There are black-rimmed eyeglasses of various sizes all over Lubbock, Texas – some are large enough to climb into for a creative selfie, others are small symbols on magnets and postcards at breweries and gift shops around the city, and some are painted onto the asphalt to form a crosswalk border. The iconic symbol is a tribute to Lubbock’s favorite son, musician Buddy Holly.

Many Minnesotans can understand Lubbock’s obsession with all-things Holly. I mean, we have our own Prince memorabilia with painted murals, Paisley Park museum and purple paraphernalia throughout the Twin Cities. In Lubbock, the adoration is equally strong. I recently spent three days in the northwest Texas town of approximately 250,000 residents on an invitation from Visit Lubbock and saw firsthand how important Holly was to the area and to the music community in general. The man born Charles Hardin Holley in 1936 pioneered the popularity of rock ’n’ roll before his tragic death at age 22 in an airplane accident in Clear Lake, Iowa, in 1959 that also killed Ritchie Valens, and “The Big Bopper” J. P. Richardson. Lubbock’s love of Holly and his musical genius is just one pleasant surprise I discovered during my visit. Here’s a look at some of the highlights.

Back to the beginning

Signage at the Buddy Holly Center in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo courtesy of Amy Nelson)

Our group of travel writers saved a tour of the Buddy Holly Center until the final day of our trip, but I would suggest starting here to get an immediate sense of Lubbock’s vibe. Located on Crickets Avenue (named after his famous band), this museum is not to be confused with the new Buddy Holly Hall of Performing Arts and Sciences concert venue (more on that later). At the museum, we caught a 15-minute film documenting Holly’s life and influence for his songs, including “That’ll Be the Day” and “Peggy Sue.” I experienced a very meta moment while watching Paul McCartney discuss on film how Holly impacted him and everyone else in the Beatles (allegedly named after the Crickets) while reading a text from a friend who was inviting me to McCartney’s spectacular concert at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis the next night. Of course I went; it was karma.

After the film, I toured the compact but well-curated gallery of Holly’s personal items, including those famous eyeglasses and the 1958 Fender Stratocaster guitar, the last guitar he ever played. I chatted with very passionate docents about the memorabilia, and one led me to a display case that included the tour schedule for Holly’s final performance. I knew that my mother-in-law had seen Holly perform in Wisconsin a few days before his death, and there it was – proof that he had played Green Bay’s Riverside Ballroom just two days earlier. I got a bit of a chill realizing how fortunate she was to have seen that concert.

Symbolic guitar picks that represent investors in the Buddy Holly Hall of Performing Arts and Sciences in Lubbock, Texas. At the center is Sir Paul McCartney. (Photo courtesy of Amy Nelson)

And the day before that performance, a young Bob Dylan (then Bobby Zimmerman) attended Holly’s concert in Duluth, which he cites as “the dawning of it all.” After our time exploring the center, we walked next door for a guided tour of the Allison House, a remarkable re-creation of the house that Crickets drummer Jerry Allison grew up in and where he and Holly first formed a band.

On a different day, our group toured the Buddy Holly Hall of Performing Arts and Sciences, a $158 million performance venue that opened in 2021. With two theaters, a restaurant and a ballet school adjacent to the center, the gorgeous building attracts big names and events, from Broadway musicals to the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra to Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. Our guide showed us a hallway decorated with signatures and decals of the acts who have come through, sharing a bit of lore that Bob Dylan is one of only a few performers to decline signing the wall when he performed there in March 2022 (but he did sign a register). Paul McCartney’s name popped up again as a micro-investor who helped support the hall’s construction, and our guide pointed out the guitar pick inscribed with his name on the artistic wall of symbolic picks. Look closely, and you’ll see these picks are arranged to form a torso of Holly and his guitar. It’s a neat little trick once you spot it.

