Music & Culture

World Cafe celebrates 30 years with a playlist from 2020

Music & Culture

World Cafe 30th Anniversary Playlist: 2020

2:33pm May 13, 2022

by Bruce Warren

Though it feels like just yesterday that Jason Isbell released Reunions and we got incredible releases from Phoebe Bridgers, My Morning Jacket and Fiona Apple, it was, in fact, just two years ago.

Music & Culture

alt-J has always had a knack for making the unconventional sound appealing

2:05pm May 13, 2022

A well-deserved break — and building their own studio — was the spark the group needed to make 'The Dream,' their most adventurous album yet.

Third Coast Percussion's new album, Perspectives, is the group's most accessible.

Music & Culture

Third Coast Percussion's borderless music finds inspiration in fleet-footed beats

1:54pm May 13, 2022

by Tom Huizenga

On a new album, the most accessible so far, the Grammy-winning group reaches out to an EDM wizard, a famous film score composer and Philip Glass.

Music & Culture

My Chemical Romance, 'The Foundations of Decay'

11:25am May 13, 2022

by Maria Sherman

On the band's first song since 2014, My Chemical Romance exorcises a demon.

Kalush Orchestra, the Ukrainian band favored to win Eurovision, performing during the semifinals.

A fight to the glitter end: Your guide to Eurovision 2022

11:07am May 13, 2022

by Glen Weldon

Peacock will stream the 66th Eurovision Song Contest live on Saturday, May 14th. Here's a highly opinionated guide to keep handy as you watch 25 countries vying for gleefully over-the-top glory.

Music & Culture

Mary Halvorson, 'Belladonna'

9:48am May 13, 2022

by Lars Gotrich

On the guitarist's first string quartet composition, she comes with a dramatic precision.

Tarriona "Tank" Ball, singer of Tank and The Bangas, photographed on Jan. 24, 2020 in West Hollywood, Calif.

Tank and the Bangas' album tackles serious issues including the Capitol attack

12:31am May 13, 2022

by Leila Fadel

Tank and the Bangas' third studio album, Red Balloon, celebrates Black life and reckons with America's ills. NPR's Leila Fadel talks to lead singer Tarriona "Tank" Ball.

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Music & Culture

Live from the National Museum of African American Music: Amythyst Kiah

2:37pm May 12, 2022

by Stephen Kallao

Amythyst Kiah's debut solo album, Wary + Strange, with its unusual combination of roots influences and alternative sounds, features the Grammy-nominated song, "Black Myself."

Music & Culture

Marcus King, 'Hard Working Man'

2:16pm May 12, 2022

by Joe Kendrick

As far as we know, Marcus King never went to the crossroads at midnight, but he did have a guitar in his hands about the same time he learned to walk.

Country star Naomi Judd died by suicide following a long struggle with mental illness. Her daughter, Ashley Judd, said that it was important to make a distinction "between our loved one and the disease."

Ashley Judd reveals details about Naomi Judd's suicide

10:57am May 12, 2022

by Andrew Limbong

In an interview with Good Morning America, Ashley Judd said her family wanted to get ahead of any news, and that she didn't want her mother's death to become part of the "gossip economy."