The Lone Star State is known for many things – its vastness, its history (it was an independent country at one time!), and its culture. Part of this culture involves the countless successful musicians who claim Texas as their home, many of them women.
This road trip travels through five major cities in Texas: Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Austin, and Fort Worth. Each city is home to several well-known female musicians, and we’ll make stops at places that have significance to each artist, whether it be a venue they had an important performance at, a museum dedicated to their career, or even their favorite restaurant!
Below you’ll find a brief description of each city you’ll travel through on this trip, a brief bio of each artist from that city, and sights to see that relate to each musician.
A map is also included, along with a Spotify playlist featuring all of the artists named in this article!
Dallas – St. Vincent & The Chicks
Our trip starts off in Dallas, a modern metropolis in North Texas.
Dallas native and two time Grammy Award-winner St. Vincent, who makes theatrical, dazzling art rock, has this to say about her home state:
“If you’re Texan, it means you don’t come with the pomp and circumstance,” she explains. “There’s always this grounding that I really appreciate. The expression I always heard growing up was, ‘Don’t get too big for your britches.'”
Austin Chronicle, 2014
The first stop in Dallas is at Resident Taqueria, which is owned by St. Vincent’s sister! The artist has been spotted there waiting tables, and recommends the mushroom fundido taco!
After lunch head over to Uptown Dallas, a hip, bustling area with nightlife, shopping, and more. Legendary country group, The Chicks, got their start busking here, on Mckinney Avenue.
Houston – Beyonce & Megan Thee Stallion
Our first stop in the great city of Houston is Roller City USA at the Funplex, where superstar Beyonce filmed her music video for “Blow.”
Self-proclaimed ‘H-town Hottie’ and three time Grammy Award winner Megan Thee Stallion has been very vocal about her love for her hometown, and is quoted below saying that she’s proud to be one of the most well-know female rappers from Houston:
“I feel like I have to put on for my city, because we have so many legends and so many greats. But I don’t feel like we ever really had a female rapper come from Houston or Texas and shut s— down. So that’s where I’m coming from with it.”
Entertainment Weekly, 2019
For Megan’s stop on the road trip, we’ll head downtown near Texas Southern University, one of the country’s largest HBCUs and where the rapper earned her degree in Health Administration. The downtown district has more than 10 music venues, so it’s easy to get a taste of the musical talent that comes out of Houston.
San Antonio – Rosie Flores & Lydia Mendoza
Blues and rockabilly artist and San Antonio native Rosie Flores has a career spanning four decades, and has said that Texan culture has influenced her musical style greatly. The San Antonio Museum of Popular Culture (TexPop) is a great place to learn more about the unique musical culture of the city!
Their mission statement:
“[TexPop seeks to] enrich a growing and changing community by becoming the premier resource in Texas for art and artifacts of local music history from the 1800s thru today, illustrating its impact on local, national, and international culture.”
TexPop
Iconic Tejano musician Lydia Mendoza was also based in San Antonio, and at Del Bravo Record shop, which specializes in Tejano records, you can view her guitar and several of her colorful stage dresses!
Austin – Janis Joplin & Lucinda Williams
Austin is famed for its live music scene, so it’s no surprise that two iconic female musicians are based there! Austin is home to the Texas Music Museum, which features over sixty Texan musicians in fourteen different genres. It’s definitely worth stopping at to learn more about what makes Austin the ‘Live Music Capital’ of Texas.
Janis Joplin, an icon in psychedelic rock, was beloved by the city of Austin, and a mural of her was created in 2017. Seen below, this is a quick stop on our road trip before we move on to our next Austin destination.
Americana star Lucinda Williams was based in Austin for some time, and contributed to the folk music scene there. This is still alive and well, and there are several place to hear live folk music, including The Saxon Pub, which often hosts iconic folk and Americana musicians.
Fort Worth – Kelly Clarkson
Our road trip loops us back to the Dallas-Fort Worth area, with our two final stops near the city of Fort Worth!
American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson is from Fort Worth, and got her start singing at a popular hangout spot outside of Fort Worth, Joe Pool Lake. The lake boasts over 60 miles of shoreline, and has several beautiful natural areas to explore. I’ve included two on this trip, Cedar Ridge Preserve and Dogwood Canyon Audobon Center.
These two beautiful natural areas are a great way to close out the trip, and land you right back where we began, making it easy to do this road trip as a loop.
Roadtrip Route:
Total driving time of approx. 13 hours, but I would recommend splitting it up over several days and spending time exploring each city.
Spotify Playlist:
Sources:
https://www.austinchronicle.com/music/2014-10-03/acl-fest-2014-interviews-st-vincent/
https://www.texasmonthly.com/arts-entertainment/chicks-in-the-wilderness/
https://ew.com/music/2019/07/09/megan-thee-stallion-fast-facts/
https://www.essence.com/lifestyle/travel/how-to-spend-a-beyonce-themed-weekend-in-houston/
http://texpopsa.org/about.html.
https://www.downtownhouston.org/guide/live-music/
rosieflores.com/bio
https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127033025
https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/mendoza-lydia
https://www.texasmusicmuseum.org/current-exhibits/texas-music-pioneers/
https://www.austintexas.org/iconic-austin-music/folk/
https://www.austintexas.org/listings/saxon-pub/1914/
Joe Pool Lake
