Music

'Diana, The Musical' mixes camp with sincerity. Here's where every song ranks

3:55pm October 05, 2021

by Linda Holmes

The songs in the widely panned Netflix musical that sings and dances its way through Princess Diana's tragic life are not all alike — and we're here to put them all in their proper place.

Music & Culture

Recap, 'Hedera'

12:48pm October 05, 2021

by Tom Huizenga

Four young women of color founded the percussion quartet Recap in 2020. Their debut album is anchored by Hedera, a mesmerizing work for drums and voice.

Music & Culture

Mitski, 'Working for the Knife'

10:19am October 05, 2021

by Marissa Lorusso

Mitski's most compelling songs are about the grueling work of chasing your dreams; her new track is a powerful entry into that canon.

Music & Culture

Trumpeter Lee Morgan channels Coltrane's splashy style in 'Live at the Lighthouse'

8:57pm October 04, 2021

by Kevin Whitehead

In 1970, Morgan recorded three shows at the Lighthouse jazz club in Hermosa Beach, Calif. A new box set captures Morgan and his band putting their own spin on Coltrane's trance-like repetitions.

Queue Listen Now

A still from Tanya Tagaq's "Tongues" video.

Music & Culture

Tanya Tagaq, 'Tongues'

4:13pm October 04, 2021

by Tom Huizenga

An explicit, potent musical manifesto, demanding to repossess what colonization has stolen from Tanya Tagaq's culture.

New documentary remembers the tragic life of folk singer Karen Dalton

2:12pm October 04, 2021

by Allyson McCabe

Karen Dalton, an enigmatic artist beloved by colleagues Bob Dylan and Phil Ochs, and idolized by followers like Nick Cave and Courtney Barnett, is the subject of a new film.

Members of the Afghanistan National Institute of Music on the plane to Doha.

Afghan orchestra musicians, music students and teachers have escaped the Taliban

12:08pm October 04, 2021

by Elizabeth Blair

After weeks of trying to flee Afghanistan, 101 musicians, students and teachers with the Afghanistan National Institute of Music and Zohra Orchestra finally landed in Doha, Qatar on Sunday.

Sech performs a Tiny Desk (home) concert.

Music & Culture

Sech: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert

10:29am October 04, 2021

by Stefanie Fernández

The Panamanian singer celebrates reggaetón with an El Tiny performance set in a library.

Yosmel Montejo's "La Caliente" was a standout entry to this year's Tiny Desk Contest.

Music & Culture

Tiny Desk Contest entrant Yosmel Montejo has a message for his community: 'Go for it'

8:41am October 03, 2021

by Lulu Garcia-Navarro

Every year, the Tiny Desk Contest attracts thousands of unsigned musicians from across the country. Yosmel Montejo impressed the judges with "La Caliente," a song that reflects on life in Cuba.

Music & Culture

Heavy Rotation: 9 Songs Public Radio Can't Stop Playing

9:43am October 02, 2021

NPR member stations share a mix of popular songs playing on their airwaves in September, including music from Clairo, Leon Bridges, The War on Drugs, and more.