The MTV VMAs In 2020: 10 Takeaways
It was Lady Gaga's night, BTS finally got its due, Keke Palmer impressively hosts and the lines between "live performances" and "music videos" were blurred like never before.
Music & Culture
New York Philharmonic Takes The Show On The Road. Literally
After a five-month hiatus because of the pandemic, the New York Philharmonic Orchestra takes its show on the road in its pull-up concert series out of a pickup truck.
MTV Video Music Awards Held Virtually This Year Because Of COVID-19
The awards ceremony took place virtually as artists celebrated music created during the pandemic. There were new categories, including: best quarantine performance.
Daniel Rodriguez Talks About His New Album, 'Sojourn Of A Burning Sun'
NPR's Debbie Elliott asks former Elephant Revival band member Daniel Rodriguez about his new solo album — two years after Elephant Revival's final performance and breakup.
Arlo McKinley On Heartbreak And Hope In His New Album, 'Die Midwestern'
NPR's Scott Simon talks with Arlo McKinley, the last artist John Prine signed to his label Oh Boy Records, about his newest album, Die Midwestern.
Prison Telecom Business Indicted By Rap Album Recorded In Jail
The rapper Drakeo the Ruler titled his latest album after the prison phone service provider GTL, whose lines he used to record it, leaving a trail to follow the money through a controversial industry.
3 Jazz Greats Reflect On Charlie Parker's Enduring Influence
Fresh Air listens back to archival interviews with Max Roach and trumpeter Red Rodney, two musicians who played with Parker; and alto saxophonist Jackie McLean, who considered Parker a mentor.
Charlie Parker, Born 100 Years Ago, Made Jazz Complexities Sound Deceptively Easy
More blues singer than Broadway, the Bird helped introduce bebop to jazz — and along the way redefined jazz velocity with his scrappy sound and pithy melodic figures.
Bird Lives! A Charlie Parker Centennial, With Strings Attached
Charlie Parker with Strings was the most commercially successful project of his all-too-brief career. We'll examine the backstory and hear rare selections from the collaboration.
'Star Trek' Actor William Shatner To Release Blues Album
Shatner will be collaborating with a bevy of guests on his new album, titled The Blues. Among guest artists are Canned Heat, Brad Paisley, Sonny Landreth, Pat Travers, Albert Lee, and more.