Music & Culture

Musician Hopes Song 'Cootie Shot' Will Help Overcome Vaccine Hesitancy

6:20am May 12, 2021

by Mandalit del Barco

Children ages 12 to 15 have been approved to get a COVID-19 vaccine. Pierce Freelon, a children's musician, hopes to encourage more kidsto get vaccinated with a new song: "Cootie Shot."

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The 2021 Tiny Desk Contest is now open for entries.

Music & Culture

You Can Now Enter The 2021 Tiny Desk Contest

10:00am May 11, 2021

by Marissa Lorusso

Send in your video before midnight on June 7. If you win, you'll play your very own Tiny Desk concert at NPR's headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Music & Culture

'Mr. Personality' Lloyd Price Dead At 88

12:41am May 11, 2021

by Mandalit del Barco

Singer Lloyd Price, best known for the hits "Lawdy Miss Clawdy" and "Stagger Lee," died in New Rochelle, N.Y., last week at the age of 88.

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Music & Culture

Dawn Richard Sings Her Freedom On 'Second Line'

4:58pm May 10, 2021

NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with New Orleans multi-hyphenate Dawn Richard about her long journey from budding pop star to indie auteur, as well as her latest album Second Line.

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From left, trumpet player Freddie Hubbard, saxophonist Johnny Griffin, Curtis Fuller and bassist Reggie Workman, on stage at Town Hall in New York on Feb. 22, 1985.

Curtis Fuller, Leading Trombonist Of Jazz's Detroit Wave, Dies At 86

3:31pm May 10, 2021

by Martin Johnson

After cutting his teeth in Detroit, a move to New York near the middle of the century found him directly in the center of a deeply important moment for jazz.

Music & Culture

Tune-Yards Shares The Inspiration Behind 'Sketchy'

1:15pm May 10, 2021

When you listen to a song by Tune-Yards, it can be like listening to a beautiful, but abstract painting. Hear a live performance of songs from the band's latest album.

Ani DiFranco performs a Tiny Desk (home) concert.

Music & Culture

Ani DiFranco: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert

9:50am May 10, 2021

by Bob Boilen

Ani DiFranco delivers a beautiful and powerful performance from her home and studio, Big Blue in New Orleans.

Taylor Swift Makes Cameo On High School Students' Year-End Exam

8:13am May 10, 2021

The Advanced Placement U.S. government and politics exam included a question about the singer encouraging voters to register on Instagram. CNN reports the surprise put a smile on some students' faces.

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Music & Culture

Rapper Esoteric On New Album 'Super What?'

5:01pm May 09, 2021

Rapper Esoteric of the group CZARFACE discusses the new collaboration album Super What? and the legacy of rapper MF DOOM, who died in 2020.

Music Professor David Rothenburg Makes Music With Cicadas

7:53am May 09, 2021

NPR host Lulu Garcia-Navarro speaks to music professor David Rothenberg about the music of the Brood X cicadas and what it's like making music with them.