Music & Culture

Music & Culture

Americana Singer Amy Helm Offers Curbside Delivery Of Songs

6:23pm June 25, 2020

by Karen Michel

Amy Helm, an acclaimed Americana singer and the daughter of famed drummer and singer Levon Helm of The Band, has decided during the lockdown to do a kind of curbside delivery of her own — songs.

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Music & Culture

Watch Tiny Desk Contest Top Shelf Episode 3 Featuring Raina Douris Of World Cafe

5:33pm June 25, 2020

by Elle Mannion

Live on YouTube, Bob Boilen and Raina Douris watched their favorites entries to the 2020 Contest and discussed what made them stand out from the thousands we saw this year.

A still from the music video for "I'm So Happy I Cry"

Music & Culture

Hear 'I'm So Happy I Cry,' Fantastic Negrito's New Song With Tarriona 'Tank' Ball

1:06pm June 25, 2020

by Elle Mannion

The first-ever song to feature two Tiny Desk Contest winners comes from Fantastic Negrito's forthcoming album, Have You Lost Your Mind Yet?, out in August.

M. Ward plays a Tiny Desk (Home) concert.

Music & Culture

M. Ward: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert

9:32am June 25, 2020

by Bob Boilen

The acclaimed guitarist (and masculine half of She & Him) performed seven songs in his Tiny Desk quarantine concert.

Music & Culture

Chance Encounter Leads To Viral Video Of 'Star Spangled Banner' Duet

6:21am June 25, 2020

A Portland State University student was singing the national anthem for her virtual graduation program when a stranger walked by and began to sing with her. That stranger is a trained opera singer.

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Frank Ocean's song "Nights" is on Gerrick D. Kennedy's Pride playlist, which includes songs he says "remind me to stand in my power as a Black queer man in America."

Music & Culture

A Different Kind Of Pride: Perspectives On 50 Years Of Celebration, Part 4

6:00am June 25, 2020

by Gerrick D. Kennedy

We asked writers in the LGBTQ+ community to reflect on the relationship between Pride, music and LGBTQ+ activism. Gerrick D. Kennedy shares songs that help him stand in his power as a Black queer man.

A fan of K-pop band BTS poses for photos against a backdrop featuring an image of the group's members in Seoul, South Korea, on Oct. 29, 2019.

K-Pop's Digital 'Army' Musters To Meet The Moment, Baggage In Tow

5:32pm June 24, 2020

by Haeryun Kang

There's a growing narrative highlighting K-pop fans' political progressiveness. But the reality is far more complicated.

Now more than a decade into his career, James Blake returns to his early years in the U.K. dance music scene in this installment of Play It Forward.

Music & Culture

Play It Forward: James Blake On Playing His Biggest Shows Ever, From His Living Room

4:39pm June 24, 2020

Ari Shapiro speaks with Blake about playing virtual concerts for thousands of fans, and finding his voice early on by studying the music of British producer Mala.

Music & Culture

Join NPR Music's Listening Party For SAULT's 'UNTITLED'

1:00pm June 24, 2020

by Lars Gotrich

Friday at 3 p.m. ET, NPR Music will host an online listening party for SAULT's powerful celebration of Blackness. Join the chat room, ask our expert panel questions and shout your love.

Music & Culture

How Sweet Crude Celebrated Its Album Release After Recovering From COVID-19

12:27pm June 24, 2020

Singers Sam Craft and Alexis Marceaux describe their very different experiences with COVID-19. Plus hear the uniquely New Orleanian story of how the band celebrated the release of its new album.