Music Features

Mardi Gras Indian Big Chief Monk Boudreaux (right) and members of his Golden Eagles tribe in March 2019 in New Orleans.

Music & Culture

In New Orleans, 'Indian Red' Is The Anthemic Sound Of Tradition

11:40am March 31, 2019

by Gwen Thompkins

African-Americans in the city have paraded in spectacular regalia inspired by Native American motifs for more than a century. The song of the Mardi Gras Indians exudes joy, defiance — and mystery.

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Ranveer Singh, one of the stars of the recent film Gully Boy, at a publicity event in Mumbai on Jan. 9, 2019. The film has put a spotlight on Indian hip-hop, to the chagrin of some working in it.

Music & Culture

As 'Gully Boy' Inches Indian Hip-Hop Into The Mainstream, Its Underground Soldiers On

10:01am March 29, 2019

by Dhruva Balram

A new Bollywood hit may have been based on their lives, but the rappers and producers of India's hip-hop underground saw no money, and little exposure, from it. And they don't seem to care.

Bruce Springsteen onstage during the Born in the U.S.A. Tour in 1984.

Music & Culture

What Does 'Born In The U.S.A.' Really Mean?

4:50pm March 26, 2019

It's not enough to say the Bruce Springsteen hit is misunderstood. Its contrasts — between grim verses and a joyous chorus, damning facts and fierce pride — are what give it its anthemic power.

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Jenny Lewis returns with On The Line, out now.

Music & Culture

Jenny Lewis Puts Her Emotions 'On The Line': 'It Can Get Ugly Sometimes'

1:05pm March 22, 2019

Lewis speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about the catharsis of making her latest album, On the Line, and grappling with accusations made against her album collaborator, Ryan Adams.

Duster was one of hundreds of bands in the late 1990s who made music that was loved by a small audience, then disbanded and assumed its story was over. Then a new generation of fans discovered the band.

Music & Culture

The Old Disappearing-Reappearing Band Trick

11:10am March 22, 2019

by Marissa Lorusso

Duster released a few space-rock records at the turn of the millennium then nearly disappeared. Then, somehow, a small, devoted group of fans from an entirely different generation found the band.

(From left) Philadelphia's Max Swan, Kingsley Ibeneche and Ellen Siberian Tiger bring their music to life in breathtaking videos.

Music & Culture

Slingshot Scenes: 10 Must-Watch Music Videos From Philadelphia

6:00am March 20, 2019

Philadelphia's musicians wouldn't be able to take center stage without an equally robust community of directors and videographers to imaginatively document the work.

Nat King Cole plays with his jazz orchestra on the stage of The Apollo Theater, in Harlem, N.Y. in the 1950s.

Music & Culture

Nat King Cole Still Remains 'One Of The Great Gifts Of Nature' 100 Years Later

8:45am March 17, 2019

by Tom Vitale

The jazz legend and barrier breaker was born on March 17, 1919 in Montgomery, Ala.

Music & Culture

How Austin Got Weird

9:26am March 15, 2019

by Joe Nick Patoski

A new book, Austin to ATX, explains the creative, contrarian history of the Texas capital. As South By Southwest ravages a large swath of the city, let's take a look back.

Music & Culture

How 'This Land Is Your Land' Roamed And Rambled Into American Life

6:26pm March 14, 2019

by Elizabeth Blair

Woody Guthrie was born into the Dust Bowl's devastation and displacement. His signature song, taught in classrooms and sung at protests, offers an expansive, inclusive idea of what home can be.

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Music & Culture

No Man's Band: All-Female Jazz Orchestras Then and Now

2:37pm March 14, 2019

The DIVA Jazz Orchestra celebrates 25 years, and one of the last surviving members of the International Sweethearts of Rhythm reflects on the legacies of all-female big bands.