Music

Music & Culture

Rina Sawayama Wants Her Success To Make Space For Asian Women In Pop Music

7:36pm July 19, 2020

NPR's Michel Martin speaks with Rina Sawayama about her self-titled debut album, everyday racism against Asian women and going from a Cambridge student to a rising pop star.

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Legendary Violinist Isaac Stern's Legacy Lives On After 100 Years

8:00am July 19, 2020

by Jeff Lunden

Tuesday, July 21, marks the centennial of the birth of violinist Isaac Stern. He was not only an acclaimed musician, but a devoted teacher who was a mentor to generations of musicians.

Music & Culture

Singing In The Dark Times: Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir Takes On New Meaning

5:14pm July 18, 2020

by Jeff Lunden

Even before the age of social-distancing, composer and conductor Eric Whitacre had been leading an online chorus for a decade. Choir members say the connection they foster is more important than ever.

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Lin-Manuel Miranda and members of the hip-hop group Freestyle Love Supreme perform at the Greenwich House Theater.

'We Are Freestyle Love Supreme' Is An Accidental 'Hamilton' Cast Origin Story

10:12am July 18, 2020

A new documentary catalogs the rise of Lin-Manuel Miranda, Christopher Jackson and other members of the hip-hop group Freestyle Love Supreme in the mid-2000s before they became famous on Broadway.

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Music & Culture

New Bill Aims To Help Music Venues Suffering Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

9:51am July 18, 2020

by Andrew Limbong

Small music venues in the US are looking for a lifeline — and a new bill in Congress called The Restart Act might be it. Advocates say the future of independent venues relies on government relief.

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Music & Culture

Ellie Goulding On New Album, Living In New York and Coming Out Of Her Hiatus

8:01am July 18, 2020

British popstar Ellie Goulding talks about her new album "Brightest Blue" and about finding confidence and inner peace after years in the spotlight and a five-year hiatus.

"I feel like it was better for the longevity of this band, believe it or not, to have gone through something like that," Emily Strayer says of The Chicks' cancellation. "It makes you even stronger."

Music & Culture

The Chicks Look Back And Laugh

4:35pm July 17, 2020

Gaslighter is country trio The Chicks' (formerly Dixie Chicks) first new album in 14 years. In some ways, the world has finally caught up to the band since it fell out of public favor in 2003.

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Responding to the noise he experienced daily in London, Mala pared down U.K. dance music to a skeletal form. He's the final rung in this chain, but hypothetically, he'd "play it forward" to the late dub pioneer Augustus Pablo.

Music & Culture

Play It Forward: Mala Sees The Space Between The Notes

4:30pm July 17, 2020

In the finale of the first season of Play It Forward, Ari Shapiro speaks to dubstep pioneer Mala about minimalism, freedom and an artist he was inspired by, the late Augustus Pablo.

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Fire officials walk past the Ghost Ship warehouse following the deadly 2016 fire in Oakland.

Ghost Ship Fire Victims To Receive $32.7 Million Settlement From City Of Oakland

2:12pm July 17, 2020

by Andrew Limbong

The deadly fire at the warehouse-turned-arts space killed 36 people.

Pixies' members perform a Tiny Desk concert on Jan. 27, 2014.

Music & Culture

'How I Built This' Staffers Pick Their 5 Favorite Tiny Desk Concerts

11:37am July 17, 2020

by How I Built This

From Alicia Keys' stop by the desk earlier this year to one of our Tiny Desk Contest winners, Guy Raz and the team at How I Built This pick their 5 favorite Tiny Desk concerts.