There used to be more places like this. Spots where you could show up with nowhere to be, talk to a stranger about something you both loved, and leave an hour later feeling like the city was a little smaller in the best possible way. Most of those places are gone now. But thank goodness, Cactus Music is still here. Haven’t had the absolute pleasure of perusing the aisles of Cactus? Well, pull up a chair, and allow us to tell you about it.
Cactus Music opened in 1975 on a stretch of Houston that basically looked nothing like it does today. Back then, it was just a record shop, which already meant it was a gathering place, because that's what record shops are, even when they're trying to just be record shops, we call it the Empire Records effect.
Cactus has been on Shepherd Drive long enough that it's become part of the furniture of Houston. The kind of place that people give directions by, as in, hang a left at Cactus and keep on trucking.
The in-store performances are a whole other thing. Bands that are about to blow up, bands that already did, local acts that deserve more attention than they get, they've all held court at Cactus, standing maybe eight feet from the people watching them. No barricade, no VIP section, no ticketing app that takes a fee. Just music, man!
And don’t even get us started on the staff. The Cactus staff genuinely cannot wait to tell you about something, someone, or a new song.
Houston is not a sentimental city. It tears things down, builds over them, moves on. Which makes it all the more meaningful that Cactus is still there on Shepherd, still hosting, still playing something good when you walk in the door.
So, go spend an afternoon there sometime soon. Not for any reason in particular. Just because places like Cactus deserve to be visited! Because you might end up meeting somebody so cool. Because the record you didn't know you needed is probably already in the bin, just waiting on you.
Love discovering Texas Crafted gems?
Follow us at @txcrafted for more handpicked local finds, hidden hotspots, and Lone Star favorites—straight to your feed.
There used to be more places like this. Spots where you could show up with nowhere to be, talk to a stranger about something you both loved, and leave an hour later feeling like the city was a little smaller in the best possible way. Most of those places are gone now. But thank goodness, Cactus Music is still here. Haven’t had the absolute pleasure of perusing the aisles of Cactus? Well, pull up a chair, and allow us to tell you about it.
Cactus Music opened in 1975 on a stretch of Houston that basically looked nothing like it does today. Back then, it was just a record shop, which already meant it was a gathering place, because that's what record shops are, even when they're trying to just be record shops, we call it the Empire Records effect.
Cactus has been on Shepherd Drive long enough that it's become part of the furniture of Houston. The kind of place that people give directions by, as in, hang a left at Cactus and keep on trucking.
The in-store performances are a whole other thing. Bands that are about to blow up, bands that already did, local acts that deserve more attention than they get, they've all held court at Cactus, standing maybe eight feet from the people watching them. No barricade, no VIP section, no ticketing app that takes a fee. Just music, man!
And don’t even get us started on the staff. The Cactus staff genuinely cannot wait to tell you about something, someone, or a new song.
Houston is not a sentimental city. It tears things down, builds over them, moves on. Which makes it all the more meaningful that Cactus is still there on Shepherd, still hosting, still playing something good when you walk in the door.
So, go spend an afternoon there sometime soon. Not for any reason in particular. Just because places like Cactus deserve to be visited! Because you might end up meeting somebody so cool. Because the record you didn't know you needed is probably already in the bin, just waiting on you.
Love discovering Texas Crafted gems?
Follow us at @txcrafted for more handpicked local finds, hidden hotspots, and Lone Star favorites—straight to your feed.
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