Music News

Church elder Elwood Cornett preaches at a recent reunion of Old Regular Baptists. Brother Don Pratt is seated behind him in a blue shirt and tie.

Before Churches Had Songbooks, There Was 'Lined-Out' Gospel

10:12am October 28, 2013

by John Burnett

Hidden deep in the hills of Appalachia, there's a tradition of worship music that has not changed since the 18th century. The hymnody is still practiced by congregations of the Old Regular Baptist Church, where a leader calls out a line and the people respond in a mournful, soaring chorus.

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A Teenage Music Phenom, Infographics, Motorcycles In Vietnam

9:45pm October 26, 2013

Ozy co-founder Carlos Watson tells NPR's Arun Rath about a teenage singer with a grown-up voice, two tutors turned bloggers, and Vietnam's Harley Davidson craze.

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An Angeleno revels at 10 Times The Party, a celebration of Walt Disney Concert Hall's 10th Anniversary, on Oct. 5 in Los Angeles.

Music & Culture

LA's Own 'Amazing And Unique Instrument' Turns 10

12:23pm October 20, 2013

by Arun Rath

This coming week, Disney Hall celebrates its 10th anniversary. NPR's Arun Rath speaks with conductor and music director Gustavo Dudamel, as well as other figures from the Los Angeles classical scene, about the highlights since then.

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Is Pitbull 'Mr. Education'? Rapper Opens Charter School In Miami

9:52am October 18, 2013

by Claudio Sanchez

Pitbull is just one of a growing number of celebrities who've lent their names and opened their wallets to the charter school movement. His Sports Leadership And Management Academy opened in Miami this fall.

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Onyx in an undated photo. From left to right, Sticky Fingaz, Fredro Starr, Suave and Big DS.

Music & Culture

The Year Onyx's 'Slam' Crashed Pop Radio

10:23am October 17, 2013

by Dan Charnas

In 1993 Onyx's raucous single became an unlikely hit on MTV and pop radio. The song was on the leading edge of a media change of heart.

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Trombone Shorty, aka Troy Andrews, has started a foundation dedicated to music education in New Orleans.

Music & Culture

A Young Torchbearer Lights The Way For New Orleans Music Students

8:33pm October 10, 2013

by Debbie Elliott

At 27, bandleader Trombone Shorty is already an icon in his hometown. So he's giving back: Through his own foundation, the "supafunkrock" brass player is nurturing even younger talent in local schools.

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Mala Rodriguez on stage at the Mulafest Festival in Madrid in June.

Music & Culture

Mala Rodriguez And The Women Of Latin Hip-Hop

7:39am October 10, 2013

by Jasmine Garsd

The genre has some of the most creative, politically savvy, intelligent female personalities in the industry, made by artists as different as Chile's Ana Tijoux, who melts and reworks the Spanish language like a blacksmith, and Dominican-Spanish Arianna Puello, she of the machine gun delivery.

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In Minneapolis, demonstrations in support of musicians have drawn regular support during the yearlong Minnesota Orchestra labor dispute.

Music & Culture

It's Been A Really Bad Week For Classical Music

6:36pm October 05, 2013

by NPR Staff

Labor disputes engulfed the Minnesota Orchestra. Bankruptcy shuttered the New York City Opera. Even Carnegie Hall had to cancel its opening-night gala. What gives?

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The New York City Opera let its final curtain fall Saturday night at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in a production of Anna Nicole by Mark-Anthony Turnage.

Music & Culture

Chronicle Of A Death Foretold: New York City Opera Shuts Its Doors

6:16pm October 02, 2013

by Jeff Lunden

After a round of emergency fundraising failed, New York's "People's Opera" is shutting down. Unfortunately, many — including the company's current director and its musicians — saw this coming.

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I'll Find a Way is the latest album in The Blind Boys of Alabama's seven-decade run. Left to right: Ricky McKinnie, Paul Beasley, Jimmy Carter, Ben Moore, Joey Williams.

Music & Culture

Gospel's Blind Boys Meet Changing Times With Open Minds

11:56am October 02, 2013

by NPR Staff

Formed in the 1930s during Jim Crow, The Blind Boys of Alabama have been singing gospel for seven decades. For the new album I'll Find a Way, the group has teamed up with a younger artist: Justin Vernon of Bon Iver.

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