Pearl San Antonio February Events Guide

Pearl’s first ever Cowboy Heritage Festival is taking place this Saturday. Photo: Pearl, used with permission.

February Happenings at Pearl

From Rodeo Festivities to Valentine’s Weekend Fun

Pearl is kicking off February in true Texas style—with boots, bands, murals, and plenty of reasons to linger all month long. From the inaugural Cowboy Heritage Festival to Valentine’s Day celebrations, here’s everything happening at Pearl this February. (Pearl, 2026)

🤠 Cowboy Heritage Festival

Saturday, February 7 | 3–7 p.m.

Pearl debuts its first-ever Cowboy Heritage Festival, celebrating vaquero culture with live music, roaming performers, art, and rodeo-inspired fun throughout the property.

Festival Highlights

  • Chuck wagon photo opportunities
  • Live music across multiple stages
  • Free boot shining
  • Trick roper and cowboy & cowgirl stilt walkers
  • Live mural painting by San Antonio muralist Claudio Aguillon, titled The Vaquero (Cellars Pavilion)

📍 Event Locations & Schedules

1100 Springs Plaza

  • Rodeo Roundup Edition of the Pearl Farmers Market
  • Craft workshop with Sharriah Martinez (3–6 p.m.)
    • Make cowboy boot magnets (while supplies last)
  • Live music:
    • Gelina & The Diamondbacks (3–4:15 p.m.)
    • Jacob Kyle Band (4:45–7 p.m.)

Stable Hall

  • Free boot shining
  • Live music by Brandon Michael Band (3–4:45 p.m.)

Parkito (between Local Coffee and Bakery Lorraine)

  • Favorite Son Band (3–4:30 p.m.)
  • Jake Castillo Trio (5–7 p.m.)

South Karnes Street

  • Trick roper and stilt walkers roaming (3–5 p.m.)
  • Meet & Greet with Miss Rodeo Texas Princess (3–4:30 p.m.)
  • Live music by Drew Brown Band (5–7 p.m.)

Pearl Park

  • Chuck wagon photo op
  • The Vaquero mural installation
  • Line dancing (3–5 p.m.)
  • Brandon Michael Band returns (5:30–7 p.m.)

La Gloria

  • San Antonio Charro Association appearance (2–5 p.m.)
  • Live music by Eros Garcia
  • Food and drink specials

🎶 More February Events at Pearl

Weekly Favorites

🎬 Movie Monday

February 16 | 6:30 p.m. | Pearl Park

🥃 Hotel Emma Rodeo Dinner Series (Ticketed Events)

  • February 6: Buffalo Trace Distillery whiskey pairing dinner
  • February 27: British Isles aged whiskey pairing dinner

👢 Get Rodeo Ready at Pearl

Shop your rodeo look this season with:

  • Western wear and in-store embroidery at King Ranch Saddle Shop
  • Cowboy-chic accessories from The Tiny Finch
  • Rodeo-ready attire and hosting essentials at Adelante
  • Style-forward designs from Niche
  • Exclusive Fraulien Boot Company styles at Curio at Hotel Emma

Pearl Bi-Annual Sidewalk Sale | February 5–6
Featuring special deals from The Twig Book Shop, Niche, Adelante, The Tiny Finch, and more.

❤️ Valentine’s Day Weekend at Pearl

February 13–15

Wednesday, February 11 – Kat Edmonson at Stable Hall

Friday, February 13

Saturday, February 14

  • Vaquero Valentine Market at the Pearl Farmers Market
  • Valentine’s Day dining experiences at Pullman Market

Sunday, February 15

  • Makers Market
  • Live music at Otto’s Ice House

🌶️ Still Coming Up

Whether you’re two-stepping under the stars, shopping for the perfect rodeo look, or celebrating Valentine’s Day with live music and great food, Pearl is the place to be this February. With events happening nearly every day of the month, there’s always a reason to stop by, stay awhile, and experience the energy that makes Pearl a favorite gathering spot in San Antonio.

Book Review: ‘Mattering’ by Jennifer Wallace and Why Feeling Valued Is Essential to Well-Being

‘Mattering’ by Jennifer Wallace explains the mental health crisis we’re living in. Photo: Penguin Random House

Related Post: What It Means to Matter and Why It’s Essential for a Meaningful Life

Book Review: Mattering by Jennifer Wallace

In Mattering: The Secret to a Life of Deep Connection and Purpose, Jennifer Wallace delivers a profound and timely wake-up call. She argues that today’s mental health crisis isn’t simply the result of digital burnout or political strife, but a symptom of something deeper: what she calls an “erosion of mattering.”

Drawing on psychology, sociology, and real-world stories, Wallace makes a compelling case that mattering—knowing we are valued and that our contributions have meaning—is not a luxury. It is a basic human need, as essential as food or water. When that need goes unmet, the consequences ripple outward, fueling anxiety, depression, loneliness, and social fragmentation.

