Brad Burt

Border wall plans now expanded to include Big Bend National Park. Still a lot we don't know - notably, the park/NPS is not answering questions about any of this - but here's what we do know at @MarfaRadio: marfapublicradio.org/news/2026-02-1…

Lubbock gets haboobs for mardis gras

It’s official. Can’t see downtown Lubbock from my office anymore

A preliminary federal notice out today says DHS is moving to waive environmental regs to speed up border wall building here in the Big Bend region of West Texas. Latest for @MarfaRadio: marfapublicradio.org/news/2026-02-1…

❤️ @TexasStandard texasstandard.org/stories/daniel…

An event organized by a student group intended to discuss abortion was cancelled by the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center late last month, after backlash from conservative activists and Turning Point USA at Texas Tech. radio.kttz.org/2026-02-06/tex…

If You’re Explaining, You’re Losing Read it: open.substack.com/pub/texasrural…

Texas faith leaders divided over school prayer, Bible reading periods as deadline for SB 11 approaches houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/…

"@TTUHSC drove a stake in the ground in West Texas and said, ‘We're never departing from this.'" Throughout Covid and beyond, the Institute of Anatomical Sciences has continued to innovate, educate, and serve the West Texas community with dignity. radio.kttz.org/2026-01-30/the…

WATCH: Remembering South Plains music education pioneer John Hartin

“If you’re being criticized by someone who used to believe in you, then maybe you’ve changed." 30 years ago, Suzanne Bellsnyder helped push Texas Republicans into power. Now, she's a known hellraiser, arguing against those same people, for rural Texas. texastribune.org/2026/01/29/suz…

717 votes cast for the first day of early voting in Lubbock Co., according to the elections office.

The Texas Tech System is weighing in on the actions taken by Angelo State University to curtail diversity, equity and inclusion practices and policies for the LGBT community, which has sparked outrage from some Texas educators. Read more @lubbockonline lubbockonline.com/story/news/edu…

The fast growing East Texas city of Tyler is eying a way to ease traffic congestion: light rail. by @JessHuff16 texastribune.org/2025/09/23/tyl… @TexasTribune #txlege

With the Cactus Theater in Lubbock, the Fair Theater in Plainview, and now the Wallace Theater in Levelland, West Texas needs a historic theater tour.

Y'all, the great Sonny Curtis died yesterday at the age of 88. I've written about Sonny before, posted some of his songs etc ... What a fascinating life he led! Sonny came into the world during the hardscrabble years of the Great Depression, the son of cotton farmers outside Meadow, Texas. As a kid, he ran around with none other than Buddy Holly, and before long the two were swapping licks on their guitars. By the mid-1950s, Curtis was deep in the swirl of rock ’n’ roll’s birth, jamming with Holly and even opening shows for a not-yet-famous Elvis Presley. And he wasn’t just playing — his pen was working too. Before he hit 20, he’d already written “Someday” for Webb Pierce and handed Holly “Rock Around With Ollie Vee.” Curtis actually left the Crickets before Buddy Holly became a household name, but fate pulled him back in. After Holly’s tragic plane crash in 1959, Curtis rejoined the group, helping shape their 1960 album In Style with the Crickets. That record featured “I Fought the Law,” which Curtis famously claimed he dashed off in one afternoon without any real inspiration, and “More Than I Can Say,” co-written with Jerry Allison. The latter became a hit for Bobby Vee and later for Leo Sayer, proving Curtis’s songs had staying power. “I Fought the Law,” though, took a little longer to find its legs. It wasn’t until 1966 that the Bobby Fuller Four, another Texas outfit, turned it into a Top 10 smash with that unforgettable line: “I fought the law — and the law won.” From there it became a rock standard, covered by everyone from the Clash to Johnny Cash, Nanci Griffith, Springsteen, Tom Petty, and countless others. Curtis may have written it in a flash, but the song went on to carve itself into music history. Sonny also wrote, and sang, the theme song for the Mary Tyler Moore show, called "Love is All Around," with its famous lead line "Who can turn the world on with her smile?" He also wrote "Walk Right Back," which was a hit song for The Everly Brothers. Shown here: Sonny Curtis with Buddy Holly, courtesy the Sonny's website.

Family is confirming that legendary West Texan and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member Sonny Curtis has died at age 88. bestclassicbands.com/sonny-curtis-b…

Big media news in the Big Bend - the nearly 100-year-old newspaper @bigbendsentinel is now a nonprofit: bigbendsentinel.com/2025/09/18/cha…

Personally, I’d rather not myself — or anyone else — repeat the events from the first half of this year, that felt like a minature ptsd flashback of the events of five years ago.

Welp