Music Features

On Muthaland, bbymutha's songs play out as if she's rebuilding her confidence in real time.

Music & Culture

Bbymutha's 'Muthaland' Is Teaching Me That Status Isn't Everything

1:56pm August 11, 2021

by Christina Lee

The ambitious rapper's debut album starts with an acid trip and ends with a paean to a rap pantheon. In between, says writer Christina Lee, it offers crucial lessons about playing by your own rules.

The crowd catches Wes Borland's guitar during the Lollapalooza music festival last weekend at Grant Park in Chicago.

So Much For 'Hot Vax Summer.' Delta Puts A Damper On Festivals And Concerts

5:27pm August 06, 2021

by Elizabeth Blair

As summer festivals and massive concerts returned this month amid the promise of "hot vax summer," the surge in the delta variant has disrupted plans for carefree live music.

Brothers Russell and Ron Mael in director Edgar Wright's film The Sparks Brothers, a Focus Features release.

Music & Culture

Get To Know Sparks, Your Favorite Band's Favorite Band

6:03am August 06, 2021

by Allyson McCabe

Brothers Ron and Russell Mael have made music as Sparks for more than five decades, mostly under the radar despite superstar fans. Now, a new documentary and a buzzy musical put them in the spotlight.

"I believe that the body and the mind and the spirit have to be completely aligned in order for extreme joy to be realized," says Torres' Mackenzie Scott.

Music & Culture

Baby, Torres Is Gonna Write Lusty Pop Music That Lasts

2:00pm August 04, 2021

by Jewly Hight

On Torres' Thirstier, Mackenzie Scott contends with pop music's tropes and techniques to wrestle with the high stakes of a long-term relationship: "This is about the love of my life."

Billie Eilish's second album, Happier than Ever, is out now.

Music & Culture

Billie Eilish Can't Wait To See The Future

11:48am August 01, 2021

With lyrics poking at the ways young women are scrutinized and exploited, Happier than Ever finds Eilish in some dark corners — but the pop supernova tells NPR she's got lots to feel hopeful about.

Queue Listen Now

George Harrison, Bob Dylan and Leon Russell perform at the Concert for Bangladesh in 1971.

Music & Culture

How The Concert For Bangladesh Changed The Celebrity Fundraiser

7:00am July 30, 2021

Considered the first real act of great benevolence by the rock community, the Concert for Bangladesh was held 50 years ago, on August 1st, at Madison Square Garden in New York.

"It's just surreal to me," Isaiah Rashad tells NPR Music. "It feels like I'm still working in like my old fast food s***, no matter how many times we do this."

Music & Culture

Isaiah Rashad Returns, Burns And All

5:00am July 30, 2021

by Jon Lewis

After a turbulent five-year absence, Isaiah Rashad has released his second studio album, The House Is Burning. Rashad speaks with NPR about community, DJ Screw, DC Comics and more.

Allison Russell, center, performs during day five of the 2021 Newport Folk Festival on July 27, 2021 in Newport, R.I.

Newport Folk Festival Returns, In A Year Defined By Uncertainty

12:51pm July 29, 2021

by Hilary Hughes

After a silent year in which artists were sent grants instead of invitations to perform, the beloved festival was determined to go on this year, as carefully as possible. And how possible is that?

1960 Olympic decathlete gold medalist Rafer Johnson of the United States after climbing the stairs of the Memorial Coliseum prepares to light the Olympic flame during the opening ceremony for the XXIII Olympic Games on July, 28,1984 at the Los Angeles Mem

Music & Culture

Don't Forget The Timeless Soundtrack To Los Angeles' 1984 Summer Games

4:01pm July 23, 2021

by Trevor Smith

The official soundtrack to "Los Angeles 1984" featured Quincy Jones and Giorgio Moroder, and remains as slick and deliciously dramatic as the old games' host city.

When she first heard Fiona Apple's album 1996 Tidal, writer Lindsay Zoladz says the record stood out to her for how it "validated [her] experience of pain."

Music & Culture

Fiona Apple's 'Tidal' Promised Me The Unknown

6:00am July 23, 2021

by Lindsay Zoladz

When writer Lindsay Zoladz first heard 'Tidal' as a teen, it validated her pain in an uncertain time. Returning to the album decades later, it reminds her of how much our past selves can teach us.