Music & Culture

Music & Culture

When COVID-19 Took Away Performances, Musician Launched Quaranchella

7:41am May 17, 2020

NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro talks with Adam Chester, a Los Angeles-based artist and stand-in for Elton John, who has been staging weekly concerts in his neighborhood for charity.

Queue Listen Now

Dutch singer and television host Jan Smit dances on stage as presenters prepare for Saturday's Eurovision: Europe Shine A Light special.

Eurovision Song Contest To 'Shine A Light' With Pandemic Special

3:57pm May 16, 2020

by Joanna Kakissis

Instead of leaving super fans without glitter, glam and hard-rock hallelujah, the annual event now in it's 64th year, will air a live two-hour special available for viewing in more than 40 countries.

After recording as "Kidepo," Jonah Mutono's switch to his real name coincided with his decision to come out as gay. His debut album GERG is about reconciling that identity with his Ugandan upbringing.

Music & Culture

On His Debut Album, Jonah Mutono Embraces His Identity And His Name

3:31pm May 16, 2020

NPR's Scott Simon talks with the R&B singer dubbed "the Ugandan Frank Ocean" about his album GERG and his experience reconciling his sexuality with the community that raised him.

Queue Listen Now

Shades Of Yale Brings Songs From The Black Diaspora To The Virtual Stage

7:28am May 16, 2020

NPR's Scott Simon speaks to a capella singer and Yale sophomore Gabrielle Barnes about how her group has taken concerts online to celebrate college commencement.

Queue Listen Now

Raul Midón plays a Tiny Desk (Home) concert.

Music & Culture

Raul Midón: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert

5:00am May 16, 2020

by Felix Contreras

The jazz singer and guitarist has multiple Grammy nominations to his name. He performed five songs for our Tiny Desk quarantine series.

Ringo Starr and Astrid Kirchherr in an undated photo.

'Her Gift To The Beatles Was Immeasurable': Photographer Astrid Kirchherr Dies At 81

11:09pm May 15, 2020

by Vanessa Romo

"I was just amazed how beautiful these boys looked. And being a photographer then, it was a photographer's dream," Kirchherr told NPR about the first time she saw the Beatles.

Jason Isbell released his band's new album Reunions, out today, one week early to independent record stores."I feel like it's important that we take care of the people who take care of us," he says.

Music & Culture

Jason Isbell On The Past Lives That Inspired His New Album, 'Reunions'

6:12pm May 15, 2020

Singer-songwriter Jason Isbell talks about releasing his new album early to independent record stores and reconnecting with a younger version of himself after being sober for almost a decade.

Queue Listen Now

Fantastic Damage, El-P's solo debut from his years before Run the Jewels, has come to streaming services after years out of print.

Music & Culture

Thank God For Drugs And Drums: El-P Revisits His Solo Debut

4:44pm May 15, 2020

by Eric Ducker

Fantastic Damage, released a decade before Run the Jewels even existed, is finally streaming. The rapper-producer says the hold-up wasn't a rights issue, but a fear of looking back.

An undated shot of the bucolic Tanglewood grounds and the Koussevitzky Music Shed.

Tanglewood Has Canceled Its 2020 Live Season

2:20pm May 15, 2020

by Anastasia Tsioulcas

The famed Massachusetts music festival — the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra — has canceled all of its live events due to the coronavirus.

Music & Culture

'Fresh Air' Remembers Grammy-Winning Cellist Lynn Harrell

1:34pm May 15, 2020

by Terry Gross

Harrell, who died April 27, joined the cello section of the Cleveland Orchestra when he was 18 and went on to perform as a soloist with orchestras around the world. Originally broadcast in 1987.

Queue Listen Now