What’s Inside the Book

Wallace explores mattering through a series of thoughtful, accessible chapters, including:

  • Connect to Your Impact
  • The Good Kind of Weight
  • Mattering Too Much
  • Everyone Needs (to Be) a Cornerman
  • Tuning In
  • When the Rug Gets Pulled: Coping with Life’s Transitions
  • How We Spend Our Days: Mattering at Work
  • Be an Architect: Mattering Spaces

Key Highlights

Chapter 2: The Good Kind of Weight

This chapter focuses on using our strengths to meet the needs around us. Wallace emphasizes the importance of asking, rather than assuming, what others need. As she writes, “To add value, find a need in the world and apply your strengths.” Sometimes, mattering starts with the simple but courageous question: “What can I do to help?”

Chapter 3: Mattering Too Much

While feeling needed is essential, Wallace warns against imbalance. When we prioritize others at the expense of ourselves, the weight of responsibility can become crushing. “By treating yourself as a priority,” she notes, “you also create space for the relationships in your life to become more authentic.”

The Mattering Core

The focus is Wallace’s “mattering core,” a framework built on four essential pillars:

  • Recognition: Seeing and acknowledging your own impact
  • Reliance: Being needed by others—in healthy balance
  • Prioritization: Feeling like a priority to those who matter most
  • Investment: Being truly known and supported

Through stories of grieving individuals, exhausted caregivers, and everyday people quietly struggling, Wallace shows how the absence of mattering can dismantle one’s sense of self.

Final Thoughts

Warm, humane, and deeply practical, Mattering doesn’t just diagnose a societal ill, it offers a roadmap forward. Wallace shows how small, intentional acts of recognition and care can rebuild connection in families, schools, workplaces, and communities.

Clear-eyed yet hopeful, Mattering challenges readers to rethink success, connection, and what it truly means to live well, together. It’s a must-read for anyone feeling lost in the shuffle of modern life.

“We live in a time marked by division across politics, race, gender, and class. But gaps don’t close through argument. They narrow from feeling heard or being seen.”

Rating: 4 out of 5.

*Thank you to Angela Baggetta Communications for the gifted copy for review consideration. I haven’t been compensated for this review and all views and opinions expressed are my own.

Amon Amarth and Dethklok Announce 2026 North American Co-Headlining Tour

Amon Amarth. Photo: Tomas Gidén, used with permission.

Amon Amarth & Dethklok Announce The Amonklok Conquest North American Tour

Swedish metal titans Amon Amarth is joining forces with Dethklok for The Amonklok Conquest, an extensive co-headlining tour crossing North America in Spring 2026. With special guests Castle Rat, the tour promises a night of pure theater and over-the-top heavy metal entertainment. (another side, 2026)

This historic run marks the first time the two titan-sized bands have co-billed together, making it one of the biggest raids of the year.

A Clash of Metal Giants

Amon Amarth has long honored the adventurous ethos of their Viking forebears by taking their music anywhere and everywhere, earning a reputation as one of metal’s most vital and imperious live acts. Hot off a busy year conquering the high seas, supporting Slayer in the U.K. and storming the U.S. with Pantera, the band returns with an all-new theatrical stage production and an extended set for these upcoming dates.

Amon Amarth declares:

“Three bands. One night. The strong will scream. The weak will fall. Limbs will be lost. We will crush skulls beneath our boots and tear the halls down stone by stone. This is not a concert. It is a reckoning. If you survive… perhaps the gods have other plans for you.”

Dethklok: 20 Years of Metalocalypse

In 2026, Dethklok celebrates its 20th anniversary, marking two decades since Metalocalypse premiered on Adult Swim. One of the most essential musical multimedia acts ever, Dethklok is both an animated phenomenon and a live metal juggernaut—combining intense musicianship with breakneck cinematic theatricality.

Joining them each night as special guests is the fantastical heavy metal band Castle Rat.

The Rat Queen proclaims:

“On the heels of the Vernal Equinox, our adjacent universes shall align as we bring .•.The Realm.•. of Castle Rat into battle alongside venerable vikings, Amon Amarth, and Metalocalypse metal-masters, Dethklok! Join us, as we seek to expand and defend .•.The Realm.•. from our arch nemesis: Death, Herself — The Rat Reaperess!”

Tour Information & Tickets

The newly announced North American dates are produced by Live Nation.
Tickets and full details are available online.
For additional updates and information, visit the official tour site.

New Music & What’s Next for Amon Amarth

Amon Amarth recently celebrated a bountiful year with the release of their new single “We Rule The Waves,” along with its accompanying video. Their first new song in years, it signals what’s to come—a brand-new album arriving in late 2026.

Carved from salt and steel, echoing across oceans and sonically barbaric, modern metal doesn’t get more epic, or more essential, than this.

