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Austin American-Statesman music writer Peter Blackstock reflects on covering the music community in the city where he grew up, before he heads west.

Our year-end look at Austin's best records of 2021 includes critics' picks among albums and EPs, plus more high-profile and noteworthy releases.

Austin 360 Guitarist Mitch Watkins first met drummer Scott Laningham in the early 1980s when they played a gig together at a Mexican restaurant on Sixth Street. Laningham was just 21 years old. “The way we connected musically led me to suspect that there was more going on personally and spiritually, as well,” Watkins recalled this week. “I certainly put out the word about this new kid to anybody I knew.” They played music together often over the next 40 years. Watkins, an anchor of the local jazz community who has toured with the likes of Leonard Cohen and Lyle Lovett, enjoyed seeing ...

Continental Club, Monday 31 Drummer Scott Laningham's distinctive touch fused effortless swing, versatility, and a recognizable tone. He contributed to the mix the way a great soundtrack enhances a film: with enough presence to bolster the action rather than distract from or overwhelm it. His effortless rapport made him a beloved figure in Austin's jazz scene and a valued session drummer. The Dallas native toured with Christopher Cross, Alejandro Escovedo, and Kat Edmonson, played in bands Freedonia and TresMusicos, recorded the Dr. Demento-approved 1991 comedy album Moose in My House, and h...

When Austin musician Kendra Sells shared with a friend her new solo work, they suggested the description "club punk." It's an apt encapsulation of All in Your Head, an exploratory dance of distorted guitars, anarchic structures, and magnetic beats rooted in Sells' vocal expertise. Released with Richmond's Quiet Year Records, the singer calls the seven-track EP "a whole rendezvous of whatever I have going on in my head." "I've never been good with placing genres, especially with the EP being kind of all over the place," she says. "I had just started learning Ableton. I've never owned cool p...