Smithsonian Folkways is beloved for its historic collection of recordings and ephemera from folk and roots traditions — but the label's archive of electronic music is just as formidable. Continue Reading The Many Electronic Read More
Sudan Archives draws inspiration from Irish and African traditional music. Watch her channel both in this Tiny Desk concert. Continue Reading Sudan Archives, A Truly Singular Artist, Entertains With Plenty Of Strings Read More
The iconic Italian composer, who scored The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and more than 500 other films, died Monday in Rome. Continue Reading Ennio Morricone, Film Composer Who Scored The Sound Of The American West, Read More
Veteran songwriters prove that it's possible to release poignant and powerful work late in an artist's career. Continue Reading With New Releases, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Willie Nelson And John Prine Are As Relevant Read More
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. Continue Reading A Previously Unreleased Read More
As Spain lifts its national state of emergency, the Liceu opera house in Barcelona finds alternative living things to fill nearly 2,300 seats. Continue Reading Barcelona Opera Reopens With An Audience Of … PlantsRead More
Broadcast nationwide in 1934 and praised by listeners and critics alike, a masterful symphony soon fell silent. A new recording hopes to help revive an American treasure. Continue Reading Someone Finally Remembered William Dawson’s Read More
The cast and musicians of the hit Broadway musical Hadestown pack into the Tiny Desk for a truly glorious performance of its greatest songs. Continue Reading Pre-Pandemic, Cast Of Broadway Musical ‘Hadestown’ Read More
Hear the cellist talk about the purpose of music in the face of racial tension and health crises, plus his new album, Not Our First Goat Rodeo, which reunites him with old bluegrass buddies. Continue Reading Yo-Yo Ma: Goats, Read More
The Library of Congress is debuting 10 works of new music about the COVID-19 pandemic. The project takes inspiration from Giovanni Boccaccio, a writer who collected stories about the Black Death. Continue Reading A New Library Of Congress Read More
With the help of a few "wrong" notes, the principal clarinetist of the New York Philharmonic turned "America the Beautiful" into a solemn protest of police violence. Continue Reading Clarinetist Anthony McGill Kneels, Pleads And Plays For Read More
"I did Nashville the Nashville way for so long ... with very little results," Guyton tells NPR. "So why am I holding out just in case?" Continue Reading Country Star Mickey Guyton: Why Being ‘Black Like Me’ Read More
NPR Music correspondents Ann Powers and Sidney Madden recommend a few favorite livestreaming performance series to check out while in-person concerts are on hold. Continue Reading Finding Connection And Comfort In Livestream Concerts Read More
Two of the biggest pop stars in the world performed some beloved children's songs in the inaugural episode of the Sesame Street character's new HBO Max talk show. Continue Reading Watch Lil Nas X And Kacey Musgraves Help Elmo Debut Read More
Throughout history, people have turned to music during disease outbreaks as a way to seek spiritual guidance, express pain or even educate others about hygiene. The current moment is no exception. Continue Reading 9 Songs That Show How People Of Read More
The drummer's subtle and steady hand guided some of jazz's most beloved recordings, including Miles Davis's iconic Kind Of Blue. Continue Reading Jimmy Cobb, The Pulse Of Miles Davis’ ‘Kind Of Blue,’ Dies At 91Read More
The first woman composer to win an Oscar for best original score is releasing her first album of music not written for a film or stage production. Continue Reading Composer Rachel Portman Steps Away From The Screen With New Read More
In Our Daily Breather, we ask writers and artists to recommend ways to find calm in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis. Violinist Jennifer Koh recommends seeking out a source of carefree joy. Continue Reading Our Daily Breather: Violinist Read More
Santana had a brush with major success as a member of the band Malo, and made significant contributions to the breadth of Latin popular music. Continue Reading Jorge Santana, Malo Guitarist And Latin Rock Maestro, Dead At 68Read More
Drummer Alvester Garnett joined MacArthur "genius" violinist Regina Carter's band in 1998. It was purely professional at first, but it soon grew into a romantic relationship; the couple married in 2004. "She's the boss two-times over," Garnett says half-jokingly. Read More
Grammy-winning fiddler Augustin Hadelich brings one of the finest violins in the world to the Tiny Desk. Continue Reading Violinist Augustin Hadelich Brings His Extraordinary Instrument And Skills To NPR’s Tiny Read More
In Our Daily Breather, we ask artists to recommend ways to find calm in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis. Pianist Jonathan Biss is focusing on being grateful. Continue Reading In These Times, Classical Pianist Jonathan Biss Read More
Little Richard was an explosive performer who inspired generations of musicians from Otis Redding to The Beatles to David Bowie. He died Saturday morning. Continue Reading Little Richard, The ‘King And Queen’ Of Rock And Roll, Dead At Read More
The lauded trumpeter was attending eighth grade in Oakland when he saw a certain pillar of the avant-garde play live. Some 25 years later, the connection between then and now is stronger than ever. Continue Reading Ambrose Read More
Once part of Digable Planets, Butler continues to be a hip-hop innovator. He stays connected to new music through his son Jazz, who records as Lil Tracy. Continue Reading For Ishmael Butler, Musical Innovation Is A Family LegacyRead More
