Music & Culture

North Carolinian Rhiannon Giddens, who opposes HB2, says she struggled with whether to speak out against the bill from stage: "How can I use my platform for good without jeopardizing everything so that I don't have that platform anymore?"

Music & Culture

In North Carolina, Musicians Face Off Against HB2

6:04pm May 06, 2016

by Desiré Moses

Stars like Bruce Springsteen canceled North Carolina shows because of the state's "bathroom bill." Others, like Beyonce, played. For local musicians and venues, the decision is a complicated one.

Music & Culture

Across The Blue Ridge #19 - Presenting Tradition In A New Era

4:35pm May 06, 2016

by Paul Brown

This week, host Paul Brown visits with performer, folklorist and roots music evangelist David Holt. David's latest TV series is titled David Holt's State of Music. In its secon

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Clockwise from upper left: Radiohead, James Blake, Beyoncé, Chance The Rapper

Music & Culture

All Songs +1: The Season Of Surprise Albums, From Beyoncé To James Blake

4:22pm May 06, 2016

Are you feeling listener fatigue or musical ecstasy from all the surprise album drops? Guess what: It's not over yet.

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Music & Culture

Power Trio Mixes Old And New, And The Result Is 'Perfection'

3:40pm May 06, 2016

by Kevin Whitehead

Jazz stars David Murray, Geri Allen and Terri Lyne Carrington first played together last year in New York. Now they come together with the new album, Perfection. Critic Kevin Whitehead has a review.

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Music & Culture

Jim Ferguson On Piano Jazz

3:34pm May 06, 2016

The singing bassist presents original songs and standards in a session from 2001.

Music & Culture

Grant-Lee Phillips On World Cafe

2:42pm May 06, 2016

The lifelong Californian's move to Nashville inspired a new album, The Narrows. Hear the conversation and performance.

Thom Yorke in a scene from a new Radiohead video for the song, "Daydreaming."

Music & Culture

Radiohead Announces New Album, Hear Another New Song

1:13pm May 06, 2016

by Robin Hilton

The band's ninth album, the title of which is still unannounced, will come out on Sunday. The band also released a new song, "Daydreaming," with a video directed by Paul Thomas Anderson.

Anohni's Helplessness, out May 6, is a vivid, arresting protest album.

Music & Culture

Review: Anohni, 'Hopelessness'

11:48am May 06, 2016

by Barry Walters

This vivid, unabashed protest album pairs Anohni's unmistakable voice with contemporary synthetic sounds by Hudson Mohawke and Oneohtrix Point Never, yet finds ways to be truly unnerving.

The University of Louisville's marching band leaves the Churchill Downs infield after performing the state song at the Kentucky Derby.

Churchill Downer: The Forgotten Racial History Of Kentucky's State Song

10:32am May 06, 2016

by NPR Staff

"My Old Kentucky Home" is sung every year at the Kentucky Derby. Written in 1852 as an anti-slavery ballad, the song has a more sinister meaning upon closer examination.

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Music & Culture

Songs We Love: And The Kids, 'Friends Share Lovers'

9:27am May 06, 2016

by Marissa Lorusso

In an audibly collaborative, thoughtfully layered track, Hannah Mohan and company zero in on what happens when a tight-knit group gets a little too close.