Music

Music & Culture

Jane Bunnett And Maqueque: The New Queens of Afro-Cuban Jazz

10:09am March 23, 2018

by Alex Ariff

Canadian saxophonist and flutist Jane Bunnett has dedicated her life to Cuban music. Her latest project is Maqueque, an all-female band of young Cuban artists blending folkloric grooves and jazz.

Jack White's Boarding House Reach is out today on Third Man.

Music & Culture

New Music Friday: March 23

10:08am March 23, 2018

All Songs Considered's Robin Hilton talks with NPR Music's Lars Gotrich, Ann Powers and Stephen Thompson about the essential albums out on March 23.

Claude Debussy, photographed ca. 1908. He died 100 years ago on March 25, 1918.

Music & Culture

Songs We Love: Debussy, 'La Plus Que Lente'

9:08am March 23, 2018

by Tom Huizenga

Marking the 100th anniversary of the visionary composer's death, hear Debussy play his own music on a 1913 piano roll.

Trixie Mattel attends the RuPaul's Drag Race finale on May 19, 2015 in Los Angeles. In the years since, Mattel has released two albums, brought a YouTube show into the Vice fold and won RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars season three.

Music & Culture

Trixie Mattel: America's Next Top Folk-Country Comedy Drag Artist

7:01am March 23, 2018

by Marissa Lorusso

Part of an emerging legacy in drag spurred on by the mainstream success of RuPaul's Drag Race, Mattel has built a career as a comedy queen and folk singer with two albums and a TV show to her name.

VÄSEN performs a Tiny Desk Concert on March 5, 2018 (Eslah Attar/NPR).

Music & Culture

Väsen: Tiny Desk Concert

5:00am March 23, 2018

by Bob Boilen

The Swedish trio brought a 30-string sonic blast to the Tiny Desk, performing on 12-string guitar, vioala and the nyckelharpa (a fiddle with keys — think 15th century keytar).

Nailah Blackman performs onstage during SXSW 2018.

Music & Culture

Pop Culture Happy Hour: Musical Discoveries From SXSW 2018

5:00am March 23, 2018

by Stephen Thompson

Rodney Carmichael, Katie Presley and Stephen Thompson join host Linda Holmes to effuse over some of the festival's highlights.

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Music & Culture

Molly Tuttle On Mountain Stage

4:11pm March 22, 2018

Tuttle was the first woman to earn the title of Guitarist of the Year from the International Bluegrass Music Association. Hear her perform on this Mountain Stage episode.

Clockwise from left: Dessa, Partner, Linqua Franqa

Music & Culture

On Repeat: World Cafe's Favorite Discoveries At SXSW 2018

4:05pm March 22, 2018

by Talia Schlanger

It's like discovering a flavor of something you've never tried before and needing to have it again and again. These are the artists we can't stop listening to after seeing them at SXSW.

Jean Grae & Quelle Chris' Everything's Fine comes out Mar. 30 on Mello Music Group.

Music & Culture

First Listen: Jean Grae & Quelle Chris, 'Everything's Fine'

3:13pm March 22, 2018

by Rodney Carmichael

The recently engaged creative partners give birth to a wellspring of sociopolitical satire on their new collaborative LP.

Music & Culture

After 'Colors,' Genevieve And Company Of Thieves 'Treasure' A Renewal

2:20pm March 22, 2018

by Stephen Thompson

The singer's 2015 solo single was a heart-swelling pop jam. Now, Genevieve has reunited her old band and released "Treasure," which picks up where "Colors" left off.