Music & Culture

Music & Culture

Guitarist Marnie Stern mixes wit and warmth on 'The Comeback Kid'

1:50pm November 20, 2023

by Ken Tucker

Stern is known for the eight years she spent as a guitarist in Seth Meyers' late-night-talk-show house band, but her own upbeat, highlight original music is unlike anything you'll ever hear on TV.

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'I've been trying to do this for over 30 years' — Billy Porter sings on his terms

6:41am November 20, 2023

by Phil Harrell

Following star-making roles in Broadway's Kinky Boots and FX's Pose, Billy Porter has released an original album that plays out like mini-autobiographies: Black Mona Lisa.

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Shucked performs a Tiny Desk concert at NPR Music in Washington, D.C.

Music & Culture

Shucked: Tiny Desk Concert

5:00am November 20, 2023

by Josh Rogosin

Songwriting team Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally take us on a musical journey from Nashville to Broadway with their musical, Shucked.

Music & Culture

Choral rock gets pared down on The Polyphonic Spree's new album

7:53am November 19, 2023

NPR's Ayesha Rascoe speaks with musician Tim DeLaughter about his choral rock group, The Polyphonic Spree, and its new album, "Salvage Enterprise."

Music & Culture

How a Reconstruction-era singing tour changed popular music

7:53am November 19, 2023

A decision by Fisk University in 1871 helped shape American popular music, according to Vann Newkirk of The Atlantic. NPR's Ayesha Rascoe talks with him about his article on the Fisk Jubilee Singers.

Street vendors sell bottled water to Taylor Swift fans amid a heat wave before her Eras Tour concert outside the Nilton Santos Olympic stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, Nov. 18, 2023.

Taylor Swift postpones Brazil show due to heat, day after fan dies during concert

1:54am November 19, 2023

by The Associated Press

Taylor Swift postponed an Eras Tour concert in Rio de Janeiro Saturday after a 23-year-old fan died during her Friday night show, according to a message posted on the singer's Instagram.

Music & Culture

Reflecting on the legacy of the flute in pop music

8:53am November 18, 2023

by Scott Simon

This week, Andre 3000 released an instrumental album featuring the flute instead of an expected rap album. Scott Simon asks LA Times' August Brown about the flute's decades-long role in pop music.

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A violist memorializes lost voices at Terezin concentration camp

7:13am November 18, 2023

by Scott Simon

Scott Simon talks with violist Mark Ludwig about his efforts to preserve - and play - the music written by some of the many musicians imprisoned and killed at the Terezin concentration camp.

ATLANTA, GEORGIA - AUGUST 26: Sean "Diddy" Combs attends Day 1 of 2023 Invest Fest at Georgia World Congress Center on August 26, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia.

Music & Culture

What the abuse lawsuit against Diddy, one of hip-hop's most powerful men, means

6:15pm November 17, 2023

The singer Cassie has accused the rap mogul of subjecting her to years of abuse, in a suit made possible by the Adult Survivors Act. Can the case spark a sexual assault reckoning within hip-hop?

Music & Culture

PJ Harvey: Tiny Desk Concert

5:20pm November 17, 2023

by Ann Powers

In her Tiny Desk performance, the artist lives on her own artistic plane — inviting listeners to take their time to fully join her.