Austin, TX

Dierks Bentley at Moody Center in Austin, TX – Loud Hailer Magazine

Published

9 months ago

May 30, 2025

Dierks Bentley at Moody Center in Austin, TX – Loud Hailer Magazine

Country star Dierks Bentley lit up Austin’s Moody Center with high-energy charm and heartfelt hits on his Broken Branches North American Tour stop.

Dierks Bentley is an American country music singer and songwriter from Phoenix, Arizona. Since the early 2000s, Bentley has been releasing music. Both of his first studio albums released are certified Platinum in the U.S. and 27 of his singles have been on Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts; 18 of which have reached #1. Bentley’s last album was released in 2023, Gravel & Gold. He is set to release a new album, Broken Branches, on June 13. The album will feature country artists such as Miranda Lambert and John Anderson.

The first of two artists opening for Dierks Bentley was The Band Loula. The Band Loula is a duo from Georgia. Their style is described as “swampgrass,” combining bluegrass and modern country. The duo is made up of Malachi Mills and Logan Simmons, who have been lifelong friends. The two have toured with major stars, including Brothers Osborne, Ashley McBryde, and Elle King. In May, they released their latest single, “Can’t Please ‘Em All.” During their set, they performed haunting songs such as “Running Off The Angels” and an unreleased song speculated to be titled “Karma Is The Devil.”

After The Band Loula, growing country musician Zach Top took to the stage. Zach Top has flown up the charts with hits such as “I Never Lie” and “Sounds Like the Radio.” Originally from Washington, Top moved to Nashville to begin building a career in music, especially being interested in country and bluegrass genres. His first self-titled debut EP, released in 2022, contained more bluegrass-style tracks compared to his latest album. In April 2024, he released his album Cold Beer & Country Music.

He opened his set with “Sounds Like the Radio” and “The Kinda Woman I Like.” Early in the show, while Top was introducing himself, he told the crowd that he would play a few songs he wrote and a few he didn’t. Mid-set, Top and his band performed an amazing cover of George Strait’s “Amarillo by Morning.” He closed his set with the title track from Cold Beer & Country Music.

At around 9 PM, Dierks Bentley and his band came onto the stage to open up the first show on The Broken Branches Tour. He opened his set with “Gold,” a 2022 single, also featured on his album Gravel & Gold (2023). During the opening, Bentley and his band walked to the edge of the short catwalk in the center of the stage to perform together. It was obvious the group was close-knit from the way they interacted and hyped each other up on stage. Afterward, they performed other hits such as “I Hold On” from Riser (2014) and “Burning Man” from The Mountain (2018) that originally featured Brothers Osborne.

As the set came to a close, he played a fan favorite, one of his first chart-topping songs, “What Was I Thinkin’” from his 2003 debut self-titled album. For his encore, he performed “Drunk on a Plane” and a few other songs to bring his set to an end. Dierks Bentley’s The Broken Branches Tour will continue through the end of August.

DIERKS BENTLEY
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ZACH TOP
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THE BAND LOULA
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MOODY CENTER
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Austin, TX

Will the rest of Austin allergies seasons be as bad as cedar this year?

Published

9 hours ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

Will the rest of Austin allergies seasons be as bad as cedar this year?

Austin had a particularly itchy and drippy cedar fever season to start the year. Many winter days, from late December into February, had high or very high ashe juniper (aka cedar) pollen counts.

Central Texas has a year-round allergy season with mold popping up at any time. For the more traditional spring and fall allergy seasons, forecasters at AccuWeather are predicting some of the allergens across the country will be worse this year than average.

Texas, though, is a different story.

For grass allergies, which happen now through September, AccuWeather estimates Austin will have an average season. However, just west of the Interstate 35 corridor in the Hill Country to almost El Paso, that season is expected to be worse than normal.

“Texas may experience above-average grass pollen for a few weeks,” AccuWeather’s allergy report said, “though the season could be shorter-lived compared to northern areas.”

It all depends on the weather

How much rain we get in the next six months and the perennial Texas heat will all affect the growing season for grasses and weeds, as well as the amount of pollen trees produce. The Farmers’ Almanac and the Old Farmers Almanac are both predicting a wetter and warmer spring.

