Music

Essential Voices USA performs a Tiny Desk concert.

Music & Culture

Essential Voices USA: Tiny Desk Concert

12:00pm July 01, 2022

by Tom Huizenga

Watch a world premiere performance of choral songs built on texts from important Washington women, from Kamala Harris and Condoleezza Rice to Eleanor Roosevelt, Elena Kagan and Abigail Adams.

Music & Culture

Ondara, 'An Alien In Minneapolis'

11:34am July 01, 2022

by Eric Teel

Ondara delivers a new sonic package that embraces both his intriguing voice and a unique accent that remains present when he sings.

A march protesting the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade on June 24, 2022 in Portland, Ore.

Post-Roe, a look at how old and new protest music reflects political moments

10:14am July 01, 2022

NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with NPR music critic Ann Powers and music scholar Shana Redmond about how old and new protest music reflects political moments, following the Supreme Court overturning Roe.

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Music & Culture

Linda Ayupuka, 'Daguna'

3:32pm June 30, 2022

by Lars Gotrich

Ayupuka's turnt-up praise music feels equally at home in church aisles and on dance floors.

Composer Deborah Wicks La Puma writes music for Mo Willems' musicals including Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed: The Underground Rock Experience. A new animated version is on HBO Max.

Mo Willems' naked mole rats owe their rock 'n' roll sound to this composer

3:11pm June 30, 2022

by Elizabeth Blair

Composer Deborah Wicks La Puma has written music for Mo Willems' famous Pigeon, Elephant and Piggie - and now for Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed on HBO Max.

Theo Croker performs at Jacksonville Jazz Festival, October 1, 2021

Music & Culture

Jazz renegade Theo Croker returns to his Jacksonville roots

2:03pm June 30, 2022

Jazz Night hangs with trumpeter Theo Croker in Jacksonville, Fla., where he spent his teenage years, to revisit old mentors and hear a set by his band from the Jacksonville Jazz Festival.

Music & Culture

Alex G, 'Runner'

12:56pm June 30, 2022

by Vita Dadoo

Among piano chords, murmurs and a single wail, Alex G gives us an unlikely summer anthem that reveals the seedy underbelly of the idyllic season.

Bono on stage at the start of U2's "POPMART" tour.

Music & Culture

What did 1997 sound like? These albums have been around for 25 years.

12:04pm June 30, 2022

by Stephen Kallao

Here at World Cafe, we're celebrating music that's been around for a quarter-century, including a landmark release from Radiohead, a seminal song from The Verve and a comeback from Bob Dylan.

Music & Culture

Usher: Tiny Desk Concert

12:00pm June 30, 2022

by Bobby Carter

The R&B goliath caps off our Black Music Month celebration, highlighting a catalog chock-full of hits spanning 25 years.

From left, Leyla McCalla, Saba, and Victoria Legrand of Beach House.

Music & Culture

Heavy Rotation: Public Radio's Most Popular Songs of 2022 (So Far)

8:00am June 30, 2022

Beach House and Mitski and Spoon, oh my! Here are the tracks public radio is spinning over and over this year.