About Amon Amarth

From pole to pole and sea to sea, Amon Amarth are the undisputed kings of Viking heavy metal. Formed in Tumba, Sweden, in 1992, the band has forged an extraordinary legacy over three decades of thunderous, anthemic metal steeped in Viking history, folklore, and culture.

From their underground smash debut Once Sent From The Golden Hall (1998) onward, Amon Amarth have remained an unstoppable creative force. Albums like Twilight Of The Thunder God (2008) and the conceptual triumph Jomsviking (2016) cemented their reputation for ageless anthems and explosive theatrical live shows, making them standard-bearers for heavy metal as a communal, life-affirming experience.

About Dethklok & Metalocalypse

Dethklok is an extreme metal band and the most successful entertainment act on the planet, along with being the seventh-largest economy in the animated world of Adult Swim’s Metalocalypse. Live, they are a multimedia powerhouse, blending animation, comedy, and sheer brutality while recreating beloved albums and visuals on stage.

Band members include musician and show co-creator Brendon Small and legendary drummer Gene Hoglan, among others.

Dethklok is:

  • Nathan Explosion – Vocals
  • Skwisgaar Skwigelf – Lead Guitar
  • Toki Wartooth – Rhythm Guitar
  • William Murderface – Bass
  • Pickles – Drums
Dethklok. Courtesy photo, used with permission.
Courtesy photo, used with permission.



Best Super Bowl Watch Parties in San Antonio (Plus Food & Drink Deals)

Tenfold Rooftop at Kimpton Santo San Antonio – Riverwalk. Photo: Kimpton Santo, used with permission.

Super Bowl Sunday Specials: Where to Eat, Drink & Watch the Big Game in San Antonio

Super Bowl Sunday is almost here, and locally owned restaurants and bars across San Antonio and New Braunfels are bringing the heat with food deals, drink specials, and high-energy watch parties. From rooftop margaritas to wing specials and projector-screen viewing, here’s where to celebrate the Big Game on Sunday, February 8.

🍹 Rosario’s ComidaMex & Bar (Southtown)

All Day Sunday | February 8

Football fans can enjoy half-off appetizers all day long at Rosario’s, available exclusively at the main bar and rooftop bar. The restaurant is also debuting The Benito Bowl, a blue frozen margarita inspired by this year’s halftime performer, Bad Bunny. (Rosario’s, 2026)

Both bars feature massive flat-screen TVs for optimal game viewing. The 25+ rooftop bar will also host its weekly Cozy Up Sundays, featuring $8 signature cocktails and bites.

📍 Walk-ins welcome | No reservations required

🦀 Smashin Crab (All Locations)

All Day Sunday | February 8

Smashin Crab is closing out football season strong with $1 wings all day, available for dine-in or takeout at all three locations, perfect for hosting your own watch party at home. (Smashin Crab, 2026)

Each restaurant is decked out with wall-to-wall TVs, and guests can also enjoy 2-for-1 Hurricanes, available through February 17.

🍻 Finnegan’s Sports & Spirits

All Day Sunday Happy Hour

Finnegan’s is keeping it simple and fun with all-day happy hour and beer bucket specials, including:

  • $4 Margaritas
  • $5 Bloody Marys
  • $15 Domestic Beer Buckets

A laid-back spot to sip, snack, and settle in for the game. (Finnegan’s, 2026)

🍔 Muck & Fuss

Muck & Fuss is serving up game-day classics with:

  • $9.95 wing special
  • $19.95 ice-cold beer buckets

Catch the game on TVs throughout the restaurant or on the projector screen in the Biergarten, while sipping from a lineup of 38 draft beers featuring top local and national breweries. (Muck & Fuss, 2026)

🏨Plaza San Antonio Hotel & Spa

🍽️Corinne San Antonio: Big Game Pre-Game Specials

Sunday, February 8 | Game Starts at 5:30 PM

📍 555 S Alamo St., San Antonio, TX 78205
🚗 Valet parking available for $10

Kick off Super Bowl Sunday at Corinne’s bar with game-day drink specials, including Bloody Marys, mimosas, beer specials, and an All Day Happy Hour Menu.

Snack on crowd favorites like buffalo cauliflower, regular wings, or a Trio Dip (guacamole, queso, salsa) while watching the game on two big screens. (Plaza San Antonio Hotel & Spa, 2026)

🌿Anaqua Garden Bar: Game Day Watch Party

Sunday, February 8 | Game at 5:30 PM | Trivia: 2–4 PM

📍 555 S Alamo St., San Antonio, TX 78205
🚗 Valet parking available for $10

Anaqua Garden Bar is hosting a full-scale Super Bowl watch party with multiple projector screens with sound, theater-style seating, and plenty of food and drink.

The party starts early with trivia from 2–4 PM, featuring questions on Bad Bunny and 2026 Super Bowl commercials.

