Music

Rachel Zeffira's debut solo album is titled The Deserters.

Music & Culture

Rachel Zeffira: An Opera 'Deserter' Embraces Dreamy Pop

6:46am April 25, 2013

by NPR Staff

The singer and composer plays more than eight different instruments on her haunting solo debut, The Deserters, which includes a cover of My Bloody Valentine's "To Here Knows When."

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Music & Culture

'Talk Of The Nation' Remembers Folk Singer Richie Havens

6:44pm April 23, 2013

Legendary folk singer Richie Havens died Monday at the age of 72. The Brooklyn-born singer is famous opening act at the 1969 Woodstock music festival. Talk of the Nation remembers him by listening back to a 2004 performance chat around the release of his 26th album Grace of the Sun.

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The crowd at Richie Havens' Woodstock-opening set on Aug. 15, 1969.

Music & Culture

Richie Havens, Folk Singer Who Opened Woodstock, Has Died

3:05pm April 23, 2013

by Tom Cole

Richie Havens had a long career as a musician, but he's still most famous for one set he played to hundreds of thousands in New York in 1969.

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Dawes' new album is titled Stories Don't End.

Music & Culture

Dawes' Story Gets A Fine New Chapter

10:14pm April 22, 2013

by Tom Moon

The L.A. roots-rock quartet is often described as a band on the verge of greatness. Its new album, Stories Don't End, features disarmingly beautiful, refreshingly unflashy songwriting. It may not make the musicians superstars, but that's just fine.

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Amy Speace's latest album is called How to Sleep in a Stormy Boat.

Music & Culture

A Folk Singer Sets Sail, With The Bard At The Bow

6:23pm April 21, 2013

by NPR Staff

Amy Speace was a stage actor before beginning her music career. For her latest album, How to Sleep in a Stormy Boat, she let Shakespeare guide her songwriting.

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Dale Watson (second from left) and His Lonestars. Their new album is titled El Rancho Azul.

Music & Culture

Dale Watson: A Honky-Tonk Man With An Outlaw Spirit

11:34pm April 20, 2013

by NPR Staff

The Western swing veteran's latest album, El Rancho Azul, is filled with lighthearted drinking ballads and dance-hall toe-tappers.

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The cover photo from Nick Drake's 1969 debut, Five Leaves Left, produced by Joe Boyd.

Music & Culture

Nick Drake: 'A Real Musician's Musician'

11:33pm April 20, 2013

by NPR Staff

The English folk artist died long before his songs found a wide audience. Joe Boyd, who produced two of Drake's three albums, is releasing an album of live performances culled from a series of Nick Drake tribute concerts.

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Phoenix's latest album is called Bankrupt! Left to right: Thomas Mars, Laurent Brancowitz, Christian Mazzalai, Deck d'Arcy.

Music & Culture

Phoenix On Sounding Like Robots And Staying Restless

6:50pm April 20, 2013

by NPR Staff

The French pop quartet is notoriously slow to release new music. But vocalist Thomas Mars and guitarist Laurent Brancowitz say their new album, Bankrupt!, wouldn't have been the same without meticulous self-editing.

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Music & Culture

A Moment With Pulitzer-Winning Composer Caroline Shaw

1:57pm April 20, 2013

by NPR Staff

The violinist, vocalist and composer says that writing a piece like her prize-winning Partita for 8 Voices begins with "having a sound in your head that you really want to hear."

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Music & Culture

For Boston: A Dave McKenna Concert

9:58am April 20, 2013

Fresh Air pays tribute to Boston with a 1988 performance by the late jazz pianist Dave McKenna. From 1981 to 1991, McKenna had a standing gig at Boston's Grand Dame Copley Plaza Hotel. He was also a loyal Red Sox fan. He died in 2008.

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