The annual festival is a chance for fans to get up close and personal with their favorite country stars — and to discover new artists. Ann Powers and Jewly Hight report back from this year's event.
She'd left her Arkansas hometown by age 20, but the Gossip frontwoman's solo album recalls her Southern roots. Losing her father, she says, has made her look back more fondly at her childhood.
The song "Imagine" is an international anthem of peace and, well, imagination. Until this week, John Lennon had sole credit for writing the song, but in his lifetime, Lennon wanted that changed.
After the rush of stardom accompanying her 2013 debut, the singer felt "deeply conspicuous" working in her native New Zealand. To finish her new album, Melodrama, she let herself get lost in New York.
Jason Haaheim was a senior scientist at a nanotech company before deciding he wanted to play in a professional orchestra. He's now principal timpanist with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra.
Nate Kramer was a tall, quiet collegiate swimmer when he was diagnosed with leukemia. He died four years later. But during treatment he met a therapist, and together they played and recorded music.
NPR's Audie Cornish talks with NPR Music editor Jacob Ganz about the music news of the week, including the buzz around Beyonce's twins, Katy Perry's new album and a 48-year-old songwriting credit for Yoko Ono on John Lennon's, "Imagine."