Menu highlights include:

  • Buffalo Cauliflower Wings
  • Regular Wings
  • Trio Dip (Guac, Queso, Salsa)
  • Local brewery buckets & seltzers

🌊Kimpton Santo San Antonio – Riverwalk

🥩Dean’s Steak & Seafood: The Courtyard Kickoff

Sunday, February 8 | Game Starts at 5:30 PM

📍 Interior Courtyard, 431 S Alamo St., San Antonio, TX 78205

Dean’s is extending happy hour drink specials all day in its comfortable interior courtyard. Watch the game on two TVs with sound while enjoying upscale-casual vibes, great drinks, and shareable bites. (Kimpton Santo San Antonio, 2026)

🌇Tenfold Rooftop: Level 10 Kickoff Hour

Sunday, February 8 | Game Starts at 5:30 PM

📍 431 S Alamo St., San Antonio, TX 78205
🚗 Complimentary valet with purchase
🔗 Reservations required

Tenfold Rooftop offers a relaxed Super Bowl experience with sound-on TVs, bucket specials, and 270-degree city views.

Specials include:

  • $15 Food Special: 2 Brush Creek Sliders + Kennebec Chips
  • Domestic Beer Bucket (5) – $35
  • Import Beer Bucket (5) – $40
  • High Noon Bucket (5) – $40

🍩The Gunter Hotel

Paris Baguette: Game-Day Donuts & Cakes

Available Now Through Super Bowl Weekend

📍 205 E Houston St., San Antonio, TX 78205

Paris Baguette is serving up football-themed sweets, including the King Creme Football Donut and Triple Chocolate Football Cream Cake. Donuts are available daily, while cakes are offered for weekend orders (preorders encouraged). (The Gunter Hotel, 2026)

🧊Otto’s Ice House (Pearl District)

Open 11 AM – 10 PM | Kickoff at 5:30 PM

📍 111 Newell Ave, San Antonio, TX 78212

Chef Levi Goode’s newest concept is the ultimate riverside spot for Super Bowl Sunday. Enjoy ice-cold drinks, hearty favorites like Cantina Queso, the Hill Country Deluxe Smashburger, and Otto’s Last Shot, all while watching the game on multiple indoor and outdoor TVs. (Otto’s Ice House, 2026)

Whether you’re craving wings, rooftop cocktails, or a full watch-party vibe, San Antonio’s local spots are bringing their A-game this Super Bowl Sunday. 🏈

‘What Every CEO Must Know’: 37 Leadership Secrets for Confident, Decisive CEOs

‘What Every CEO Must Know’ is the new book by Bill Miller. Photo: Barnes & Noble

📘 Book Spotlight

What Every CEO Must Know: 37 Secrets to Lead with Confidence and Power

By Bill Miller

What’s the #1 Reason CEOs Fail?

Blind spots they never saw coming.

Most CEOs don’t fail because they lack intelligence, ambition, or drive. They fail because they miss the warning signs. Blind spots quietly erode trust, derail critical decisions, and ultimately sink companies. (Barnes & Noble, 2026)

In What Every CEO Must Know: 37 Secrets to Lead with Confidence and Power, Bill Miller reveals proven leadership strategies drawn from over 20 real-world founder and first-time CEO stories. The book offers practical guidance every CEO needs to lead with confidence, clarity, and resilience, especially when the stakes are high.

Leadership Insights from Decades of Experience

Award-winning author and trusted CEO advisor Bill Miller draws on more than 30 years of experience helping leaders navigate their toughest challenges. His approach is practical, direct, and rooted in real executive decision-making, not theory.

What You’ll Learn

This book shows CEOs how to:

  • Spot and eliminate blind spots before they sabotage credibility and trust
  • Make faster, sharper decisions, even with incomplete data
  • Lead with clarity, not cleverness, so teams can execute flawlessly
  • Turn mistakes into momentum using proven recovery strategies

Practical Tools You Can Use Immediately

Each chapter includes actionable frameworks, playbooks, and checklists, including:

  • The CEO Decision Grid
  • The 90-Day Growth Engine Challenge
  • The 8-Step Hiring Framework

These tools help leaders cut through uncertainty and move forward with confidence.

Who This Book Is For

Perfect for:

  • Startup founders
  • First-time CEOs
  • Seasoned executives seeking clarity and operational excellence

If you want to lead with confidence, decisiveness, and impact, this book belongs on your desk.

👉 Get your copy of What Every CEO Must Know today and start leading with confidence, clarity, and power.

About the Author

Bill Miller is an executive advisor, consultant, speaker, and award-winning author who helps first-time CEOs, founders, and struggling leaders lead with confidence, clarity, resilience, and power.

A former vice president and general manager, Bill has led Marketing, Product Management, Business Development, Strategic Partnerships, Development, and Operations over a 35-year career. His experience spans early-stage startups to multi-billion-dollar multinational companies, giving him rare perspective on what truly drives successful leadership.

