Music

Clockwise from top left: Brit Drozda, Alfred Sergel IV, Honey and Blue, Myrtle, Oompa, wyd.

Music & Culture

Watch The Tiny Desk Contest Entries Public Radio Loves

10:01am May 09, 2019

by Elle Mannion

Each year, we receive entries from all 50 states, thanks in part to encouragement from NPR Member stations across the country. So we asked some stations to tell us about the entries they love.

Lucette's Deluxe Hotel Room comes out May 17.

Music & Culture

First Listen: Lucette, 'Deluxe Hotel Room'

9:11am May 09, 2019

by Jewly Hight

Lucette avoids strummed guitars in favor of spartan digital sounds on her new album produced by Sturgill Simpson.

Legendary Cuban vocalist Omara Portuondo is on our playlist this week.

Music & Culture

'Tres Palabras,' Four Songs: Our Favorite Latin Songs This Week

8:00am May 09, 2019

This week's Alt.Latino playlist additions feature the latest Latin pop hits and a timeless performer who paved the way over 60 years ago.

Christone "Kingfish" Kingfish's new album, Kingfish, comes out May 17.

Music & Culture

First Listen: Christone 'Kingfish' Ingram, 'Kingfish'

5:00am May 09, 2019

by Tom Moon

The 20-year-old guitar phenom understands the blues as a lifeline, a malleable language, a way of being in the world.

Brad Mehldau's Finding Gabriel comes out May 17.

Music & Culture

First Listen: Brad Mehldau, 'Finding Gabriel'

5:00am May 09, 2019

by Nate Chinen

The jazz pianist's swing-for-the-fences opus references Old Testament prophets and collides retro-futurist synthesizers with horns and strings.

Tom Petty performs with the Heartbreakers in Belgium in 1992.

Music & Culture

'A Song For Any Struggle': Tom Petty's 'I Won't Back Down' Is An Anthem Of Resolve

5:49pm May 08, 2019

by Melissa Block

Petty's song has been used by striking workers in defiance, by political candidates to show grit, on national stages in the aftermath of tragedy. We asked what "I Won't Back Down" means to you.

Music & Culture

The Thistle & Shamrock: Season Of Light

2:45pm May 08, 2019

Celebrate the coming of summer, the fertility of the season and the greening of the earth with one of four ancient, annual Celtic festivals that mark the passage from one season to the next.

Music & Culture

Leyla McCalla Has The Capitalist Blues

2:22pm May 08, 2019

Although the topics are heavy, McCalla's music is danceable. This is a treatment informed by the artist's Haitian roots and adopted New Orleans traditions.

Music & Culture

Station Breaks: The Best New Songs From NPR Music Stations

10:49am May 08, 2019

Hear Dirty Honey play tomorrow's classic rock today, Sonia Barcelona embark on a hauntingly beautiful journey to the depths of the sea and more in this month's list.

Music & Culture

Pianist And Coder Dan Tepfer Composes Music With The Help Of Artificial Intelligence

8:08am May 08, 2019

NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with Dan Tepfer, pianist, composer and coder, about how he uses artificial Intelligence and virtual reality to bring his music to life.

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