Music News

Adia Victoria is a Nashville-based singer and songwriter who sounds nothing like what we think of as Nashville.

Music & Culture

Adia Victoria Reckons With The South

9:19am May 21, 2016

by Jewly Hight

The singer and songwriter grew up under difficult circumstances in South Carolina. Today she uses her music, and the legacy of Southern black women's music, to come to terms with the past and present.

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Recordings made by the journalist and songwriter Vivien Goldman from 1979 to 1983, including her first single, "Launderette," have been collected on the album Resolutionary, out May 20.

Music & Culture

Watch A Long-Lost Video For Vivien Goldman's 'Launderette'

1:25pm May 20, 2016

by Evelyn McDonnell

Unseen since shortly after it was made, this music video is a charming snapshot of the early-'80s London life of its creator, the punk and reggae musician, scholar and journalist Vivien Goldman.

Carla Bley with her trio, bassist Steve Swallow and saxophonist Andy Sheppard.

Music & Culture

At 80, Carla Bley Keeps Looking Toward The Next Composition

7:05pm May 19, 2016

by Joel Rose

The pianist and composer, a force on the jazz scene for 50 years, celebrated her 80th birthday with a gala concert and new album — and she has another album on the way.

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Bunny Wailer is the last living original member of the legendary reggae group The Wailers. He recently finished his first US tour in more than 20 years.

Music & Culture

On Anniversary Tour, Bunny Wailer Is Still A Blackheart Man

10:29pm May 18, 2016

by Banning Eyre

The last living member of Bob Marley and the Wailers recently finished his first U.S. tour in more than 20 years. "That's my legacy: to sing for you people," says the 69-year-old musician.

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Music & Culture

Music Review: 'Take Me To the Alley,' Gregory Porter

4:46pm May 18, 2016

by Tom Moon

On his new album, Gregory Porter continues to redefine what it means to be a jazz singer. NPR's Tom Moon reviews Take Me to the Alley.

Israeli-American violinist Itzhak Perlman playing in New York in 2009.

Music & Culture

Itzhak Perlman On Canceling In North Carolina: 'I Had To'

3:51pm May 18, 2016

by Anastasia Tsioulcas

Like Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam and others, the renowned violinist has canceled a North Carolina appearance over a law limiting civil rights protections for LGBT people.

Children of Bodom is one of the many bands in Finland's vibrant — and unique — heavy metal scene.

President Obama Is Familiar With Finland's Heavy Metal Scene. Are You?

8:18am May 18, 2016

by NPR Staff

Obama commended the country's prolific metal scene while speaking with European Nordic leaders. "Finland is making the weirdest heavy metal imaginable," Decibel editor-in-chief Albert Mudrian says.

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Music & Culture

'Morning Edition' Sci-Fi Theme Is Out Of This World

5:02am May 18, 2016

Morning Edition issued listeners a challenge: record your own version of the show's theme. Renee Montagne and Mary Louise Kelly share a retro Sci-Fi version — one of many submitted by listeners.

Bassist Jane Little performed with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra for more than 71 years — a world record.

Music & Culture

Jane Little, Atlanta's Dainty Double-Bass Player For 71 Years, Dies Onstage

1:18pm May 17, 2016

by NPR Staff

The bassist joined the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in 1945, when she was just 16 years old. She died over the weekend while performing.

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Jamala representing Ukraine performs the song "1944" at the Ericsson Globe on Saturday in Stockholm, Sweden.

A Heavy Dose Of Glitter, Pyrotechnics and Politics At Eurovision 2016

2:59pm May 15, 2016

by Merrit Kennedy

Ukraine's Jamala is this year's winner with a haunting song about the mass deportation of Crimean Tatars during World War II. Politics are never far from the surface at the European song contest.