Music Features

A parking lot in Nashville, photographed on Mar. 31, 2020, after Tennessee's governor issued a stay-at-home order in response to the developing coronavirus crisis.

Music & Culture

Breaking Into The Close-Knit World Of Country Music, While Keeping Distant

6:00am July 20, 2020

by Jewly Hight

Nashville has rigid hierarchy of success — particularly when it comes to artists promoting themselves and ascending the city's ladder. And then came a virus.

"I feel like it was better for the longevity of this band, believe it or not, to have gone through something like that," Emily Strayer says of The Chicks' cancellation. "It makes you even stronger."

Music & Culture

The Chicks Look Back And Laugh

4:35pm July 17, 2020

Gaslighter is country trio The Chicks' (formerly Dixie Chicks) first new album in 14 years. In some ways, the world has finally caught up to the band since it fell out of public favor in 2003.

Queue Listen Now

From its brash title track to a denouement that begs to be set free, Gaslighter — The Chicks' first album in 14 years — is a story of painful awakening.

Music & Culture

The Chicks After The Fire

4:38pm July 16, 2020

by Ann Powers

Long known as firebrands ready to take on abusers, country music and the president, the trio now known as The Chicks is finding – on its first album in 14 years – beauty in loss and lonesomeness.

The trumpeter Eddie Gale, who worked with the likes of Sun Ra and Cecil Taylor, passed away on July 10 at the age of 78.

Music & Culture

The Galaxy-Expanding, Peace-Loving Trumpet Of Eddie Gale: Hear The Essentials

11:32am July 15, 2020

by Martin Johnson

The trumpeter, who died last week at the age of 78, was at the vanguard of jazz's midcentury development and is regarded as a legend by his peers.

K-pop has become with synonymous with pop from Korea — you may not be surprised to hear that there's far more to it than that.

Korean Pop, Away From The Hit Factories

11:10am July 13, 2020

by Haeryun Kang

The country's K-pop idols have found success worldwide, to the point that they are now synonymous with the country's popular and/or modern music. But there's a lot more where that came from.

Smithsonian Folkways' vast historical archive of folk music has some surprising and futuristic entries among its aisles.

Music & Culture

The Many Electronic Surprises To Be Found In The Nation's Vast Archive Of Folk Music

6:00am July 09, 2020

by Simon Reynolds

Smithsonian Folkways is beloved for its historic collection of recordings and ephemera from folk and roots traditions — but the label's archive of electronic music is just as formidable.

Music & Culture

20 Years Ago, The White Stripes Made An Album For No One

3:29pm July 06, 2020

by Lizzy Goodman

Jack and Meg's 2000 album De Stijl is the kind of art you make for yourself, assured few will hear it. It was the last time they'd have that luxury, but they never forgot the lesson.

The song "True Trans Soul Rebel" by Against Me! is on Deborah Sprague's Pride playlist.

Music & Culture

A Different Kind Of Pride: Perspectives On 50 Years Of Celebration, Part 6

6:00am June 27, 2020

by Deborah Sprague

We asked writers in the LGBTQ+ community to reflect on the relationship between celebration, music and LGBTQ+ activism. Deborah Sprague writes about songs that reflect her experience as a trans woman.

Lil Baby performs during a Juneteenth voter registration rally on June 19, 2020 at Murphy Park Fairgrounds in Atlanta, Ga. One week earlier, he released "The Bigger Picture," a song protesting police brutality.

Music & Culture

We Insist: A Century Of Black Music Against State Violence

11:40am June 26, 2020

These songs take on some of the ugliest stories in our history and reflect the commitment of Black musicians to telling the truth of how Black people have been wronged, and survived, and fought back.

Backxwash's song "Into the Void" is featured on Sasha Geffen's Pride playlist.

Music & Culture

A Different Kind Of Pride: Perspectives On 50 Years Of Celebration, Part 5

6:51am June 26, 2020

by Sasha Geffen

We asked writers in the LGBTQ+ community to reflect on the relationship between celebration, protest, music and LGBTQ+ activism. Sasha Geffen reflects on a Pride that feels "fed up with symbolism."