Rita Ballou took the Texas/Red Dirt music scene by storm in 2010 with her controversial website RawhideandVelvet.com. She’s been described as the “Perez Hilton of Texas Country Music,” and love her or hate her, she is always entertaining. Her snarky-but-fresh take on country music, celebrities, reality television and all things pop culture quickly became a must-read for over 50,000 music fans a month and one of the most respected sources for Texas/Red Dirt news. But when radio came calling, Ballou turned her attention to some of the biggest stations in Texas.

In 2012, Ballou started her career as on-air talent at Shooter FM in Waco, but she soon took on the coveted afternoon drive slot at US 105 in Temple. Her last step up the ladder landed her where she is now, at Austin’s KOKE-FM. Ballou is no stranger to KOKE, for years she lead the social media team for the station!

Rita is the voice behind the Texas/Red Dirt music news segment aptly named The Ballou News.