Healing the Past to Manifest Your Future: A Review of ‘What’s True About You’

‘What’s True About You’ is the new book by Katherine Woodward Thomas. Photo: Amazon

What’s True About You by Katherine Woodward Thomas

Book Review & Overview

Katherine Woodward Thomas’ new book, What’s True About You: 7 Steps to Move Beyond Your Painful Past and Manifest Your Brightest Future, represents the leading edge of personal development, bridging the gap between trauma recovery and consciously creating a life you love.

Overview

In What’s True About You, licensed therapist and New York Times bestselling author Katherine Woodward Thomas reveals a revolutionary way to leave a painful past behind and grow into the abundant and fulfilling future you desire. (FSB Associates, 2026)

Through a radically effective, life-altering seven-step process, Thomas helps readers identify and release the false beliefs formed through past pain. These beliefs often operate beneath the surface, shaping how we see ourselves, our relationships, and what we believe is possible. By dismantling them, we are empowered to live and love as our true selves—the version we’ve always sensed we could, and should, be.

Rather than allowing the past to define or limit us, Thomas offers a refreshingly inspiring protocol for changing who we are today, opening the door to a brighter and more expansive future.

What’s Inside

The Seven Steps:

  1. Claim a Positive, Possible Future
  2. Name Your Source Fracture Story
  3. Wake Up to the True You
  4. See Yourself as Source
  5. Identify New Ways of Relating
  6. Embrace a Growth Mindset
  7. Make New Choices, Take New Actions

Part Two: The True You Breakthrough Blueprint
This section includes 22 core belief breakdowns designed to help readers pinpoint their specific fracture story, along with clear steps to finally break free from it.

Highlights

True You Premises

Premise #4: You Are the Source of Your Own Experience
Thomas emphasizes that while past experiences may not be our fault, we are fully responsible for the choices we make in the present. True healing begins when we stop blaming others and take ownership of our inner world:

“The breakthrough happens when you become willing to take 100 percent responsibility for yourself as the source of your experience.”

Step 6: Embrace a Growth Mindset

This step focuses on developing skills that support emotional and relational growth, such as communicating needs, expressing feelings honestly, and setting healthy boundaries.

Review

Katherine Woodward Thomas offers a compassionate yet practical roadmap for anyone ready to stop letting their past define their future. Her seven-step process helps readers identify and release deeply ingrained beliefs shaped by trauma, disappointment, and emotional pain.

The book balances emotional depth with actionable guidance. Thomas doesn’t rush readers toward positivity or manifestation without first inviting them to do the necessary inner healing. Through reflective exercises, real-life examples, and gentle but direct language, she shows how awareness can become a powerful gateway to transformation.

One of its greatest strengths is its emphasis on identity. Instead of focusing solely on changing circumstances, Thomas encourages readers to change who they are being in the present moment. As false narratives fall away, a more authentic and expansive self emerges, capable of deeper love, clarity, and fulfillment.

Ultimately, What’s True About You is both a healing guide and a hopeful invitation to reclaim your authentic self and consciously create a future rooted in truth, possibility, and self-compassion. It is highly recommended for fans of motivational and personal growth books, as well as anyone seeking meaningful inner transformation.

“Yet recognizing the impact that past trauma has had on us is just one leg of the journey. It’s not the destination itself. The destination we’re aspiring to is the ability to create our lives outside of the story we made up about ourselves in response to whatever happened to us.”

Rating: 4 out of 5.

About the Author

Katherine Woodward Thomas, M.A., MFT, is a licensed marriage and family therapist, New York Times bestselling author, and a pioneer in transformational psychology. For over two decades, she has developed groundbreaking methods that help people move beyond healing the past and into consciously creating the future they desire.

Her books, Calling in “The One” and Conscious Uncoupling, have sold more than 600,000 copies worldwide and sparked cultural conversations around love, relationships, and conscious endings. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, Time Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and The Today Show, reaching millions across the globe.

*Thank you to FSB Associates for the gifted copy for review consideration. I haven’t been compensated for this review and all views and opinions expressed are my own.

Don Winslow’s ‘Broken’ and the Movie Adaptation of Crime 101

Crime 101 is one of the short stories in Don Winslow’s Broken. Photo: Barnes & Noble

Broken by Don Winslow: From Gritty Crime Fiction to the Big Screen

“No matter how you come into this world, you come out broken…”

Don Winslow’s Broken is a blistering collection of crime stories that showcases why he’s long been considered one of the most powerful voices in contemporary crime fiction. Now, one of its standout stories—“Crime 101”—has made the leap from the page to a major motion picture, bringing Winslow’s razor-sharp storytelling to an even wider audience.

