Music

SAULT's UNTITLED digs into the everyday aspects of Black existence, and celebrates who we are privately, not when we're donning the cape and saving humanity from itself — again.

Music & Culture

SAULT's 'UNTITLED' Lights Up The Full Spectrum Of Blackness

10:11am June 19, 2020

by Marcus J. Moore

SAULT's latest and best album is a capital-B Black record that funnels rage and sorrow into contemplative streams of thought, over equally brooding music meant to slow your heart rate.

Music & Culture

Our Daily Breather: Music For Staying Sane During The Pandemic

10:00am June 19, 2020

In Our Daily Breather, we asked artists to recommend ways to find calm in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis. We've collected some of the music recommendations that artists shared.

Michela Marino Lerman and Russell Hall perform at home.

Music & Culture

Michela Marino Lerman And Russell Hall: Alone Together Duets

8:00am June 19, 2020

Tap dancer Michela Marino Lerman and bassist Russell Hall rattle our senses with a performance evoking the soundscapes of protests taking place in cities across America.

Big Freedia, shown performing in 2019 in New Orleans, is part of our starter kit for the queer music of New Orleans.

Music & Culture

How Queer Tastemakers, Movers And Shakers Shaped The Music Of New Orleans

6:00am June 19, 2020

by Alison Fensterstock

No single lineage can contain New Orleans music. But one central thread is the legacy of queer performers and tastemakers — from Bobby Marchan to Big Freedia — who steered the sounds and the scenes.

A previously unreleased concert recording of Thelonious Monk from 1968 will be released next month as the album Palo Alto.

Music & Culture

A Previously Unreleased Thelonious Monk Concert Is Coming Next Month

5:03am June 19, 2020

In 1968, a teenager convinced Thelonious Monk to play a concert at his high school to ease racial tensions in his community. More than 50 years later, it's been rediscovered and remastered.

Music & Culture

Synth Used By Prince In 'Purple Rain' Album Up For Sale

5:03am June 19, 2020

A typical synth sells for less than $1000. Prince's, which is up for auction, could fetch as much as $25,000

An empty Josie Robertson Plaza at Lincoln Center, lit up in June for Pride 2020 — but with no concert attendees or theatergoers, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Carnegie Hall And Lincoln Center Cancel Performances For Rest Of 2020

6:57pm June 18, 2020

by Anastasia Tsioulcas

Two of New York City's biggest cultural institutions said Thursday that they will remain closed through the New Year, due to the pandemic.

Music & Culture

Watch Tiny Desk Contest Top Shelf Episode 2 Featuring Brittany Howard

5:40pm June 18, 2020

by Elle Mannion

Live on YouTube, Bob Boilen and Brittany Howard watched their favorites entries to the 2020 Contest and discussed what made these videos stand out from the thousands we saw this year.

Music & Culture

Old Crow Medicine Show's Ketch Secor Writes A New Song For A Troubled America

3:46pm June 18, 2020

For the Morning Edition Song Project, we've been asking musicians to write and perform an original song for us. First up, Ketch Secor catalogs the state of the country on "Pray for America."

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Music & Culture

U.S. Girls' Meg Remy Turns 'Less Is More' Upside Down

2:15pm June 18, 2020

Over time, the sound and lineup of U.S. Girls has evolved from just Meg Remy. On the group's latest record, Heavy Light, up to 20 musicians recorded in the studio at the same time.