Music & Culture

Music & Culture

Hey Bands, Why T-Shirts Matter, A Martin Atkins Minute

9:36am March 14, 2017

by Bob Boilen

As we head to SXSW, it's the music that matters most, but if you're a band, you may want to think about t-shirts once you've nailed the music. Music funnyman Martin Atkins tells us why.

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Alynda Segarra founded Hurray for the Riff Raff in New Orleans, but her story begins in a Puerto Rican community in the Bronx.

Music & Culture

Girl, Interrupted: Hurray For The Riff Raff On Identity Lost And Found

8:42am March 14, 2017

by Vince Pearson

Singer Alynda Segarra explains the band's new album, The Navigator, which tells the story of a Puerto Rican girl who wishes away her culture and community in exchange for more freedom.

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A U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer's patch, photographed in Miami in March 2015. CBP officials denied entry to the Italian band Soviet Soviet last week and deported its members.

Music & Culture

Why Was That Band Deported?

9:46pm March 13, 2017

by Anastasia Tsioulcas

Was the Italian group Soviet Soviet a security risk? Did it pose an economic threat to Americans? And how hard is it to get a performer's visa, anyway? We work through the details.

"The song a robin sings through years of endless springs..."

Music & Culture

A 'Stella' For Springtime, Snowstorms Or Starlight

4:54pm March 13, 2017

by Nate Chinen

While the Northeast prepares for the arrival of March snowstorm named Stella, our jazz critic gets a different 'Stella,' one with links to Ella and Miles and Herbie, stuck in his head.

Kamaal Williams and Yussef Dayes of the band Yussef Kamaal. Dayes says that his visa to the U.S. for the SXSW festival has been revoked.

Music & Culture

Three More SXSW-Bound Bands Denied Entry Into The U.S.

4:35pm March 13, 2017

by Anastasia Tsioulcas

The Egyptian-Canadian group Massive Scar Era, as well as London's Yussef Kamaal and United Vibrations, have been denied entry. The artists allege that racism was a factor in the denials.

Clockwise from upper left: Bishop Briggs, Tunde Olaniran, Charlie Cunningham, Pavvla, Phoebe Bridgers, Trapo

Music & Culture

The All Songs Considered SXSW Preview, 2017

3:46pm March 13, 2017

For music lovers, South By Southwest can feel like Christmas, Mardi Gras and Spring Break rolled into one. This week we share some of the discoveries we're most excited to see at this year's festival.

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Bonnie Raitt performs live at WXPN's Non-COMMvention at World Cafe Live in Philadelphia.

Music & Culture

World Cafe: That '70s Week

3:45pm March 13, 2017

by David Dye

All week, we dig into the archives to present our favorite sessions with artists whose work in the 1970s remains some of their best.

Music & Culture

Songs We Love: GoldLink, 'Meditation (Feat. Jazmine Sullivan & Kaytranada)'

2:05pm March 13, 2017

by Rodney Carmichael

"[Go-go] was our girlfriend and we didn't want anybody else to f*** her," the DMV native says with the release of a single that personifies the nostalgia for his musical roots.

Music & Culture

Frank Carlberg's Big Band Takes Extended Flights On Familiar Monk Themes

1:54pm March 13, 2017

by Kevin Whitehead

Monk Dreams, Hallucinations and Nightmares, by the Finish-born pianist and composer, is a meditation on Thelonious Monk's "odd but catchy melodies," says jazz critic Kevin Whitehead.

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Music & Culture

World Cafe Nashville: Kiya Lacey

11:14am March 13, 2017

by Jewly Hight

Between Nashville and Atlanta, Lacey is developing an icy, introspective alt-R&B sound. "I feel like it's a great time for women to realize that they do have power," she says.