Music

Members of This Heat — from left, Gareth Williams, Charles Bullen and Charles Hayward — in Cold Storage.

Music & Culture

Understanding The Impossibly Far-Reaching Influence Of This Heat

10:31am August 21, 2020

by Grayson Haver Currin

This Heat lasted for less than seven years, but helped shape the future of music, from noise rock to experimental electronica. Today, its groundbreaking catalog is finally available to stream.

So Percussion performs a Tiny Desk Concert at the NPR Music offices on Jan. 31, 2012.

Music & Culture

The Tiny Desk Guide To Rare And Amazing Instruments

9:39am August 21, 2020

by Tom Huizenga

From your garden variety barrel cactus and the single-stringed đàn bầu to the slithering sound of the theremin, watch these singular instruments (and more) make music like you've never heard before.

Bandleader Raul Malo and guitarist Eddie Perez both claim Latin American heritage, but their roots music-driven band had never ventured into creating an entirely Spanish album until now.

Music & Culture

The Mavericks Are Back, This Time 'En Español'

5:49am August 21, 2020

by Jewly Hight

Bandleader Raul Malo and guitarist Eddie Perez both claim Latin American heritage, but their roots music-driven band had never ventured into creating an entirely Spanish album until now.

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Stream The 2020 NEA Jazz Masters Tribute Concert From SFJAZZ

3:12pm August 20, 2020

by Nate Chinen

Performances and speeches honor this year's NEA Jazz Masters award recipients, including Dorthaan Kirk, Roscoe Mitchell, Reggie Workman and Bobby McFerrin. Watch on Thursday, Aug. 20 at 8 p.m. ET.

S.G. Goodman (left), Becca Mancari (right)

Music & Culture

S.G. Goodman, Becca Mancari On Expressing Queer Pain, Being Left In The South

12:23pm August 20, 2020

by Jewly Hight

The two country-leaning singer-songwriters on their time in Nashville, addressing the darkness of life while staying in the light and the difficulties of thinking forward in the South.

Courtney Marie Andrews plays a Tiny Desk (home) concert.

Music & Culture

Courtney Marie Andrews: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert

5:01am August 20, 2020

by Bob Boilen

One of the shining lights of Americana music recorded a Tiny Desk concert at her home in Nashville.

What Store Stickers On Old Records Reveal About History Of Mexican American Music

4:04pm August 19, 2020

Agustin Gurza of UCLA's Frontera Collection has been studying stickers affixed to old 78 rpm records. It has allowed him to uncover a history of Mexican American music in the United States.

Cary Morin (right) performs at a drive-in theater in Fort Collins, Colo.

Music & Culture

City Scenes: The Best Of Fort Collins's Drive-In Concerts

11:00am August 19, 2020

by Benjamin McPhail

When the pandemic forced the Fort Collins Musicians Association to cancel their signature music showcase, they turned to the drive-in.

Lila Iké plays a Tiny Desk (home) concert.

Music & Culture

Lila Iké: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert

9:22am August 19, 2020

by Abby O'Neill

The rising reggae star performs a four-song Tiny Desk quarantine concert from Jamaica.

"I think it's OK to have different views as long as you can come together and talk to each other with love," Devon Gilfillian says. "Me and my friend agreed to come together and have that conversation."

Music & Culture

Devon Gilfillian Thinks The Pandemic Has Exposed The 'Cracks In The Ceiling'

9:20am August 19, 2020

The soul singer talks about his entry for the Morning Edition Song Project which considers how the pandemic created space for a national dialogue on race after pausing many aspects of regular life.

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