Music

Music & Culture

Watch A Video For Nana Grizol's Scrappy, Sweet And Political 'Mississippi Swells'

1:47pm March 27, 2017

by Lars Gotrich

Theo Hilton turns a song about oil refineries into a long and reflective conversation with a friend. Members of Elf Power and The Music Tapes blare the bridge's horn section.

Hear music from Running Touch on this week's Metropolis.

Music & Culture

Metropolis: 3/25/17

10:54am March 27, 2017

Hear new tracks by Plastic Plates, Running Touch, Lee Foss and more in this week's dance mix from KCRW's Jason Bentley.

Music & Culture

The Family Crest's Video For 'Mirror Love' Is A Kaleidoscope Of Love And Action

10:00am March 27, 2017

by Bob Boilen

The Family Crest urges its extended network of fan-collaborators to express their political thoughts with a new video for "Mirror Love."

Overcoats perform a Tiny Desk Concert on March 1, 2017. (Marian Carrasquero/NPR)

Music & Culture

Overcoats: Tiny Desk Concert

9:00am March 27, 2017

by Bob Boilen

Hana Elion and JJ Mitchell's vibrant vocal harmonies are set against an electronic backdrop that feels spacious and refreshing.

Rose Cousins' new album is Natural Conclusion.

Music & Culture

Rose Cousins On World Cafe

9:00am March 27, 2017

by Talia Schlanger

A move from eastern Canada to Nashville opened the floodgates of inspiration for Cousins' new songs. Hear her perform some of them live in the studio.

Come From Away, whose cast is pictured here, is one of many musicals competing for attention in Broadway's current surge of openings.

Music & Culture

Broadway Producers Reckon With A Crowded Season

6:27pm March 26, 2017

by Jeff Lunden

With 18 new shows — half of them musicals — opening this March and April, just before Tony nominations are announced, producers have to take risks to get their shows to stand out.

Queue Listen Now

Singer-songwriter Diana Gameros, originally from Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, now lives in the Bay Area.

Music & Culture

Tiny Desk Contestant Diana Gameros: 'How Can I Dissolve Borders?'

9:46am March 26, 2017

by Rachel Horn

The singer-songwriter entered NPR Music's contest with the song "¿Cómo Hacer?" She says it expresses her emotions about being unable to return to her family back home in Mexico.

Charley Pride performs in Nashville, Tenn., on June 10, 2015.

Not My Job: Country Singer Charley Pride Gets Quizzed On Shame

11:44am March 25, 2017

Charley Pride, one of the first African-American stars in country music, has sold more records for RCA than anyone not named Elvis Presley.

Blondie's new single "Long Time" is one of the latest additions to World Cafe's new-music playlist on Spotify.

Music & Culture

Weekend LISTening: World Cafe's New Music Picks

8:00am March 25, 2017

by Bruce Warren

Keep up with the latest and greatest new music with World Cafe's Spotify playlist, updated weekly.

"Sometimes when I do receive a song, I do feel like I'm going to the place where that song was originating from," Valerie June says.

Music & Culture

When Valerie June Writes Music, It Begins With A Voice In Her Head

7:45am March 25, 2017

The folk-blues singer describes her creative process as "receiving" a song. "It usually starts with one voice," she says, "And as soon as I hear one, then 500 more come in and surround it."