K A.
Yelp
I love this place. Even in the afternoon, when there's no live music, it just has a great onda. Delicious, simple sandwiches and salads at good prices. Good coffee drinks, though they tend to put sugar in almost everything. So if you don't want it sweet remember to tell them. ("Them" is the Foncerrada family, the majority of employees you see are Foncerradas.)
There is no place that's like Hueso, anywhere in the Rio Grande Valley. I remember a somewhat similar coffeehouse in Los Angeles -- maybe in Echo Park or Boyle Heights? -- but Hueso has made great use of its geographic location, becoming uniquely tied to Brownsville as well as the Frontera. The music is high-quality and eclectic, performed live every night, usually starting around 9pm. In one night, you probably hear 2 or more of the following:
- Bluegrass
- Reggae
- Acoustic singer-songwriter, coffeehouse style (the U.S. genre)
- Acoustic singer-songwriter, trova style (the Mexico genre)
- Ranchera
- Jazz
- Old-timey Appalachian gospel
- Traditional country
- Norteño/Tex-Mex
- Western swing
- Country blues
- Folk music from various regions of Latin America
- Acoustic punk (I remember hearing Misfits and Gogol Bordello)
- Classical piano (only heard this one time there, but it was excellent)
- Poetry readings, English and Spanish
You get the idea. As another review mentioned, these musicians come from many places - there might be a winter Texan from Wisconsin playing banjo, or a touring folk guitarist from Mexico City. The groups that play every week are Los Dabs, La Mision, and Marea Baja, which all include members of the Foncerrada family.