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Music & Culture

4-Year-Old Piano Prodigy Wins Prestigious Music Competition

5:34am September 06, 2021

About a year ago, Brigitte Xie took up playing the piano. She then won the Elite International Music Competition and will perform at Carnegie Hall — which the pandemic has delayed.

Music & Culture

Despite California Festival's Curfew, Guns N' Roses Rocks On

5:23am September 06, 2021

Guns N' Roses was the victim of BottleRock Napa Valley music festival's strict 10 p.m. curfew. The plug was pulled on the group, but stage amps and the crowd kept the song "Paradise City" going.

Music & Culture

After Taking A Break In 1982, ABBA Is Back With New Music

6:17am September 03, 2021

by Neda Ulaby

Nearly 40 years after its farewell single, the Swedish pop group ABBA has announced its return with a new album this fall, and a high-tech digital concert next spring.

ABBA members Björn Ulvaeus, Agnetha Fältskog, Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Benny Andersson.

Mamma Mia! ABBA Is Back After Nearly 40 Years

6:20pm September 02, 2021

by Mandalit del Barco

The iconic Swedish pop group ABBA announced that Voyage will arrive in November, with a high-tech virtual concert to follow in 2022.

A portrait of Greek composer and songwriter Mikis Theodorakis, taken in Rome in 1973.

Greek Composer And Politician Mikis Theodorakis Has Died At The Age Of 96

4:34pm September 02, 2021

by Anastasia Tsioulcas

Greek composer and politician Mikis Theodorakis has died. He was 96 years old. His music for Zorba the Greek was full of joy — but his own story was much more complicated.

Music & Culture

Join NPR Music's Roséwave Happy Hour For Summer's End

11:30am September 02, 2021

by Lars Gotrich

Summer's never over if you have roséwave in your heart. Join us Sept. 8 at 7 p.m. ET for an online listening party spun by DJ Cuzzin B, featuring a megamix of roséwave faves for an hour.

Music & Culture

The Doors' Jim Morrison Died In 1971, The Same Year NPR Debuted Original Programming

5:58am September 01, 2021

by Steve Inskeep

As part of NPR's 50th anniversary, we're looking back at other cultural milestones of 1971. That year the Doors released their album L.A. Woman — and the band's lead singer Jim Morrison died.

American jazzman Louis Armstrong plays trumpet in his dressing room before a show in 1947 in a New York jazz cabaret. Hurricane Ida destroyed the Karnofsky Shop in New Orleans, which was a formative influence on Armstrong's musical life.

Ida Leveled The Karnofsky Shop, Louis Armstrong's Second Home

1:06pm August 31, 2021

The Karnofsky Shop was listed on the National Register of Historic Places because of its outsized impact on Louis Armstrong's life. The family that lived there encouraged him to pursue music.

Music & Culture

Latest 'Candyman' Movie Is Scored By Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe

7:26am August 31, 2021

by Tim Greiving

A Black avant-garde musician has successfully applied his visceral, voice-centered style to the films he has scored lately. His approach eerily suits the newest Candyman movie.

Historic Karnofsky Shop In New Orleans Collapses During Hurricane Ida

7:26am August 31, 2021

by Andrew Limbong

Among the buildings lost to Hurricane Ida was 427 South Rampart St., where Louis Armstrong spent much of his childhood with the Jewish family he worked for. They encouraged him to get into music.