Music & Culture

Marin Alsop and John Adams at a performance of Adams' Dr. Atomic at the Cabrillo Festival in 2008.

Music & Culture

A Parting Gift — With Legs — For Marin Alsop At The Cabrillo Festival

11:05am August 06, 2016

by Marin Alsop

After 25 years directing the contemporary music festival in California, Marin Alsop bids farewell with Lola Montez Does the Spider Dance, a new piece composed for her by John Adams.

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Music & Culture

25 Years Marks The Final Season At Cabrillo Festival For Contemporary Music

9:24am August 06, 2016

It's the 25th and last season at the Cabrillo Festival for Contemporary Music for Marin Alsop, and composer John Adams has written a piece in her honor. NPR's Scott Simon reminisces with the Maestra.

The 19-year-old rapper Desiigner, whose song "Panda" is one of the year's biggest hits, on stage at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn in July.

Music & Culture

In The Race For The Song Of The Summer, 'Panda' Runs On A New Track

6:45pm August 05, 2016

by Jasmine Garsd

In 2016, the fact that one of the biggest pop hits of the year owes its success almost entirely to the Internet is no longer a surprise.

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MGMT, The Stone Roses, Guns N' Roses and Marshall Crenshaw all made career-defining debut albums.

Music & Culture

Weekend LISTening: 9 Great Debut Albums

6:04pm August 05, 2016

by David Dye

Many great artists take a while to reach their zenith, but how many artists' careers were defined by their first albums?

Musicians Descend On West Virginia For Appalachian String Band Festival

4:29pm August 05, 2016

by Noah Adams

If you'd like to escape the presidential election, take your banjo or fiddle to this week's Appalachian String Band Music Festival, known as "Clifftop," in West Virginia.

Music & Culture

Across the Blue Ridge #32 - New generation players sport influences both broad and deep

3:07pm August 05, 2016

by Paul Brown

This week's Across the Blue Ridge features a concert set and a visit with Sam Gleaves and Tyler Hughes, two of a new generation of roots musicians steeped in tradition and seeking new expressive pa

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Allen Stone outside of the World Cafe performance studio.

Music & Culture

Allen Stone On World Cafe

2:29pm August 05, 2016

Watch the warm, soulful singer perform "Upside" live in the studio, and hear him discuss the business and the art of making music.

Cover art to The Great Kai and J.J., 1960.

Music & Culture

The Eminence Of J.J. Johnson, And His Partnership With Kai Winding

1:22pm August 05, 2016

Among J.J. Johnson's greatest recordings pair him with fellow trombonist Kai Winding. At Jazz at Lincoln Center, Vincent Gardner takes on the music of his instrument's bebop pioneer.

Album art for Brazilian band Bixiga 70's 2016 Record Store Day release, The Copan Connection: Bixiga 70 Meets Victor Rice.

Music & Culture

Let The Games Begin: A Playlist For Rio

1:10pm August 05, 2016

As the Summer Olympics start, celebrate the glories of Brazilian music — from bossa nova to the rollicking Northeastern forró of Luiz Gonzaga and the classical mixology of Villa-Lobos.

King Bubba (in the hat) at Crop Over last weekend. His song "Calling In Sick" is a robust tribute to rum.

Music & Culture

From The 2016 Crop Over Festival, A Feast of Caribbean Soca Music

1:00pm August 05, 2016

by Baz Dreisinger

Barbados stands at the forefront of the soca music industry, thanks to a thriving local music scene and the worldwide popularity of its annual Carnival. Hear this year's best-in-show.