300 years ago, England's embattled King George I decided to divert public attention from the country's woes with a big musical party on the River Thames.
Every year since 1847, the Exeter Brass Band has been filling the air with horns and cymbal crashes. This New Hampshire ensemble is one of the oldest continuously performing groups in the country, and this summer, they're back at it.
Tuxedo, the unlikely-on-paper funk-soul duo of Mayer Hawthorne and Jake One, brought a left-of-center sonic approach and a sharp sense of style to their Tiny Desk Concert.
In this video from Alexander F — the side-project of Rubblebucket's Alex Toth — a punk singer transforms into a ballerina in a Kafka-referencing piece of individualistic affirmation.
The hazy pop song is from the New York songwriter's upcoming album S***** Hits. She defines the title as "good-time songs you can have a bad night with, driving alone."
A sense of gathering storms, of laughing at the darkness, informed Ritter's most recent record, Gathering. In an Essay for All Songs Considered, he explains the process.