Music & Culture

For Omar Kamal, music is "that little space where you can be creative and kind of dream and move away from everything that's happened to you."

Music & Culture

'Music Was Always The Escape': Omar Kamal On Shaping His Artistic Identity

10:25am December 29, 2016

by NPR Staff

The Palestinian jazz crooner, who was 8 years old at the start of the Second Intifada, says hearing Frank Sinatra changed his life. "[He] has got all credit for me going into singing," Kamal says.

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Music & Culture

Songs We Love: Studio OST, 'ITCZ'

9:00am December 29, 2016

by Mina Tavakoli

Producers Galcher Lustwerk and Alvin Aronson make music as ceaseless, freakish and leisurely as a belt of warmed air through the endless LA summer.

Cass McCombs performs live on Treeline Stage at Pickathon.

Music & Culture

Cass McCombs, 'Opposite House' (Live At Pickathon)

8:00am December 29, 2016

by Otis Hart

The enigmatic songwriter performs the lead single from his latest album, Mangy Love, at the Oregon music festival.

Taylor Mac, performing at St. Ann's Warehouse in Brooklyn in October. "It felt a little bit like a ritual sacrifice," Mac says. "I came home and I fell asleep at the dinner table."

Music & Culture

Taylor Mac On Making A Better World In 24 Hours

4:06pm December 28, 2016

by NPR Staff

In October, the performance artist gave a marathon day-long show. Mac says the performance was a way to not only critique the world's problems — but also imagine new ways of existing.

The Colorist & Emiliana Torrini's self-titled album is out now.

Music & Culture

In The Colorist, Emiliana Torrini Has Met Her True Match

4:06pm December 28, 2016

by Michelle Mercer

The Icelandic singer's new collaboration with the Belgian orchestra The Colorist lends her striking voice even more immediacy.

Dolly Parton, pictured with Kacey Musgraves, Reba McEntire and Jennifer Nettles (obscured), accepts the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award onstage at the CMA Awards in Nashville in November.

Music & Culture

'This Thing Called Country Music': Tradition And Crossover In 2016

3:47pm December 28, 2016

by Jewly Hight

Though some moments seemed to indicate a pop takeover, 2016 was also a year when country tended to its traditions. In the end, the genre decided it was big enough to hold both.

Music & Culture

Looking Back At The Ramones' Debut: They Were A 'Bunch Of Weirdos From New York'

3:14pm December 28, 2016

by Ed Ward

It's been 40 years since The Ramones released their self-titled first album. Rock historian Ed Ward remembers the debut as a confrontational and divisive record with a "cartoonish overlay."

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Music & Culture

Looking Back To Move Forward: Celebrating Jazz Artists We Lost in 2016

2:06pm December 28, 2016

by Katie Simon

Jazz lost great players in 2016, including Paul Bley, Gato Barbieri and three musicians we're profiling — vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, harmonica player Toots Thielemans and bassist Victor Bailey.

Music & Culture

The Thistle & Shamrock: A Festive Celtic Celebration

1:06pm December 28, 2016

Mark the season by exploring festive songs, carols and dances from traditions old and new.

Christian Lopez Band performs live for Mountain Stage in Charleston, W.Va.

Music & Culture

Christian Lopez Band On Mountain Stage

12:47pm December 28, 2016

The up-and-coming Americana outfit plays songs from its debut album, Onward, live in West Virginia.