Music

Ed Sheeran, pictured in 2018 at the Berlin International Film Festival, says he has tested positive for the virus that causes COVID-19 just days ahead of the release of his fourth album.

Ed Sheeran tests positive for the coronavirus, which may mean he won't perform on SNL

4:52pm October 25, 2021

by Nell Clark

The singer said he'll do as many planned interviews and performances from home as possible, but it's unclear what that means for his just-announced gig as Saturday Night Live musical guest on Nov. 6.

Opera singers (left to right) Elīna Garanča, Helen Donath and Tamar Iveri perform in Mozart's opera Così fan tutte at the Salzburg Opera Festival.

Music & Culture

5 opera scenes to sweep you off your feet

4:52pm October 25, 2021

by Tom Huizenga

On World Opera Day, watch scenes that will make you fall in love with the art form — from a crazy day at Mozart's diner to a trippy trip to China with Richard Nixon.

Janis Ian on the cover of the "I'm Still Standing" single.

Music & Culture

Janis Ian, 'I'm Still Standing'

3:36pm October 25, 2021

by Ann Powers

Good-humored and unsparing, Janis Ian's "I'm Still Standing" answers "At Seventeen" from life's other side, celebrating every line and rough patch on an older woman's face.

Circuit des Yeux play a Tiny Desk (home) concert.

Music & Culture

Circuit des Yeux: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert

5:00am October 25, 2021

by Lars Gotrich

In Circuit des Yeux's Tiny Desk (home) concert — recorded at Chicago's historic May Chapel — Haley Fohr's operatic, four-octave vibrato contains a wondrous terror, but also an illumination of being.

Jay Black, lead singer of the rock group Jay and the Americans, pictured circa 1965, has died at age 82.

Jay Black, lead singer of pop group The Americans, dies at 82

4:33pm October 24, 2021

by Hazel Cills

The singer of Jay and the Americans was known as the voice in 1960s hits including "This Magic Moment" and "Come a Little Bit Closer."

Melissa Lozada-Oliva reimagines pop star Selena's legacy in Dreaming of You.

In 'Dreaming of You,' poet Melissa Lozada-Oliva reimagines Selena's legacy

7:49am October 24, 2021

by Isabella Gomez Sarmiento

Author Melissa Lozada-Oliva's new novel in verse, Dreaming of You, is about a heartbroken poet who brings Selena Quintanilla back from the dead.

In his first two albums, Maxo Kream mined his family history for material. His latest, Weight of the World, continues on that theme, marking his transition to family breadwinner.

Music & Culture

On 'Weight of the World,' Maxo Kream's world expands amid personal tragedy

8:00am October 23, 2021

by Christina Lee

"I always try to honor my family in my music," Maxo Kream says. On his third album, the rapper balances contemplations of newfound family responsibilities with a sense of charisma and triumph.

Music & Culture

Composer Huang Ruo gives voice to the dark history of Angel Island

6:18pm October 22, 2021

by Chloe Veltman

Chinese-American composer Huang Ruo has teamed up with the Del Sol Quartet and vocal ensemble Volti to explore the struggles of Chinese immigrants detained at Angel Island in the early 1900s.

Music & Culture

How Rico Nasty and Kenny Beats became the loudest, unlikeliest duo in rap

5:30pm October 22, 2021

Rico Nasty and producer Kenny Beats explain how the vital collaboration that culminated in their joint 2019 mixtape Anger Management traces back to a single scream during an impromptu studio session.

The Jubilee Singers, HBCU Fisk University's a cappella ensemble, celebrate 150 years

5:00pm October 22, 2021

NPR's Audie Cornish speaks with Paul Kwami, director of Fisk University's Jubilee Singers, and pianist Nina Kennedy on the 150 commemoration of the Jubilee Singers Fundraising tour.