About the Book: Broken

Hailed by Stephen King as “one of America’s greatest storytellers,” #1 international bestselling author Don Winslow returns in Broken with six intense short novels. Some feature familiar characters, others introduce new ones, but all are connected by Winslow’s signature themes: crime, vengeance, guilt, and redemption.

With his trademark blend of insight, humanity, dark humor, and propulsive action, Winslow delivers stories that feel both immediate and timeless. These are tales of people living by codes, moral, criminal, or personal, and the devastating consequences when those codes are tested or broken.

Spotlight on “Crime 101”

At the heart of Broken is “Crime 101,” a tightly wound crime story that reads like a perfect noir film waiting to happen.

A series of high-level jewel heists along California’s Pacific Coast Highway has baffled law enforcement for years. The crimes are initially attributed to Colombian cartels, but Detective Lou Lubesnick suspects something else entirely: a lone thief operating under a strict personal philosophy known as Crime 101.

The jewel thief has followed his rules flawlessly, until now. As he plans one final, legendary score, Lou decides to do the unthinkable: break every rule of Crime 101 to stop him.

It’s a story about obsession, intuition, and the thin line between hunter and hunted, and it’s no surprise Hollywood came calling.

About the Movie: Crime 101

The film adaptation of Crime 101 brings Winslow’s story to life with an all-star cast and sleek, tension-filled direction.

Plot Overview

A jewel thief named Mike Davis has executed a series of daring heists along the 101 freeway, leaving police completely stumped. When he sets his sights on the ultimate score, his plans intersect with those of insurance broker Sharon Colvin. Meanwhile, Detective Lou Lubesnick believes he’s finally cracked the thief’s pattern and is determined to bring him down before the next job.

Film Details

  • Written and Directed by: Bart Layton
  • Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Barry Keoghan, Monica Barbaro, Corey Hawkins, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Nick Nolte, and Halle Berry

Crime 101 premiered on January 28, 2026, in London and is scheduled for U.S. release on February 13, 2026.

About the Author: Don Winslow

Don Winslow is the author of twenty-six acclaimed, award-winning international bestsellers, including eight New York Times bestsellers such as Savages, The Cartel, The Force, The Border, and his epic City trilogy (City on Fire, City of Dreams, City in Ruins).

A former investigator, anti-terrorism trainer, and trial consultant, Winslow brings lived experience to his fiction, lending it an authenticity that sets his work apart. He has also written award-winning short stories for Audible, narrated by four-time Oscar nominee Ed Harris. Winslow currently lives in California and Rhode Island.

Final Thoughts

With Broken, Don Winslow once again proves his mastery of crime fiction, and Crime 101’s transition from short novel to feature film feels both natural and inevitable. Whether you encounter this story first on the page or on the screen, one thing is certain: Winslow’s world is gripping, morally complex, and impossible to forget.

Photo: Google

Contemporary at Blue Star: 2026 Exhibitions, Events, and Artist Opportunities

Mini Art Museum at the Contemporary’s Family Day, 2024. Photo by Bria Woods, used with permission.

Upcoming Exhibitions & Programs at Contemporary at Blue Star

San Antonio, Texas – In 2026, the Contemporary at Blue Star centers its exhibition programming around the theme of community, marking a major milestone: the organization’s 40th anniversary in June 2026. Curator and Exhibitions Director Jacqueline Saragoza McGilvray frames the year as an opportunity to reflect on the Contemporary’s history, the role community has played in shaping the institution, and the ways exhibitions can actively build and strengthen local, national, and international relationships. (Contemporary at Blue Star, 2026)

Below is a look at the upcoming exhibitions and programs.

Mark Menjívar: Murmurations

Opening Night: Friday, February 6, 2026 | 6–9 p.m.
Taco Talk: Friday, February 6, 2026 | 10:30–11:30 a.m.
On View: February 6 – May 3, 2026

San Antonio–based artist Mark Menjívar integrates social practice and participatory education models to create intentional community building. His work establishes frameworks for students, community groups, and leaders to engage in critical dialogue around the issues that shape their lives.

Menjívar’s participatory projects often incorporate oral history recording, archive building, publications, and installations that present collective conversations while inviting continued public engagement. Over the last two decades, he has completed more than a dozen multifaceted, long-term projects.

This mid-career survey highlights selected works—including The Luck Archive—while also debuting new projects. Menjívar is currently an Associate Professor in the Interdisciplinary School for Engagement at the University of Texas at San Antonio.

Mini Art Museum

Honoring the Late Mary Cantú

Opening Night: Friday, March 6, 2026 | 6–9 p.m.
On View: March 6 – June 7, 2026

The San Antonio arts community was deeply saddened by the sudden passing of Mary Cantú on February 18, 2025, at age 45. Cantú was a beloved advocate for arts education and served on the Contemporary’s Education Committee from 2014–2016, playing a key role in the development of the Creative Classrooms program and championing free access to art for San Antonio children.

