Music

Patience (Talise Trevigne, right) comforts Castor (Reginald Smith Jr.) after his breakdown over the crush of dept and his search for a solution as other family members look on.

'Castor and Patience' opera explores systematic barriers to Black land ownership

4:01pm July 26, 2022

by Elizabeth Kramer

Cousins struggle with debts and may have to sell property long held by their family in a work created by former poet laureate and Pulitzer Prize winner Tracy K. Smith and composer Gregory Spears.

Music & Culture

Krill, 'Solitaire'

2:55pm July 26, 2022

by Marissa Lorusso

The beloved Boston indie-rock band has remastered Alam No Hris for a 10-year anniversary reissue. "Solitaire," a fan favorite, is song about malaise feel nearly anthemic.

Music & Culture

Palm, 'Feathers'

1:08pm July 26, 2022

by Marissa Lorusso

Palm's inventive art rock is dizzying, unpredictable and, especially in its live incarnation, occasionally transcendent – in the band's best moments, it makes discordance sound sublime.

Brandi Carlile (right) introduces Joni Mitchell for a special Joni Jam at the 2022 Newport Folk Festival at Fort Adams State Park, R.I., on Sunday.

Here's why Joni Mitchell's performance at the Newport Folk Festival is so incredible

1:08pm July 26, 2022

by Vanessa Romo

The iconic singer-songwriter wasn't able to walk or talk after a brain aneurysm in 2015. Dr. Anthony Wang, a neurosurgeon, explains the challenges she faced as a musician and her remarkable comeback.

Music & Culture

Charley Crockett, 'I'm Just A Clown'

10:55am July 26, 2022

by Brian Burns

Crockett leans into his R&B influences for a punchy, horn-driven track that feels like a step forward.

A course on Harry Styles is coming to Texas State next spring

6:13am July 26, 2022

NPR's Juana Summers speaks with digital history professor Louie Dean Valencia about his future course at Texas State University, focusing on Harry Styles and themes like internet culture and identity.

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Brandi Carlile introduces Joni Mitchell for a special Joni Jam at the 2022 Newport Folk Festival at Fort Adams State Park on July 24, 2022.

Music & Culture

Joni Mitchell sings, steals show with surprise Newport Folk Festival concert

12:11pm July 25, 2022

by Ann Powers

The iconic singer-songwriter performed her first public full-length show anywhere since 2000, with a little help from Brandi Carlile.

Members of the Ukrainian band Kalush Orchestra pose onstage after winning the Eurovision Song Contest on May 14 in Turin, Italy. The winning country typically hosts the next year's competition, but Russia's war in Ukraine has disrupted that tradition.

It's official: The U.K. will host next year's Eurovision contest on behalf of Ukraine

11:48am July 25, 2022

by Rachel Treisman

Officials approached the U.K., this year's runner-up, after concluding that Russia's war makes Ukraine unfit to hold the competition. This isn't the first time the U.K. has stepped in to host.

For Swedish musician Jens Lekman, recrafting old albums was a lesson in self-love

10:44am July 25, 2022

by Alex Cheng

Two of Jens Lekman's early albums were taken off streaming services due to sample clearance issues. During the pandemic, the singer recrafted and revisited his old work.

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Music & Culture

Animal Collective's pivot resulted in one of their most accessible albums yet

9:58am July 25, 2022

In this session, we catch up with Dave Portner and Noah Lennox, also known as Avey Tare and Panda Bear, to talk about Animal Collective's experience with making their latest album, Time Skiffs.