Beyond Buddy

Agave Dreams, a statue on the Texas Tech campus in Lubbock, Texas. (Courtesy of Amy Nelson)

Music and performing arts aren’t the only artistic expressions in Lubbock, however. One part of the tour took us to the Texas Tech campus, right in the heart of the city, where we spent the afternoon learning about the commissioned sculptures and public art across the sprawling grounds. I was surprised to learn Texas Tech’s Lubbock campus is 1,839 acres in size, compared with the University of Minnesota’s estimated 1,150 acres across both the Minneapolis and St. Paul areas.

As college students zipped around on scooters and scurried to their various classes, we boarded the program’s art bus to explore campus and learn more about the nearly 150 pieces of art by more than 140 artists across the system’s eight campuses. The Lubbock location is the largest, and we saw more than a dozen works, all site-specific to their location. For instance, outside the Experimental Sciences Building, a stainless steel and aluminum sculpture titled Astrolab by American artist Owen Morrell reflects the research students and professors are conducting inside. A striking and magnetic sculpture titled Agave Dreams by German artist Juilan Voss-Andreae sits in a cactus garden outside the Biology Building. It’s a point of pride that Texas Tech’s collection has been named one of the top 10 public art collections in the United States by the prestigious Public Art Review. I was thankful we had the bus to transport us around, because walking to the various pieces we saw would have been at least several miles on a hot Texas day.

Branding irons at the National Ranching Experience in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo courtesy of Amy Nelson)

Ranching also plays a big role in Lubbock and throughout Texas, which we learned about at the National Ranching Experience, a 27-acre museum and outdoor historical park. All but five of the 53 historic structures in the park are between 100 and 200 years old, showcasing the history of ranching. The day we visited, several school groups were touring the outdoor structures as well as the new Cash Family Ranch Life Learning Center, an interactive museum where we learned the difference between ranching and farming and the many types of prairie grasses.

And with ranching comes Lubbock’s other obsession: fantastic food, especially barbecue. We had it for lunch at Evie Mae’s BBQ, in exotic form at The Nicollet and with the famous fried chicken at Dirk’s. The only place I didn’t try some form of barbecue during the visit was at breakfast at Cast Iron Grill. But that’s because there, it’s pie for breakfast, which we certainly sampled. It’s the perfect place to start the day — for the pies, and because it’s located right next to the Buddy Holly Center and those oversized frames.

Related Articles

New holiday movie features the off-season charms of Door County, Wisconsin

The best U.S. airports for drinking alcohol, ranked

The best food cities in America for 2025

Consumers should do their research before giving in to Travel Tuesday temptation

US air travelers without REAL IDs will be charged a $45 fee

 

Today is Sunday, Dec. 7, the 341st day of 2025. There are 24 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Dec. 7,1972, America’s last crewed moon mission to date was launched as Apollo 17 blasted off from Cape Canaveral.

Also on this date:

In 1787, Delaware became the first state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.

Related Articles

Today in History: December 6, 13th Amendment ratified, abolishing slavery

Former DEA agent charged with agreeing to launder millions of dollars for Mexican drug cartel

Michael Jordan testifies in NASCAR antitrust trial, says he had no choice but to sue ‘the entity’

Federal judge appears skeptical of Trump’s ongoing command of California National Guard troops

Railroads will be allowed to reduce inspections and rely more on technology to spot track problems

In 1941, the Empire of Japan launched an air raid on the U.S. Navy base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, killing more than 2,300 Americans. The United States declared war against Japan the following day.

In 1982, convicted murderer Charlie Brooks Jr. became the first U.S. prisoner to be executed by lethal injection, at a prison in Huntsville, Texas.

In 1988, a major earthquake in the Soviet Union devastated northern Armenia, killing at least 25,000 people.

In 1993, six people were killed and 19 wounded in a mass shooting aboard a Long Island Rail Road train in New York.

In 2004, Hamid Karzai (HAH’-mihd KAHR’-zeye) was sworn in as Afghanistan’s first popularly elected president.

