Music Interviews

Music & Culture

Booker T. Jones Reflects On His Life in Music

1:42pm October 25, 2019

by Terry Gross

Jones' band, Booker T. & the MG's, composed the instrumental classic, "Green Onions," and played background to Otis Redding. His new memoir is Time is Tight. Originally broadcast March 26, 2007.

Queue Listen Now

Grace Potter performs live for World Cafe.

Music & Culture

Grace Potter Shifts Towards 'Daylight'

12:20pm October 25, 2019

Her second solo album follows the 180 degree pivot in her personal life and marks a return to her beloved blues rock sound.

The Muckers inside the World Cafe Playlist

Music & Culture

Getting To The United States Wasn't Easy For The Muckers

4:47pm October 24, 2019

Iranian musician Emir Mohseni had procured a work visa and was preparing to start a U.S. tour when Trump announced a travel ban in early 2017.

Queue Listen Now

David Wax Museum performing live for the World Cafe

Music & Culture

David Wax Museum Creates A Positive Message From A Difficult Situation

11:15am October 24, 2019

The Unite the Right rally and subsequent counterprotests in the band's hometown of Charlottesville, Va. inspired the duo's latest release, Line of Light.

Music & Culture

Questlove Invites You To A 'Mixtape Potluck'

4:05pm October 23, 2019

The latest book from the co-founder and drummer of The Roots is a collection of recipes from his friends and inspired by his "food salon" dinner parties.

Colorado was recorded in the titular state in a studio sitting at 9000 feet.

Music & Culture

A Legendary Collaboration Continues: Neil Young And Crazy Horse Reunite For 'Colorado'

5:04am October 23, 2019

Neil Young and Crazy Horse have put out music together for 50 years. Young talks to NPR's David Greene about their latest album, Colorado.

Che Apalache performing live for World Cafe

Music & Culture

From North Carolina To Buenos Aires With Che Apalache

3:15pm October 21, 2019

Together with three of his former banjo students, Joe Trooper creates music that combines the Latin American influences of his adopted home with the bluegrass he grew up on.

Music & Culture

Jackie Cruz On 'Hija De Chavez'

7:59am October 20, 2019

Jackie Cruz plays a convict in the series Orange Is the New Black, but she's also a singer. She talks to NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro about her debut album, Hija de Chavez.

KOKOKO!, a band from the Democratic Republic of Congo, performs at an NPR Tiny Desk Concert that will be posted at a future date.

Congo's KOKOKO! Makes Joyful Dance Music From Instruments Made Of Junk

7:00am October 19, 2019

by Isabella Gomez Sarmiento

The band couldn't afford instruments. So they made their own out of scavenged items, like kitchen pots and air-conditioner parts. On their U.S. tour, they stopped by NPR's Tiny Desk.

"I'm naturally soft spoken," Laetitia Tamko says. "But when I sing, I'm not soft spoken."

Music & Culture

'There Will Be No Darkness': Laetitia Tamko On The Making Of 'Vagabon'

4:27pm October 18, 2019

by Jenny Gathright

Laetitia Tamko has found a way to cram all of the sounds that personally move her — pop, punk, trap, African music — into Vagabon. "I feel like I made an amazing record. Why can't I say that?"