Music

Music & Culture

The Thistle & Shamrock: Singing The Land

1:53pm March 21, 2018

Hear music from Karine Polwart's award-winning theatrical event "Wind Resistance" and excerpts from fiddler Duncan Chisholm's "Sandwood," named for the finest and least accessible beach in Scotland.

On this episode of World Cafe, we discuss Bonnie Raitt's 1989 release Nick of Time.

Music & Culture

Turning The Tables Listening Party: Women Of Roots And Americana

1:00pm March 21, 2018

by Ann Powers

In this special episode, we discuss two milestone albums in Americana music: Bonnie Raitt's Nick of Time and Lucinda Williams' Car Wheels on a Gravel Road.

Almas Fronterizas' Rosa Tropical EP is out now.

Music & Culture

Almas Fronterizas Soundtracks A Night Of Big Hair And Lowriders On 'Rosa Tropical'

1:00pm March 21, 2018

by Lars Gotrich

Everyone looks fly as hell in this "Rosa Tropical" video as the Chicano-soul band burns the edges of the evening with chrome embers.

Music & Culture

South X Lullaby: Lucy Dacus

11:00am March 21, 2018

by Bob Boilen

Dacus performs "Historians," from her deeply personal and triumphant new album, in an art installation at SXSW that evokes the challenges of human communciation.

Xawo Abdi Hassan rehearses her song. Xawo did not win the competition but the show launched her career as a singer.

Music & Culture

Invisibilia: They Risked Their Lives To Bring Music Back

10:40am March 21, 2018

by Alix Spiegel

When Somalia decided to start a reality show with a singing competition, there was a major problem. Singing in public could bring on the wrath of al-Shabab.

Queue Listen Now

Alexis Taylor (and his eyes) in the "Oh Baby" video.

Music & Culture

Hot Chip's Alexis Taylor Has Got His Eyes On You

10:04am March 21, 2018

by Joshua Bote

In a video for the rollicking power-pop song "Oh Baby," Alexis Taylor's eyeballs take part in an absurdist Nora Ephron-style fantasy.

Music & Culture

Songs We Love: Snail Mail, 'Pristine'

10:00am March 21, 2018

by Mike Katzif

The bittersweet first single from Snail Mail's debut album, Lush, exudes the confidence of an artist coming into her own right in front of us.

Music & Culture

Watch As Superorganism Slams Its Slacker-Psych Single 'Everybody Wants To Be Famous'

10:00am March 21, 2018

by Talia Schlanger

The group's inventive, choppy-poppy, psychedelic debut is as strong an introduction as you can expect. At our showcase in Austin during SXSW, they opened with an inviting warning.

Sarah Louise's Deeper Woods comes out May 11.

Music & Culture

Sarah Louise's 'When Winter Turns' Deepens A Wide Palette

9:42am March 21, 2018

by Lars Gotrich

The Asheville-based singer and fingerstyle guitarist offers an Appalachian slow burn to melt the snow away.

The tattoo of musician Josh Thompson, photographed while attending the NRA Country/ACM Celebrity Shoot hosted by Blake Shelton at Nellis Air Force Base on April 2, 2011 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Is Country Music's Relationship With The NRA Shifting?

5:43pm March 20, 2018

by Andrew Flanagan

The names of featured artists no longer appear on the website of a program linking country music — a genre not known for stepping outside its comfort zone — with the National Rifle Association.