“Friday Night Writes”: Who’s Landry?
Going to Gatling, meeting Landry, and discovering the cruelty of teenage girls.
Christian Wallace was a staff writer from West Texas. Before joining Texas Monthly as a fact-checker, in March 2016, Wallace worked as a roughneck, a ditch digger, an electrician, a record store clerk, and a radio DJ. He earned BAs in history and English from Texas State University in San Marcos and holds a master’s degree in writing from the University of Galway in Ireland.
In 2020, Wallace wrote and hosted the documentary podcast series Boomtown, about the Permian Basin’s historic oil boom and the bust that followed. The series has more than 4.8 million downloads. Wallace has been nominated for three National Magazine Awards. His September 2019 cover story on honky-tonks was a finalist in leisure interests; his 2020 collaboration with others on “All 144 Willie Nelson Albums, Ranked” was a finalist in digital storytelling; and his July 2021 cover story on Bass Reeves was a finalist in feature writing. His work has been optioned for several film and television projects, including the forthcoming Paramount series Land Man.
Wallace lives in San Marcos with his wife, Lauren Meckel, and their pup, Wyatt.
Going to Gatling, meeting Landry, and discovering the cruelty of teenage girls.
Yeah, we love Coach Taylor. But we're skeptical that his big hearted speeches are doing much for his team off of the field.
The Dillon Panthers are back (for us, anyway).
Three albums out in the next month bring country rock, story-songs, and swampy blues.
With fewer words and a lot more synth, Ramirez proves his songwriting chops stretch beyond roots music.
With their fourth record, the Austin septet solidifies their place as one of the hardest-working, hardest-drinking, and most compelling acts in the state.
A candid conversation with “the Houston Kid.”
The honky-tonk celebrates its seventy-fifth anniversary with two Texas country icons.
With their forthcoming EP, the singer-songwriters seek to raise awareness for an issue that hits both of them close to home.
Generations of Willie devotees came together to revel in music and good times with the Red Headed Stranger in his own backyard.
Album reviews and news for March 2017.
The Austin-based one-man band channels George Jones to create a honky-tonk ballad that’s the perfect soundtrack for drowning your woes in the company of your demons.
To honor the lifework of his ”musical father,” Texas country star Randy Rogers purchases the historic honky-tonk that launched his career.
The Austin singer-songwriter uses the sound of a chamber ensemble to explore the limits of Americana and the darker side of the human condition.
One man's adventure in margarita-making turns into a prickly affair.
The Starlight Theatre Restaurant & Saloon has been serving its cactus margarita for so long that no one can recall its exact origins.
Reflections on the penultimate Texas stop of Robert Earl Keen and Lyle Lovett’s acoustic tour.
A forthcoming playlist from Amazon Music features a wide range of artists—including three prominent Texas acts—with their takes on 'Acoustic Christmas.'
Twenty years after the release of his classic live album, 'No. 2 Live Dinner,' Robert Earl Keen returns to the John T. Floore Country Store in Helotes for a reunion.
Veteran Nashville songwriter Jim Lauderdale debuts a fresh take on the song he wrote that George Strait made a classic.
If you don’t know it, can’t remember it, or won’t sing it, what good is it?
An exclusive excerpt from the forthcoming book by Jenni Finlay and Brian T. Atkinson.
Doin’ the Waco Slide.
In the aftermath of the Memorial Day flood, one family recovers what’s left of their belongings and searches for hope.
When Willie met Scarface.
A fond rememberance of Kent Finlay, the founder of Cheatham Street Warehouse and the “Godfather of Texas songwriters.”
Growing up in the Permian Basin, I thought I had a sense of what it was like working the oilfields. Turns out I didn’t know a damn thing.
A memorable evening with James and Curtis McMurtry, the son and grandson of Texas’s most-beloved living author.