The artist, who is also a mental health ambassador for the British charity CALM, examines mental health and friendship on her new record, Collapsed in Sunbeams.
During an intense reckoning with the global climate crisis, Tamara Lindeman wrote much her new album. For her, the biggest takeaway was "to acknowledge that I could care this much and this deeply."
Jennifer Lopez's performance of "This Land Is Your Land" at last month's presidential inauguration ceremony has reignited conversations about the erasure of Native Americans in the iconic folk tune.
The trombonist was a major figure in South Africa's early jazz scene, and an activist after the restrictions imposed by apartheid. In 1988 he was nominated for an Oscar for his theme to Cry Freedom.
The full impact of Spector's musical legacy is impossible to measure without accounting for the creative labor of singers like Darlene Love and the damage Spector's manipulations did to their careers.
Just as soon as you think you have a frame of reference for the Brooklyn band's sound, it swerves into an entirely new direction. Palberta's new album, Palberta5000, comes out Jan. 22.
The cost of 2020 — in lives, livelihoods, legacies and communities — is high and still being tallied. For jazz critic Nate Chinen, all that loss demands change to old ideas of critical objectivity.
Half of the top 10 spots in 2019's NPR Music Jazz Critics Poll went to women. But a deeper look at the data from across the poll's lifetime complicates claims about women's equality in jazz.
This fall, the bluegrass supergroup Sister Sadie became the first all-female band ever to win the top prize at the International Bluegrass Music Association awards.
The sheer volume of loss felt by the music world in 2020 is almost overwhelming. Here is NPR's tribute to dozens of the musicians — founders and innovators across genres — who died this year.
Bluegrass guitar legend Tony Rice died Christmas day, leaving behind an expansive catalogue devoted to exploring uncharted territory. Guitarist and fan Molly Tuttle picks his essential recordings.
Annye Anderson, the stepsister of Robert Johnson, whose life became a founding myth of American music, has written a memoir about the real life behind the legend.
James Newton Howard has composed the music for more than 100 films: thrillers, Disney animation and big fantasy series. His latest is the Tom Hanks western, News of the World.
Rompan Todo is a new Netflix six-part documentary series that explores the socio-political history of rock music in Latin America from its genesis in the 1960s to the present.
Little Richard saw a depth and possibility for American culture, for black genius, that he could not fully see for himself. It's up to us to continue the work.