Music & Culture

Music & Culture

Esperanza Spalding teams up with pianist Fred Hersch in this 'Vanguard' recording

1:32pm March 14, 2023

by Kevin Whitehead

When Hersch invited jazz, pop and opera composer Spalding to perform three nights with him at the Village Vanguard, he thought she'd bring her bass. Instead, Spalding just wanted to use her voice.

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An illustration of three women dancing to reggaeton music while one of them wears a shirt that says "Reggaeton is culture"

A tough question led one woman to create the first Puerto Rican reggaeton archive

12:00pm March 14, 2023

Patricia Velázquez spent her whole life listening to reggaeton. But when she was questioned about sexism in the songs, she began an investigation that would lead her to create something new.

Una ilustración de tres mujeres bailando música reggaeton mientras una de ellas lleva una camisa que dice "reggaeton es cultura"

La pregunta que llevó a una mujer a crear el primer archivo de reguetón puertorriqueño

11:44am March 14, 2023

El reguetón es parte de la identidad de Patricia Velásquez. Pero cuando le hicieron una pregunta comenzó una investigación que la llevaría a crear algo nuevo sobre el género musical.

Music & Culture

For Sampa The Great, there's no place like home

11:39am March 14, 2023

Born in Zambia, raised in Botswana and having spent much of her music career in Australia, Sampa The Great returned to Zambia to make As Above So Below.

Music & Culture

Róisín Murphy, 'CooCool'

11:23am March 14, 2023

by Harry Tafoya

The Irish singer knows how to make any emotion feel dazzlingly danceable; here, she basks in uncomplicated love.

Music & Culture

Eluvium, 'Void Manifest'

9:02am March 14, 2023

by Stephen Thompson

Amid dreamy strings and a cloudy swirl of synths, vocalist Charlotte Mundy lends the song a haunted, impressionistic quality.

Some trees in San Diego are getting a second life thanks to 2 local businesses

6:34am March 14, 2023

The company West Coast Arborists removes trees that are near the end of their lives. They're then cut and dried. After that Taylor Guitars turns them into musical instruments.

Music & Culture

Taylor Swift's much-anticipated Eras tour kicks off Friday in Swift City

5:48am March 14, 2023

The first stop on the tour is Glendale, Ariz., in the same stadium that hosted this year's Super Bowl. Glendale has temporarily changed its name to Swift City to celebrate the singer-songwriter.

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Art school students in Mumbai finish up a painting of Indian actors N.T. Rama Rao Jr. (left) and Ram Charan of the movie RRR, whose dance song "Naatu Naatu" became the first song from an Indian film to win an Oscar.

The Oscar for 'Naatu Naatu' fans the impossible dreams of India's musicians

4:52pm March 13, 2023

by Kamala Thiagarajan

A song from the blockbuster Indian film RRR won the Oscar for best song and is now the talk of India's music biz. But will it lift other musicians to — well, not fame but at least financial security?

Villano Antillano grew up surrounded by salsa, rock and reggaeton in Puerto Rico. With those influences under her belt, she's become one of the most exciting rappers in the Latin music scene.

Music & Culture

For Puerto Rico's Villano Antillano, femininity is a shield — and a superpower

4:36pm March 13, 2023

by Isabella Gomez Sarmiento

The rapper's first full-length record is a testament to the way she's been able to interact with her femininity through her creative process.