Rain helps plants grow, which can increase pollen production over time. However, rainfall during allergy season can also bring temporary relief by washing pollen out of the air. That’s what we’re expecting this weekend, with our first meaningful rain chance in nearly three weeks. Tree and weed pollen levels might briefly drop, but mold could spike because it thrives in damp, humid weather.

If spring continues with excessive heat like we saw in February, it could limit the growth of some plants and trees. Extreme heat can reduce how much they grow, and how much pollen they produce. On the other hand, if we get a healthy balance of rain and only slightly above-normal temperatures — not extreme heat — pollen counts could climb. That’s especially true as we head into April, typically our windiest month of the year, which helps spread pollen more easily.

How can you treat allergies in Austin?

If you are feeling the effects of allergies, here are some things you can do to lessen them:

Start taking allergy medication at least two weeks before your allergen’s season is supposed to start. Keep taking your allergy medication throughout your allergen’s season, even on low-pollen days.
Vary your allergy medication. You can take a nasal spray, an eye drop and an oral antihistamine at the same time to treat the different symptoms. If one kind of allergy medication isn’t working, consult your doctor about whether you should add a second one or switch out the medication.
Take a shower before going to bed.
Take off outside clothes or shoes when you get into the house.
Do a daily nasal wash such as a neti pot or saline spray.
Consider seeing an allergist to get drops or shots to lessen your reaction to the allergen.

Consider these household tips to improve your chances of keeping allergens away:

Change the filters in your house regularly during cedar fever season.
Vacuum and sweep regularly.
Change your sheets, especially your pillow regularly.
Keep doors and windows closed.
Clean out the vents in your home.
Have your home tested for indoor allergens such as mold.
Wash and brush the animals in your house to lessen the amount of allergens in the air.
Wear a mask outside or inside while you are trying to lessen the pollen or mold indoors.

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Austin, TX

Texas Primary: Breakdown of Texas races

Published

21 hours ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

Democrats tried to stop a mid-decade redistricting effort, but were unsuccessful. Now, we are starting to see some of the candidates emerging in those newly drawn districts. FOX 7 Austin’s Rudy Koski gives a full breakdown.

Posted March 3, 2026 10:32pm CST

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Austin, TX

Remembering Jorge Pederson: Minnesota MMA fighter killed in Austin, Texas, shooting

Published

1 day ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

Remembering Jorge Pederson: Minnesota MMA fighter killed in Austin, Texas, shooting

ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC) – A shooting on West Sixth Street in Austin, Texas, early Sunday morning, killed three people and injured more than a dozen others, according to the Austin Police Department. APD confirmed one of the victims was 30-year-old Jorge Pederson, a Minnesota man who worked as an MMA fighter for the Med City Fighting Championships.

“You meet tons of fighters and there are people that stand above the rest that you find you enjoy or find the most amusing,” MCFC Co-Owner Matthew Vogt said. “He was definitely one of them.”

According to Vogt, Pederson was also the owner of a Minnesota business called Metro Movers. Vogt said the MMA competitor touched everyone’s hearts since his first day of fighting professionally in Rochester.

“As soon as we met him when it was the weighing time, we just loved the guy already because he had a great mission or spirit about him,” Vogt said. “He was a funny guy and great fighter.”

Vogt told KTTC when he first saw the news that Pederson was killed, he could not believe what he saw.

“I was looking, like, ‘Wait a minute. Is this one of his shenanigans or did something actually happen there?’” Vogt said, recalling the moment he saw a social media post regarding the shooting in Austin. “I confirmed with a few people and I’m just like, sometimes, some things happen that you don’t even like, you don’t even know how to respond to it because it’s just so out of left field that you don’t immediately have a response to it.”

MCFC confirmed there is an online fundraiser dedicated to supporting Pederson’s family. As of Tuesday afternoon, more than $10,000 has been raised.

“He was someone that always could make anybody laugh,” Vogt said. “Support his family through the fundraiser and take a look at his Instagram especially to see how funny he was.”

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