In 2013, Cantú co-founded the Mini Art Museum with Gabriela Santiago. Using standard office binders as gallery “walls,” the Mini Art Museum invited artists to create miniature works sized to fit inside 8.5 × 11-inch plastic sleeves. Featuring original works by professional artists, the museum encourages close observation, often aided by magnifying glasses, creating a sense of wonder and intimacy.

In spring 2024, the Mini Art Museum collection was transferred to the Contemporary. Exhibited here in its entirety and in memoriam of Mary Cantú, the presentation includes over 100 works by artists such as Kim Bishop, Sarah Castillo, Michael Menchaca, and Vincent Valdez, reflecting the profound impact Cantú made on the community.

Roman Franc: Groups Collective

Opening Night: Friday, March 6, 2026 | 6–9 p.m.
On View: March 6 – June 7, 2026

Artist Roman Franc will travel to San Antonio to create new photographs as part of his ongoing Group Pictures / Collectives series. Since 2015, Franc has photographed groups across cultures and geographies, from residents of Tanna Island in the South Pacific to the U.S. Congress in Washington, D.C.

San Antonio’s layered and interconnected communities provide a rich setting for this project. In alignment with the Contemporary’s 40th anniversary theme, Groups Collective offers glimpses into a larger whole, reflecting the city’s diversity and collective spirit.

Franc (b. 1983, Brno, Czech Republic) holds an MA in Education from Masaryk University and an MFA in Photography from the Institute of Creative Photography at Silesian University, Opava. His practice focuses on non-traditional portraiture and staged photography, alongside curatorial and publishing work.

Berlin Residency Program

2026–2027 Application Cycle Now Open

Contemporary at Blue Star is now accepting applications from artists living and working in Bexar County for its Berlin Residency Program. Launched in 2013, the program enters its 12th cycle in partnership with Künstlerhaus Bethanien (KB).

Each year, four artists are awarded three-month residencies in Berlin, Germany, with the opportunity to also visit San Antonio’s sister city, Darmstadt, Germany.

Residency Support Includes:

  • $2,000 stipend for travel and living expenses
  • Coverage of all residency program fees, including:
    • Studio and living space
    • Inclusion in the internationally distributed BE magazine
    • Curatorial visits and workshop access

Eligibility guidelines are available through the application link.
Application Deadline: Sunday, February 22, 2026 at 4 p.m.

About Contemporary at Blue Star

Contemporary at Blue Star presents exhibitions featuring artists from San Antonio and around the world, sharing global perspectives that encourage understanding, empathy, change, and action. As a non-collecting contemporary art space, the Contemporary offers fresh insights into cultural and societal issues by highlighting current trends, movements, and conversations in art.

Admission is always free.

Contemporary at Blue Star
116 Blue Star
San Antonio, TX 78204

trauma ray’s Carnival EP Is a Dark, Shoegaze-Fueled Descent Into Unease

trauma ray announces new album – Carnival. Photo: Erasmo Viera, used with permission.

trauma ray Explores the Dark Funhouse on Carnival EP

trauma ray’s Carnival EP captures the Fort Worth five’s strongest, most intense, and exploratory work within the boundaries of a whirlwind year. Carnival delves into moodier, more cerebral material, like holding their past excursions against a funhouse mirror. There’s a distinct sense of unease in these songs, built in a fleeting window of time, proving the band works best under pressure and when pulling from the darkest corners of their subconscious. (another side, 2026)

Carnival will be available on February 20 via Dais Records.
Pre-save / pre-order here.

Following the Breakout of Chameleon

Carnival follows the breakout success of Chameleon, trauma ray’s 2024 debut on Dais Records. The album helped firmly establish the band amidst the current wave of shoegaze revivalists. Increasingly agile, trauma ray has proven able to weave between scenes, touring extensively with the likes of Deafheaven, Loathe, Touché Amoré, and more.

A confluence of blitzing riffs and stark beauty, trauma ray’s sound continues to evolve, nodding to loud-quiet-loud greats across metal, grunge, and shoegaze, from Slowdive to Smashing Pumpkins.

New Single: “Hannibal”

trauma ray’s new single and video, “Hannibal,” contorts with a tinge of unprecedented evil, slithery and, as vocalist Uriel Avila puts it, “Stone Temple-y, Alice in Chains-y.” Lyrically, the track taps into teenage angst and the feeling of being dissected and rejected.

“It’s a song about the feeling of doing your best as an individual yet still falling short in the eyes of those you hope to make proud,” Avila explains.

“A lot of it stems from internal battles I faced growing up with my father, role models, and religion. Some of it comes from more recent experiences of being put under the microscope by my peers. It’s a gut-wrenching sensation that I was able to tie lyrically to the visceral mood of the instrumentation that kicks off the track and begins the journey through Carnival’s overall theme.”