The Central Park Five is an operatic narrative retelling the true story about the five African-American and Latino teenagers wrongly convicted of raping and assaulting a white woman in 1989. Continue Reading Anthony Davis Wins Read More
The harpsichord is alive and well. Watch Mahan Esfahani give the first solo harpsichord recital at the Tiny Desk, playing music that spans over 250 years. Continue Reading Before COVID-19, There Was Harpsichord. And Mahan Read More
On April 30, the global jazz community will celebrate International Jazz Day with an expert panel and a global concert featuring pianist Lang Lang, bassist Marcus Miller and more. Continue Reading Stream These Virtual Events To Celebrate Read More
On this episode of Alt.Latino, we pull an interview from the archives with the great Cuban percussionist. From Havana nightlife in the 1940s to the pulsing streets of New York just after World War II, he reminisces about the seminal recordings and jam sessions that took place. Read More
"It's sort of eerie when suddenly it's coming to life," Keith Richards said of "Living In a Ghost Town," which they wrote in one world and completed in another. Continue Reading The Rolling Stones Finished A New Single While Read More
Entertainment companies Live Nation and AEG have modified their refund policies for postponed events. Getting money back would depend on whether a concert or a game has a firm rescheduled date. Continue Reading Why Ticket Holders Read More
Director Christine Swanson's new film is about the celebrated Detroit gospel group, The Clark Sisters. She talks to host Rachel Martin about being adamant about casting women who could actually sing. Continue Reading In New Film About Read More
We learn all kinds of interesting things when we're at loose ends during a pandemic lockdown. Did you know that Baltimore Symphony Orchetsra Music Director Marin Alsop co-founded a swing band? Continue Reading Marin Alsop On Her Read More
Watch the superstar pianist at home in Shanghai, China, play a soothing Chopin Nocturne and Bach you can dance to. Continue Reading Pianist Lang Lang Gives A Tiny Desk (Home) Concert To Reflect On Trying TimesRead More
Ravi Shankar took Indian classical music to world stages and introduced the sitar to Western audiences. His influence can still be felt today, 100 years after his birth. Continue Reading The Enduring Afterglow Of Ravi Shankar’s Life In MusicRead More
Alt.Latino host Felix Contreras offers a playlist of music that's comforting him and his listeners amid the coronavirus pandemic. Continue Reading Alt.Latino’s Felix Contreras Shares Music Of Comfort For Challenging TimesRead More
In Our Daily Breather, we ask writers and artists to recommend ways to find calm in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis. Nicholas Cords is finding solace in a thankful musical sentiment from Beethoven. Continue Reading Violist Nicholas Read More
We're updating a list of live musical performances from around the world, categorized by date and genre. Continue Reading A List Of Live Virtual Concerts To Watch During The Coronavirus ShutdownRead More
The music of this quintessential Nashville songwriter and lifelong independent spirit makes room for the wide range of emotions that careen through people as they stumble and dance through life. Continue Reading RIP John Prine: A Man Whose Songs Saw The Read More
Each a virtuoso in their own right, longtime friends and Wu Fei and Abigail Washburn team up for a tradition-blending debut album of folk music. Continue Reading Chinese Folk Music Meets Appalachian Tradition On ‘Wu Fei And Read More
High school musicals are canceled around the country over coronavirus concerns. Broadway star Laura Benanti asked disappointed high school singers for the next best thing: performance videos. Continue Reading A Read More
Soul singer Allen Stone demonstrated a commitment to the Tiny Desk that we rarely, if ever, see. Continue Reading Inland Northwest Native Allen Stone Heads To ‘The Other Washington’ To Serenade Read More
The patriarch of the famous musical Marsalis family, Ellis Marsalis was not only a performer but a teacher, a mentor and a coach. Continue Reading Remembering Ellis Marsalis: Pianist, Teacher And New Orleans Jazz PatriarchRead More
Stefon Harris has been attracting the attention of jazz fans since he released his 1998 debut, but he's less interested in praise than helping his listeners empathize with the world around them. Continue Reading Stefon Harris — Read More
"Dolly hopes this series of stories will provide comfort and reassurance to coping kids and families during the shelter-in-place mandates," the Imagination Library said. Continue Reading Dolly Parton Will Read Bedtime Stories To Kids Online Read More
Known early on for his avant-garde works, the composer's challenging music nevertheless found fans far beyond traditional classical music circles. Continue Reading Krzysztof Penderecki, Boundary-Breaking Polish Composer, Dies At 86Read More
On his new album, the rising pianist once called "Iceland's Glenn Gould" offers a dialogue between two radical French composers born nearly 200 years apart. Continue Reading Conversation Between The Keys: Pianist Víkingur Read More
Yo-Yo Ma has brought joy to listeners for decades with his virtuosic musicianship. Now, he is using his music to offer some comfort to a global audience in the midst of a pandemic that has sparked widespread anxiety and pain. Read More
The Cameroonian musician who became an international star with his song "Soul Makossa" died Tuesday at age 86 in Paris. His music helped fuel disco — and songs by Michael Jackson and Rihanna. Continue Reading Afro-Funk Saxophonist Manu Dibango Dies Of Read More
In a time of striving to keep ourselves and our environments pathogen-free, Our Daily Breather seeks guidance on the health of the psyche. Tom Huizenga has been turning to a calming piano performance. Continue Reading Our Daily Read More