In 2018, James Alex Fields Jr., who drove his car into a crowd of counterdemonstrators at a 2017 white nationalist rally in Virginia, was convicted of first-degree murder in the death of Heather Heyer, an anti-racism activist. He was later sentenced on that and other convictions to life in prison plus 419 years.

In 2024, the newly-restored Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris was reopened to the public after a devastating blaze nearly destroyed the beloved Gothic masterpiece in 2019. World leaders attended the reopening ceremony amid great fanfare and celebration.

Today’s Birthdays:

Linguist and political philosopher Noam Chomsky is 97.
Actor Ellen Burstyn is 93.
Baseball Hall of Famer Johnny Bench is 78.
Singer-songwriter Tom Waits is 76.
Republican Sen. Susan M. Collins of Maine is 73.
Basketball Hall of Famer Larry Bird is 69.
Actor Jeffrey Wright is 60.
Actor C. Thomas Howell is 59.
Football Hall of Famer Terrell Owens is 52.
Football Hall of Famer Alan Faneca is 49.
Actor Shiri Appleby is 47.
Singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles (bah-REHL’-es) is 46.
Actor Nicholas Hoult is 36.
MLB All-Star Pete Alonso is 31.
Olympic swimming gold medalist Torri Huske is 23.

Jesper Wallstedt is human.

That was the hard lesson Minnesota Wild fans learned late Saturday night, as the red-hot rookie goalie cooled off just a bit, and suffered his first regulation loss of the season.

Victimized for a trio of goals in the second period, Wallstedt and the Wild fell 4-2 in their lone visit to Vancouver this season, dropping their second consecutive game.

Matt Boldy and Mats Zuccarello scored for the Wild, who dominated early but failed to build on their first period lead. Wallstedt, now 8-1-2 as a starter, had 16 saves in the loss.

“The story of this game is we didn’t capitalize on the chances that we had,” Wild coach John Hynes said to reporters at Rogers Arena in Vancouver. “We carried play most of the night. We didn’t get rewarded for the effort we put in offensively, and then we had a couple self-inflicted wounds.”

Aatu Raty had a pair of goals, and another disallowed, for Vancouver, which had been winless in its previous four games.

Just seconds into the game, Wallstedt found himself under pressure, thwarting a Vancouver scoring chance, but upending a Canucks player in the process. Wallstedt was whistled for tripping on the play, which was the second penalty of his NHL career.

The Wild’s penalty killers, who have been on a hot streak lately, negated the Canucks advantage, then Minnesota took the lead shortly after getting back to 5-on-5. Zuccarello – who had served the Wallstedt penalty – grabbed the puck at center ice, kicking off a 2-on-1 rush to the net. His cross-ice pass set up Boldy’s 16th goal of the season.

Zuccarello’s assist on the play was the 242nd he has recorded in a Wild uniform, moving him into fourth place in franchise history, one better than Pierre-Marc Bouchard in the team’s record book. He nearly had another first period assist, with a long lead pass that caught Kirill Kaprizov behind the Vancouver defense, but his breakaway attempt was stopped.

After the Wild spent the first six minutes of the middle frame pushing to double their lead, the Canucks looked, briefly, like they had tied the game. After a lengthy review, officials determined that Raty had kicked the puck into the net and it was no goal.

But Vancouver tied the game for real on a broken play before the second period was half over, via a long-range shot through a crowd in front of Wallstedt. It was the first career goal for Canucks rookie defenseman Tom Willander. A few minutes later, another shot from the blue line fooled Wallstedt, and the Wild found themselves trailing despite all of their early scoring chances. The Canucks also scored on a 2-on-1 rush to make it 3-1, as Vancouver cashed in on three of their first nine shots on goal.

“I thought they just got a couple good bounces. They scored good hockey goals,” said Wallstedt, who had won seven in a row prior to Saturday. “That kind of just switched the momentum we just couldn’t get the puck in today.”

