Meet The Medical Professionals Playing Classical Music Together Online
The National Virtual Medical Orchestra brings together health care workers and gives them a creative outlet during the pandemic.
Music Interviews
Kathleen Edwards On Taking A Break From Music And Finding 'Total Freedom'
Almost a decade ago, Canadian singer-songwriter Kathleen Edwards gave up music and opened a cafe called Quitters Coffee. She returns now with Total Freedom, her first album in eight years.
Phil Elverum Returns To A Refuge As The Microphones
Microphones in 2020 is a single 45-minute track written to "unburden myself from the weight of all this memory," says Phil Elverum, "even though I also think it has so much value."
First Lady Of English Folk Music Shirley Collins Releases New Album
Singer Shirley Collins has been called the first lady of English folk music. NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with her about her new album, Heart's Ease.
Dirty Projectors On Bringing Different Voices To The Forefront
The Dirty Projectors jettisoned the traditional album format this year for a series of five EPs. Each one features one of the band members as lead vocalist and they all come together on the fifth.
Meet Linda Diaz, The Winner Of The 2020 Tiny Desk Contest
Host Ari Shapiro talks with Linda Diaz, the winner of this year's NPR Music Tiny Desk Contest. Her entry, "Green Tea Ice Cream" is a dreamy R&B song anchored by her skilled and soulful voice.
On Ondara's New Album, He Shares 'Tales From Isolation'
The Grammy-nominated folk singer-songwriter from Kenya wrote and recorded his second album entirely during the COVID-19 shutdown.
Composer Max Richter On 'Voices,' A New Album That Envisions A Better World
Composer Max Richter's new album drew inspiration from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a document spearheaded by Eleanor Roosevelt which he calls "a blueprint for a better world."
Pierce Freelon On His Children's Album And The Legacy Of His Creative Black Family
Musician Pierce Freelon grew up in a creative and famous Black family and now he's dropping his first children's jazz/hip-hop album, D.a.D., featuring his experiences as a Black millennial father.
The Psychedelic Furs' Richard Butler On The Band's First New Album In 29 Years
Singer Richard Butler talks about the power of '80s nostalgia, the state of rock and roll today and the freedom of making the band's new record, Made of Rain, on its own terms.