Music & Culture

Music & Culture

Sadie Dupuis (Speedy Ortiz, Sad13) On Reading And Writing Poetry During A Pandemic

10:00am April 01, 2020

by Sadie Dupuis

In Our Daily Breather, we ask writers and artists how to find calm in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis. Dupuis recommends poetry: "Even if you write something stupid, you'll at least kill some time."

Nicholas Payton, photographed during the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Music Festival on May 3, 2013. Amid the global pandemic that began in early 2020, artists have seen gigs cancelled and releases postponed.

Music & Culture

With Gigs Gone, Nicholas Payton Used The Time To Record And Release A New Album

7:00am April 01, 2020

by Nate Chinen

With plans scuppered thanks to the coronavirus, New Orleans trumpeter Nicholas Payton invited two collaborators, Cliff Hines and Sasha Masakowski, to his home studio for two days of collaboration.

Michael McDonald plays a Tiny Desk Home concert.

Music & Culture

Michael McDonald: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert

5:00am April 01, 2020

by Bobby Carter

No joke: The Doobie Brother took to his studio to record a special quarantine concert for Tiny Desk fans.

Music & Culture

Jazz Trumpeter Wallace Roney Dies From COVID-19 Complications At Age 59

5:51pm March 31, 2020

by Nate Chinen

The pugnacious post-bop player and composer, who was mentored by Miles Davis, had been hospitalized since last Wednesday.

Wallace Roney performing at Le Poisson Rouge in New York, as part of the 2014 Winter Jazzfest. The trumpet player died Tuesday, March 31.

Music & Culture

Wallace Roney, Intrepid Jazz Trumpeter, Dies From COVID-19 Complications At 59

5:41pm March 31, 2020

by Nate Chinen

The pugnacious post-bop player and composer, who was mentored by Miles Davis and Clark Terry, had been hospitalized since last Wednesday.

Mixing Colours is Roger and Brian Eno's first release as a duo.

Music & Culture

Roger And Brian Eno's First Album Together Comes At The Perfect Time

4:22pm March 31, 2020

by Tom Moon

Brothers Brian and Roger Eno have spent decades making music separately, but Mixing Colours is their first release as a duo. Tom Moon writes that its ambient calm offers sanctuary for these times.

Dolly Parton will read children's books on a video stream once a week, drawing titles from her Imagination Library. She's seen here performing in Nashville, Tenn., in January.

Dolly Parton Will Read Bedtime Stories To Kids Online Every Week

3:12pm March 31, 2020

by Bill Chappell

"Dolly hopes this series of stories will provide comfort and reassurance to coping kids and families during the shelter-in-place mandates," the Imagination Library said.

Instead of touring to promote his new album Naked Garden, Lukas Nelson is at home on his father Willie Nelson's ranch. "We're playing a lot of chess and dominoes. And we're writing music," he says.

Music & Culture

Lukas Nelson On Staying Home And Focusing On The Music

2:28pm March 31, 2020

NPR's David Greene talks to Lukas Nelson about a new album, hunkering down with family, silver linings and focusing on what's important in life.

Queue Listen Now

Dua Lipa's "Good in Bed" is one of the best songs of March.

Music & Culture

NPR Music's Top 20 Songs Of March

1:59pm March 31, 2020

Dua Lipa gave us a disco bop, Code Orange glitched its way through an industrial-metal anthem and Kelsea Ballerini offered a thoughtful country ballad about a divided America.

Whether Just Blaze is tapping out sampled drums or utilizing live drummers in the studio, his ability to harness energy is what makes his beats so dynamic.

Music & Culture

Just Blaze Unpacks His Samples for Beyoncé And Jay-Z

1:32pm March 31, 2020

Whether Just Blaze is tapping out sampled drums or utilizing live drummers in the studio, his ability to harness energy is what makes his beats so dynamic.