Minnesota made another push to start the third, but instead of cutting into the Canucks’ lead, Wallstedt’s misplayed puck behind the net ended up making it 4-1.

With Wallstedt on the bench and the Wild on a power play, Zuccarello put a wrist shot in to pull Minnesota back within a pair in the final minutes.

Canucks rookie goalie Nikita Tolopilo, making his third start of the season, had 28 saves as Vancouver moved to 1-1 versus Minnesota this season. They will finish their season series with the Wild on April 2 at Grand Casino Arena.

Coupled with Thursday’s 4-1 loss in Calgary, it is only the third time this season that the Wild have had back-to-back losses in regulation, and the first time since Oct. 25.

“We had a good run of winning a lot of games. For us, the message is just getting back to that as quick as possible,” Wild defenseman Zeev Buium said. “Not letting ourselves get down and kind of get out of this.”

The Wild conclude their four-game western road trip on Monday, facing the Kraken for the first time this season, in Seattle. The opening faceoff is scheduled for 9 p.m. CT.

Briefly

After missing the road trip’s first two games with a lower body ailment, rookie center Danila Yurov returned to the lineup and took his place as the middle man on the top line between Kaprizov and Zuccarello. His return meant a healthy scratch for bottom six center Ben Jones.

Related Articles

Hynes likes Tarasenko’s game, wants to see more shots

Recent scoring drought has Wild thinking power play

‘Boring’ goalie tandem behind Wild’s climb in West standings

Flames dominate late to douse Wild point streak

Nico Sturm a greater asset for Wild as he gets up to speed

With the Timberwolves in a tie game in the final minute and on the verge of another blown late lead in the final frame, Minnesota decided to put together one of its better possessions of Saturday’s bout with the Clippers.

Naz Reid tapped out an offensive rebound to Anthony Edwards, who swung the ball to Mike Conley. Conley drove, kicked back to Edwards, who hit Reid in the corner.

Reid buried the triple. Then he smiled.

Minnesota rallied to beat rallied to beat Los Angeles 109-106 on Saturday at Target Center.

The Wolves need more of that kind of play — and Reid’s smile.

Neither was anywhere to be found in the first three quarters Saturday. The opening 36 minutes brought as much joy as a root canal.

Then came another awe-inspiring start to the final frame.

Over the first 5 minutes, 31 seconds of the fourth quarter, the Timberwolves’ offense:

-scored 23 points

-shot 6 for 7 from the field

-shot 4 for 5 from 3-point range

-assisted on five of its six makes

That beautiful brand of basketball put Minnesota in front, and the Wolves held on down the stretch.

The offense dried up from there, but the small fragment of the contest not only was enough of a buoy but also a reminder of what the Wolves can do when they play basketball with purpose.

That’s when Reid and Jaden McDaniels get rolling. That’s when Minnesota is turning defense into offense. That’s when fun was had on the floor.

It’s the type of basketball that’s repeatable and also enjoyable. And when you like what you’re doing, you’re more likely to keep doing it with energy and effort.

Reid had 19 points and eight rebounds in the win over the Clippers. McDaniels had 27, including 12 in the third quarter when Minnesota needed a spark.

Minnesota shot 44% from distance.

Julius Randle added 24 points on a slow night from Anthony Edwards, who shot 3 for 11 from the field. But Edwards made the right play on the key offensive possession.

James Harden had a look at a tying triple in the closing seconds, but it bounced off the iron. Harden led the Clippers with 34 points and six assists.

Related Articles

Timberwolves escape late in New Orleans again

Chris Finch says Timberwolves have ‘got to try to raise our standards’

Anthony Edwards’ late layup forces OT, as Timberwolves edge Pelicans 149-142

Timberwolves player net ratings through 20 games: Donte DiVincenzo is Minnesota’s new No. 1

Frederick: Timberwolves set standard in fourth quarter of Spurs win