Music

Music & Culture

A Dark But Redeeming Tour Of Coal Country, With Composer Julia Wolfe

10:16am September 28, 2015

by NPR Staff

Wolfe has just released the recording of Anthracite Fields, which won the 2015 Pulitzer for music. The piece is based on the knotty history of coal-mining families in her home state of Pennsylvania.

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Zeb Bangash performs with her band Sandaraa at Le Poisson Rouge in New York City last year. (Left to right: Michael Winograd, Bangash, Yoshi Fruchter, Eylem Basaldi.)

Music & Culture

A Pakistani Pop Star Pulls From The Culture's Musical Past And Present

9:07pm September 25, 2015

Though she's made careful study of the history of South Asian music, Zeb Bangash's career defies easy assumptions about art and Islam.

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Music & Culture

Unadulterated Brass-Band Fun On Banda De Los Muertos' Debut Album

11:16am September 24, 2015

by Milo Miles

The horn-led band updates traditional Mexican party/folk music for modern American listeners on its self-titled album. Critic Milo Miles says Banda De Los Muertos' debut will make you dance.

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Ryan Adams' latest release is a song-for-song cover of Taylor Swift's 1989 album.

Music & Culture

No Blank Space, Baby: Taylor Swift Is The Soul Of Ryan Adams

8:39am September 24, 2015

by Ann Powers

Adams' 1989 recognizes a rock lineage born of a woman. He's not legitimizing Swift's work – he's figuring out how her voice can validate and include his.

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After Copyright Ruling, Let The People Sing 'Happy Birthday'

5:50pm September 23, 2015

Tuesday's ruling by a federal judge that the copyright of the "Happy Birthday" song applies only to specific piano arrangements, not the actual song itself, means the song is now public domain.

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All are welcome at Franklin Bell's weekly blues workshop, and the home-brewed event has its share of regulars. Left to right: Lester Lands (guitar), Willie T. Brooks (drums), Tony Ibarra (guitar), Leroy Martinez (bass), "Mr. Wilson" (congas).

Music & Culture

The Blues Finds A Home In A South Central Garage

2:25pm September 23, 2015

by Peter Gilstrap

As regular as a church service, Franklin Bell's informal workshop meets every Sunday at his L.A. garage. For a small voluntary donation, guests eat, drink and dance to music both raw and graceful.

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Aleksandrs Antonenko (right) will be the Met's first tenor to forego skin darkening makeup to play the lead role in Verdi's Otello.

Music & Culture

Farewell To Blackfaced Otellos At The Met

10:39pm September 21, 2015

by Jeff Lunden

In its season opening production, New York's Metropolitan Opera abandons the tradition of darkening the skin of tenors portraying the title role in Verdi's Otello.

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Music & Culture

Revisiting The Intense Twists And Turns Of Garner's 'Concert By The Sea'

2:21pm September 21, 2015

by Kevin Whitehead

In 1955, pianist Erroll Garner's trio played in Carmel, Calif. A new complete edition of the Concert By The Sea album has just been released. Critic Kevin Whitehead has a review.

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Music & Culture

Keith Richards: The 'Fresh Air' Interview

1:28pm September 18, 2015

The guitarist for the Rolling Stones has a new solo album, Crosseyed Heart. Richards is also the subject of the new Netflix documentary, Under the Influence. Originally broadcast Oct. 25, 2010.

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Robyn Hitchcock presented Gillian Welch and David Rawlings with the Lifetime Achievement Award for Songwriting at the Americana Music Association Honors and Awards Show on Sept. 16, 2015.

Music & Culture

Robyn Hitchcock Salutes Gillian Welch And David Rawlings

11:45am September 18, 2015

by Ann Powers

Read the British troubadour's paean to his longtime collaborators while handing them a Lifetime Achievement plaque at the Americana Honors and Awards