheatham Street Warehouse "Class of '87" group of singer-songwriters, that is, half a dozen young artists who frequented Kent Finlay's Songwriters Circle at Cheatham Street Warehouse in San Marcos, TX in 1987 and went on to make names for...

The Rev is hosting solo in the booth this week as Sterling heads to Port A to play a gig with Dallas Burrow tonight at The Gaff. Guest artists today are a couple of the participants in this year's Young Songwriters Workshop, an annual program put on by Cheatham Street Music Foundation and held at The Redbird Listening Room in New Braunfels, TX (a venue owned by Dallas Burrow and family). Students...

On this July 4th episode, The Rev and Sterling play songs about social issues and songs of protest, but because of an overnight deluge in the hill country, the first quarter hour is dedicated to sending our best to our neighbors who are dealing with flooding issues. The show begins with SRV playing Texas Flood and Couldn't Stand the Weather. After the first promo, the focus shifts to songs about s...

This week The Reverend and Sterling welcome Lynn Crossett back into the KZSM booth for his 3rd time as our guest. His new album, Autumn to August has just been released; produced by the great Lloyd Maines, the album is fantastic, and Lynn plays a couple of the songs (the title track & Coulda Been the Wine) live in the studio during this week's episode. The Rev and Sterling also plug the upcomi...

Sterling is traveling to a gig today, so The Reverend has his youngest daughter, Layla, in the booth to co-host a salute to funk and soul musicians from Texas. Sly Stone (born in Denton in 1943) passed away in L.A. this week at the age of 82, so The Rev has curated a playlist to shine a bright, colorful light on some of the great funk/soul artists to have come from our great state. Artists played...

Last week, The Rev's daughter curated a playlist of up-and-coming artists that the young generation is listening to a lot. This week Sterling and The Rev go the other direction, spinning tracks that we heard in the house or in the car growing up with our dads. Artists played include Simon & Garfunkel, George Jones, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson & Johnny Cash, James McMurtry, Hal Ketchum,...

Sterling is on the way to play a gig at The Old Quarter in Galveston with Dallas Burrow, so The Reverend has his oldest daughter, Alice, in the co-host's chair. Alice has curated a playlist of up-and-coming Texas artists the she and her young peers are really into, several of whom have not yet come to the attention of The Rev and Sterling. After kicking off with tunes from The Dixie Chicks and Har...

Local high schools are having graduation ceremonies this weekend, and local universities held ceremonies a couple of weeks ago, so The Reverend and Sterling salute the accomplishments of all local graduates with songs from artists who were educated--high school, college, or both--in Texas. Artists played included Alice Cooper, William Clark Green, John Denver, Bill Whitbeck, Michael Martin Murphey...

The Reverend is flying solo in the booth today while Sterling retrieves a '61 Ford Falcon he bought in Austin. The Rev spends part of the show on a shoutout to moms, during which he played track from Sons of Fathers, Okkervil River, Big John Mills, and Randy Travis. The rest of the show was a musical mixed bag, with tracks from The Trips, Dustin Welch, Cross Canadian Ragweed, Johnny & Edgar Wi...

The Reverend and Sterling celebrate Willie Nelson, who turned 92 this week, by deep-diving his catalog for songs not generally heard on the radio. Tracks played included Matador, She is Gone, Mr. Shuck & Jive (Willie & Waylon), Alice in Hulaland (Willie & Haggard), Whiter Shade of Pale, Always on My Mind (David Beck's Tejano Weekend), Hands on the Wheel, Bach's Minuet in G, Stuff the W...

The Reverend and Sterling welcome local artists Tracy Weinberg & Gretchen McMahon into the KZSM studio to talk music, discuss their latest release Tracy Weinberg & Friends: Another Saturday Night, and the duo plays a pair of great live tracks off of the record (Side Effects of Love and Blindspot). Prerecorded tracks included songs from Dustin Welch, Lynn Crossett, The Texas Sapphires, Jeff...

No guest artist in the KZSM studio today (The Rev's 46th B-Day), so the fellas spin tracks from Austin artists Bad Livers and James McMurtry. James and Danny Barnes of bad Livers both work professionally with Sterling's older sister, Jenni Finlay, so there are a few stories shared between prerecorded tracks. The show closes out with a Tom Waits cover of Kinky Friedman's song Highway Cafe. Kinky (R...