Music & Culture

Tiny Desk Contest winner Gaelynn Lea joined Lucius on stage at First Avenue in Minneapolis.

Music & Culture

Watch Tiny Desk Contest Winner Gaelynn Lea Join Lucius On Stage

10:56am March 25, 2016

by Bob Boilen

After Lucius, which is led by a pair Tiny Desk Contest judges, invited the winner to share the stage at a show in Minneapolis this week, there wasn't a dry eye in the house.

Music & Culture

Songs We Love: Robert Ellis, 'Drivin'

9:00am March 25, 2016

by Ann Powers

A break up song from the Houston songwriter's brilliant new album that describes those lost moments between saying goodbye and actually leaving.

Tiny Desk Concert with Tedeschi Trucks Band.

Music & Culture

Tedeschi Trucks Band: Tiny Desk Concert

9:00am March 25, 2016

by Felix Contreras

Singer-guitarist Susan Tedeschi and guitarist Derek Trucks celebrate the blues, jazz and much more.

Bombino performs at SXSW 2016 on the Radio Day Stage

Music & Culture

Watch Bombino Perform At SXSW

9:00am March 25, 2016

by Bruce Warren

Watch the West African guitarist weave his hypnotic magic from Austin's Radio Day Stage last week.

Country singer Margo Price's debut solo album, Midwest Farmer's Daughter, draws on her personal experiences of hard times.

Music & Culture

On 'Midwest Farmer's Daughter,' Margo Price Hits Her Breaking Point — And Big Break

6:01am March 25, 2016

by NPR Staff

The country singer's music is steeped in loss and heartache, emotions she knows well. Her debut solo album recounts the struggles she has faced, and what she has learned along the way.

When Apple used the song "1234" in a 2007 iPod commercial, it turned Canadian singer Feist into a star. A panel at this year's SXSW agreed that music licensing remains lucrative — and complicated.

'How Did This Song Get In That Commercial?' Some Answers From SXSW

6:08pm March 24, 2016

by NPR Staff

In an age when you're more likely to hear a cool new song in an ad before you hear it on the radio, a panel at SXSW addressed the question of how to match mayonnaise with banjos or sneakers with EDM.

Chicano Batman performs "Right Off The Back" at NPR Music's SXSW 2016 showcase.

Music & Culture

Chicano Batman, 'Right Off The Back' (Live At SXSW 2016)

5:16pm March 24, 2016

Chicano Batman digs deep into its own version of '70s funk groove at NPR Music's SXSW Showcase in Austin, Texas.

Chicano Batman performs "Cycles Of Existential Rhyme" at NPR Music's SXSW 2016 showcase.

Music & Culture

Chicano Batman, 'Cycles Of Existential Rhyme' (Live At SXSW 2016)

5:10pm March 24, 2016

Watch Chicano Batman kick off NPR Music's SXSW showcase with a song dripping with '70s funk organ and serious existential Chicano angst.

Chicano Batman performs "Joven Navegante" at NPR Music's SXSW 2016 showcase.

Music & Culture

Chicano Batman, 'Joven Navegante' (Live At SXSW 2016)

5:08pm March 24, 2016

Hear Chicano Batman combine funk and rock with mellow, lowrider grooves to get the crowd at NPR Music's SXSW showcase moving.

Chicano Batman performs "La Manzanita" at NPR Music's SXSW 2016 showcase.

Music & Culture

Chicano Batman, 'La Manzanita' (Live At SXSW 2016)

5:00pm March 24, 2016

Watch Chicano Batman close its set at NPR Music's SXSW showcase with this seriously old school quinceñera cumbia.