Recording Under Pressure

During a brief break in their relentless touring schedule last summer, trauma ray regrouped in Texas for a few days to record a flurry of tracks, later sent to Corey Coffman for mixing and mastering. Core songwriting duo Avila and guitarist Jonathan Perez welcomed increased contributions from the rest of the band, most notably guitarist Coleman Pruitt and bassist Darren Baun, who brought an eerier strain of rhythmic and textural ideas.

This shift coincided with a growing sense of collective dread and anxiety, visually captured in a striking photo set of a deserted amusement park near Brighton, England. Shot on tour by drummer Nicholas Bobotas, the images now serve as the EP’s artwork.

Track-by-Track Through the Funhouse

The wordless opener “Carousel” ushers in Carnival’s unsettling atmosphere, with blasts of static and downcast strums giving way to “Hannibal,” the anthemic lead single packed with power riffs and raw emotion.

“Méliès,” named after French illusionist and filmmaker Georges Méliès, cuts between heavy, sludgy chords and a skyward chorus—“from something scary to like a dream state,” Avila says, channeling the surreal abstraction of its namesake.

“Funhouse” dips into doom metal, featuring sparse guitar work and possibly the band’s slowest BPM yet. Lyrics play with shifting perspectives, culminating in a call-and-response outro—“take my hand / this is not your wonderland”—that conjures opposing forces or frames of mind.

A Jarring Exit: “Clown”

In contrast, the final track “Clown” jolts, flashes, and pummels, like emerging from the other end of a house of horrors, now immersed in the disorienting lights of the carnival. Personified by a knotty, synth-soaked lead guitar squall, the song evokes Robin Williams as an archetype of tragic happiness: those who work hardest to make others laugh may privately be the saddest.

Sonically, the band cites influences like Failure’s “Undone” and “Stuck on You,” alongside the omnipresent Loveless. The result speaks to trauma ray’s growing strength: five musicians absorbing, synthesizing, and expanding on what they love.

Carnival offers a brief, highly loopable detour into darkness from a band growing more formidable by the mile.

Carnival EP tracklist: 

1 – carousel
2 – Hannibal
3 – Méliès
4 – Funhouse
5 – Clown

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Carnival release date

Chef Jason Dady Hosts Titans of Tailgate at La Cantera in San Antonio

The Titans of Tailgate event supports San Antonio high school culinary programs. Courtesy photo, used with permission.

Titans of Tailgate Returns to San Antonio for Its 9th Year

Chef Jason Dady and Culinaria are proud to present the ninth annual Titans of Tailgate, presented by Wrangler Air Conditioning, taking place Sunday, February 1, from 1–4 p.m. at The Rock at La Cantera. (Jason Dady Restaurant Group, 2026)

This high-energy, chef-driven event brings together more than 30 of San Antonio’s top chefs for an afternoon celebrating food, flavor, and community—all while supporting local high school culinary programs.

A Chef-Fueled Grilling Showdown

Hosted by Chef Jason Dady, Titans of Tailgate is the ultimate grilling throwdown, featuring some of the city’s most respected culinary talent, including:

  • PJ Edwards (Meadow Neighborhood Eatery)
  • Berty Richter (Ladino)
  • Esaul Ramos (2M Smokehouse)
  • Nicola Blaque (The Jerk Shack)
  • And many more

Chefs will compete head-to-head for the coveted title of “Titan of Tailgate,” blending tailgate spirit with bold, chef-driven creativity.

Supporting the Next Generation of Chefs

Representatives from six local high schools will join the professional chefs, reinforcing the event’s mission of mentorship and community investment. Guests will enjoy:

  • Unlimited tastings
  • Drinks and interactive experiences
  • The chance to vote for their favorite bite

Proceeds from the event directly support San Antonio high school culinary programs, helping fund equipment, prep materials, and educational resources.

Event Details

📍 Location
The Rock at La Cantera
1 Spurs Way
San Antonio, TX 78256

🎟 Ticket Pricing

  • Under 21: $50
  • General Admission: $85
  • VIP: $150

For more information and to purchase tickets, click the link here.

About Jason Dady Restaurant Group

Since 2001, Texas native Chef Jason Dady, a James Beard Foundation Award semifinalist and frequent Food Network and Travel Channel expert, has helped redefine San Antonio’s culinary culture. In July 2025, he was named one of six chef ambassadors representing San Antonio as a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy.

Led by Chef Dady alongside his brother Jake and wife Crystal, the Jason Dady Restaurant Group includes nine acclaimed restaurants, as well as catering and event services.

About Culinaria

CULINARIA is an independent, not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting San Antonio as a premier food and wine destination. Since 2000, Culinaria has championed locally sourced food, culinary education, and community-driven events that enrich the Alamo City. Proceeds from its events directly support this mission, helping Culinaria remain largely self-sustaining.