Music & Culture

New Hampshire's Exeter Brass Band Returns With Summer Concerts

4:28pm July 17, 2017

by Todd Bookman

Every year since 1847, the Exeter Brass Band has been filling the air with horns and cymbal crashes. This New Hampshire ensemble is one of the oldest continuously performing groups in the country, and this summer, they're back at it.

Tuxedo performs a Tiny Desk Concert on May 20th, 2017. (Claire Harbage/NPR)

Music & Culture

Tuxedo: Tiny Desk Concert

2:47pm July 17, 2017

by Bobby Carter

Tuxedo, the unlikely-on-paper funk-soul duo of Mayer Hawthorne and Jake One, brought a left-of-center sonic approach and a sharp sense of style to their Tiny Desk Concert.

Music & Culture

'Game Of Thrones' Brings Ed Sheeran In — And Shakes Us Out Of Westeros

2:24pm July 17, 2017

by Andrew Flanagan

Ed Sheeran's cameo on Game of Thrones was, like the artist himself, a polarizing little thing.

Music & Culture

First Watch: Alexander F, 'Swimmers'

11:01am July 17, 2017

by Bob Boilen

In this video from Alexander F — the side-project of Rubblebucket's Alex Toth — a punk singer transforms into a ballerina in a Kafka-referencing piece of individualistic affirmation.

Katie Von Schleicher's album S***** Hits comes out July 28.

Music & Culture

Songs We Love: Katie Von Schleicher, 'Midsummer'

10:39am July 17, 2017

by Marissa Lorusso

The hazy pop song is from the New York songwriter's upcoming album S***** Hits. She defines the title as "good-time songs you can have a bad night with, driving alone."

A still from Wolves In The Throne Room's first music video.

Music & Culture

Wolves In The Throne Room Blazes Through 'Born From The Serpent's Eye'

10:00am July 17, 2017

by Lars Gotrich

In its first-ever music video, the black-metal band plays a section of its barbaric and regal new song in front of a roaring bonfire.

Josh Ritter's ninth full-length studio album, Gathering, will be released this fall.

Music & Culture

Uncertainty, Mania, Laughter and Sadness: Josh Ritter Writes His Newest Work

8:37am July 17, 2017

by Bob Boilen

A sense of gathering storms, of laughing at the darkness, informed Ritter's most recent record, Gathering. In an Essay for All Songs Considered, he explains the process.

Queue Listen Now

Father John Misty inside the World Cafe performance studio.

Music & Culture

Encore Week: Father John Misty, Alison Krauss, David Crosby And More

6:00am July 17, 2017

Hear five World Cafe sessions from the last few months that are worth a second listen.

Declan McKenna's new album, What Do You Think About the Car? is out July 21.

Music & Culture

First Listen: Declan McKenna, 'What Do You Think About The Car?'

5:00am July 17, 2017

by Bob Boilen

The British teenager has been a rising star since he took home the Emerging Artist prize at Glastonbury two years ago. His debut album lives up to that early promise.

Offa Rex, a new group composed of The Decemberists and Olivia Chaney (center), reimagines traditional English folk music on The Queen Of Hearts.

Music & Culture

Offa Rex's Olivia Chaney On The 'Dreamlike Nostalgia' Of English Folk

7:33am July 16, 2017

The English vocalist, who's joined forces with The Decemberists in the band Offa Rex, says she's drawn to traditional folk music for its mysticism and age-old themes.