Music Interviews

Music & Culture

Brandi Carlile Enlists Big Stars To Cover Her Songs For A Cause

8:11am June 04, 2017

NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro talks to Brandi Carlile, whose new album features covers of her songs by the likes of Dolly Parton and Pearl Jam. The proceeds are designated for children in conflict zones.

NIH Director Francis Collins and Renée Fleming, who is Artistic Advisor at Large for the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., sing a duet.

The Soprano And The Scientist: A Conversation About Music And Medicine

5:31pm June 02, 2017

NIH Director Francis Collins and Renée Fleming, who is Artistic Advisor at Large for the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., discuss music and medicine. They also sing a duet.

Music & Culture

alt-J On World Cafe

3:10pm June 02, 2017

by Talia Schlanger

The band's sound is hard to pin down: It's somewhere between folk and electronica, the words sometimes poetry, sometimes prose.

Music & Culture

'Fresh Air' Interviews With Beatles Ringo Starr And Paul McCartney

1:56pm June 02, 2017

To mark the 50th anniversary of the U.S. release of Sgt Pepper, we listen back to Terry Gross' 1995 interview with Ringo Starr, as well as her 2001 and 2012 interviews with Paul McCartney.

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"I've never felt this vulnerable putting out music, because I don't think this is a piece of myself I've put out there before," Harry Styles says of his solo debut.

Music & Culture

Harry Styles: 'It Was Time For Me To Be Scared'

7:21am June 02, 2017

by Lena Richards

After One Direction hit the pause button, Styles got to work developing his own voice for his recent solo debut. "I've never felt this vulnerable putting out music," he says.

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Music & Culture

50 Years Later, Producer Remixes 'Sgt. Pepper' To 'Bring It Into The Modern World'

2:00pm June 01, 2017

Giles Martin says he included outtakes and raw performances in the new box set to show "how human the making of Sgt. Pepper was." The original album was produced by Martin's father, George.

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Cale Tyson's debut album, Careless Soul, comes out July 14.

Music & Culture

Songs We Love: Cale Tyson, 'Somebody Save Me'

11:41am June 01, 2017

by Jewly Hight

Tyson was an emo kid who found a melancholic connection to country music, and made his debut LP in Muscle Shoals. This horn-accented tune suggests his muse is already leading him elsewhere.

Colter Wall's self-titled debut album is out now.

Music & Culture

World Cafe Nashville: Colter Wall

2:53pm May 31, 2017

by Ann Powers

The country singer's startlingly deep voice and the hard-won wisdom in his songwriting belie his young age. Hear a performance and interview.

Cover Stories, a new compilation of artists covering Brandi Carlile's The Story, released on May 5.

Music & Culture

All Songs +1: Brandi Carlile Reflects On 10 Years Of 'The Story'

1:09pm May 31, 2017

by Ann Powers

NPR Music's Ann Powers talks with Brandi Carlile about the singer's efforts to raise money and awareness for children who are affected by war and conflict.

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"It's about childhood being brought to life and reignited after the slush of the teenage years," Adrianne Lenker says of "Mary."

Music & Culture

Big Thief's 'Mary' Is A Meditation On Resilience And Recovery

9:59am May 31, 2017

by Benjamin Naddaff-Hafrey

"First it sounds and then it means," Adrianne Lenker tells NPR of the piano ballad. "That song feels like crying and laughing at the same time."