Music Interviews

Ephraim Sykes, Jawan Jackson, Jeremy Pope, Derrick Baskin and James Harkness, star as the original members of The Temptations, in Berkeley Repertory Theatre's production of Ain't Too Proud, now playing at The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

Music & Culture

'I Lived Through All That?': The Temptations Musical Hits The High And The Low Notes

6:23am July 01, 2018

The memoir of the Motown group's co-founder, Otis Williams, plays out in Ain't Too Proud. Although the successes of the fractious group came at a cost, Williams says the power of their music lives on.

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Tiny Desk Contest standout Yasmin Williams from Woodbridge, Va., lays a guitar face up, taps on the frets and plays percussion in the NPR studio.

Music & Culture

Yasmin Williams Transcends All Guitar Norms In Her Tiny Desk Contest Entry

12:08pm June 30, 2018

Virginia's Yasmin Williams is a captivating acoustic finger-style guitarist who incorporates cello bows and tap shoes into making her sound.

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Jazz singer Gregory Porter and NPR's Audie Cornish at a live interview at NPR Headquarters in Washington, D.C. on June 27, 2018.

Music & Culture

Gregory Porter On Channeling Nat King Cole: 'Nat Got Me Through Some Moments'

7:57pm June 29, 2018

Whether it's through jazz, soul or an electronic music collaboration, Gregory Porter wants to spread Nat King Cole's message that "the greatest thing you'll learn is to love and be loved in return."

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Music & Culture

Author Robert Hilburn Shares Stories And Revelations Inside 'Paul Simon: The Life'

2:43pm June 29, 2018

by Stephen Kallao

The former Los Angelese Times music critic was given complete editorial control over the singer-songwriter's biography.

"I used metaphor a lot in earlier work to hide what it was that I was actually trying to say," Florence Welch says.

Music & Culture

Florence Welch Is Thankful For Her Messy Teenage Years: 'It Formed Me'

5:01am June 28, 2018

Florence Welch goes back 15 years in Florence + The Machine's new album High as Hope to detail her drunken teenage years and how she's changed with time and sobriety.

Jesse and Joy Huerta, who make up the Mexican pop duo Jesse & Joy, are considering making English-language albums, and have become vocal advocates for Mexican migrants in the U.S.

Music & Culture

Mexican-American Duo Jesse & Joy Advocate For Migrants In The U.S.

9:19am June 27, 2018

by Carrie Kahn

The duo's video for the title track of their latest album Un Besito Más depicts a mother and father, who are facing deportation, deciding to leave their child in the U.S. It has millions of views.

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Music & Culture

Black Lung Disease Can't Keep Frank Newsome From Singing Hymns

1:54pm June 26, 2018

by Sam Briger

Newsome, a former coal miner who has black lung disease, started singing when he joined a church in 1963. His sings a cappella in a lined-out hymn style — one of America's oldest music traditions.

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Ruen Brothers performing live at World Cafe Live in Philadelphia.

Music & Culture

Ruen Brothers On World Cafe

12:38pm June 26, 2018

by Talia Schlanger

Hear the story of how the brothers went from singing in the pubs of an old steel town outside London to recording at Rick Rubin's Shangri La Studios in Malibu.

Music & Culture

Bolero Enjoys A Revival Thanks, In Part, To 2 Teenage Sisters

7:14am June 26, 2018

by Betto Arcos

The romantic Latin music style was born in Cuba and migrated around the world in the 1950s. Now, it's enjoying a resurgence with a new generation.

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Rare Essence inside the World Cafe Performance Studio

Music & Culture

Rare Essence On World Cafe

2:23pm June 25, 2018

by Stephen Kallao

Go-go is an offshoot of funk that combines elements of R&B, hip-hop and blues. Rare Essence, the Washington D.C. pioneers of go-go, bring the get-down to World Cafe.