Music

Musicians and Author - John McCutcheon shares new music on “Spectrum West.” The program also features interviews with the daughter of a founder of the Blue Canvas Orchestra at the Lake Superior Big Top Chautauqua and a Madison-area author.

Our Daily Breather: Daily Practices For Staying Sane During The Pandemic

June 18, 2020 - 9:00am

Our Daily Breather was a daily series where we asked writers and artists to recommend one thing that's helped them get through the days of isolation during the coronavirus pandemic. The series concluded on June 13, 2020. Here, we've collected some of the stories about the creative hobbies and practices...

Opinion: Black Protest Is Music. Learning The Melody Isn't Enough

June 18, 2020 - 5:01am

Terence Blanchard is a jazz trumpeter, composer and music educator. His most recent work is the score for the 2020 film Da 5 Bloods, his latest of many collaborations with director Spike Lee.

I really don't know where to start. This past month, this...

Old Crow Medicine Show's Ketch Secor Writes A New Song For A Troubled America

June 18, 2020 - 4:07am

First, a pandemic, then economic collapse and now there are mass demonstrations over police brutality and racism.

In times of upheaval like this, music can be an escape. Maybe a way to reflect or try to make sense of things. This is what led to a new series we're...

Little Dragon: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert

June 18, 2020 - 4:00am

The Tiny Desk is working from home for the foreseeable future. Introducing NPR Music's Tiny Desk (home) concerts, bringing you performances from across the country and the world. It's the same spirit — stripped-down sets, an intimate setting — just a different space.

I was very...

Now, About The Bad Name I Gave My Band

June 17, 2020 - 11:26am

What kind of a*****e would name his band Drive-By Truckers? A valid question, if you ask me. I'm the person responsible for it.

Last week, it was announced that the country trio Lady Antebellum would be changing its name. I don't really know that band, nor its members....

Love In Abundance: A Guide To Women's Music

June 17, 2020 - 10:07am

If the first time you ever heard the phrase "women's music" was during the episode of the Amazon Original show Transparent in which the main character, a transgender woman, attends a music festival and finds herself enmeshed in a debate about gender and the right to inclusion, you know something...

Our Daily Breather: How To Keep Moving During The Pandemic

June 17, 2020 - 9:00am

Our Daily Breather was a daily series where we asked writers and artists to recommend one thing that's helped them get through the days of isolation during the coronavirus pandemic. The series concluded on June 13, 2020. Many writers and artists suggested running, working out and other physical activties; here,...

HAIM: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert

June 17, 2020 - 4:00am

Strung aloft the...

Yo-Yo Ma: Goats, Rodeos And The Power Of Music

June 16, 2020 - 4:17pm

Between the pandemic, the economic crisis and now protests, 2020 has already been a lot. Yo-Yo Ma has been coping, and trying to help the rest of us cope, with music. The cellist has been posting videos of himself playing what he calls "Songs of Comfort."

"I do...

Heat Check: Bigger Picture

June 16, 2020 - 10:15am

Music is canonizing this moment in history at rapid speed. Across rap, R&B and avant-garde soul, we're hearing the creative juices flowing, giving reason and song to racing thoughts. Some artists remain on the front lines of the Black Lives Matter movement. Others turn inward to journal their time in...

TOMORROW'S MEMORIES - AN OPERA FOR THE SAN FRANCISCO GIRLS CHORUS

June 16, 2020 - 10:00am

SCENE 1 PREVIEW!!
...

Our Daily Breather: Recommended Reading And Viewing To Find Calm During The Pandemic

June 16, 2020 - 9:00am

Our Daily Breather was a daily series where we asked writers and artists to recommend one thing that's helped them get through the days of isolation during the coronavirus pandemic. The series concluded on June 13, 2020. Many writers and artists suggested spending time with particular films, TV shows and...

Camille Thurman And Darrell Green: Alone Together Duets

June 16, 2020 - 7:00am

Six weeks ago, we launched this video series to give us a glimpse of some fabulous creative partnerships manifesting in isolation. But at this moment, as America slowly opens up, our nation has found itself in the midst of a vital discussion on race and equality.

For this Alone...

Queer As Punk: A Guide To LGBTQIA+ Punk

June 15, 2020 - 1:03pm

Punk rock has 101 origin stories, and most of them are true. After all, punk rock springs from a myriad of local scenes, and is as much about the music as it is about the venues where it is performed, the audiences and listeners who participate in its performance, clothes...

Is This The End For 'Urban' Music?

June 15, 2020 - 12:41pm

Imagine this: you're a participant in a televised game show, and you've made it all the way to the final round. After you spin your wheel or choose your letters or pick your question, the only thing standing between you and all the money of your dreams is a simple...

Our Daily Breather: Recipes For Staying Sane During The Pandemic

June 15, 2020 - 9:00am

Our Daily Breather was a daily series where we asked writers and artists to recommend one thing that's helped them get through the days of isolation during the coronavirus pandemic. The series concluded on June 13, 2020. Many writers and artists told us they were spending time in the kitchen....

How Gia Margaret Lost Her Voice And Reassembled Her Songwriting Identity

June 15, 2020 - 6:00am

Mia Gargaret is a record that gives far more than it asks of you. Often wordlessly, Chicago-based singer-songwriter Gia Margaret paints her interior world with wide strokes of optimism and honesty. Still present is her gift for instrumental compositions, which she demonstrated on her debut There's Always Glimmer, where drowsy...

Alicia Keys: Tiny Desk Concert

June 15, 2020 - 4:00am

On a brisk February morning, Alicia Keys, full of effervescence, entered NPR through the loading dock wearing a canary yellow faux fur coat. During our ride to the fourth floor, she joked about how she hadn't been invited to play at the Tiny Desk. That, of course, wasn't exactly true....

Chloe x Halle On Releasing Their New Album During America's 'Ungodly Hour'

June 14, 2020 - 7:00am

When Beyoncé deems your music "flawless," you know you've probably made it. That's more or less what happened to the sister R&B duo, Chloe x Halle, when they passed their latest album, Ungodly Hour, to Beyoncé for feedback.

"We love Beyoncé so much and we value her opinion so...

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Spectrum West, June 18, 2020

Our Daily Breather: Daily Practices For Staying Sane During The Pandemic

Opinion: Black Protest Is Music. Learning The Melody Isn't Enough

Old Crow Medicine Show's Ketch Secor Writes A New Song For A Troubled America

Little Dragon: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert

Now, About The Bad Name I Gave My Band

Love In Abundance: A Guide To Women's Music

Our Daily Breather: How To Keep Moving During The Pandemic

HAIM: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert

Yo-Yo Ma: Goats, Rodeos And The Power Of Music

Heat Check: Bigger Picture

TOMORROW'S MEMORIES - AN OPERA FOR THE SAN FRANCISCO GIRLS CHORUS

Our Daily Breather: Recommended Reading And Viewing To Find Calm During The Pandemic

Camille Thurman And Darrell Green: Alone Together Duets

Queer As Punk: A Guide To LGBTQIA+ Punk

Is This The End For 'Urban' Music?

Our Daily Breather: Recipes For Staying Sane During The Pandemic

How Gia Margaret Lost Her Voice And Reassembled Her Songwriting Identity

Alicia Keys: Tiny Desk Concert

Chloe x Halle On Releasing Their New Album During America's 'Ungodly Hour'

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