NPR Topics: Music Features

African pop was poised for a U.S. takeover. Can its stars finish the job?

Sheldon Pearce — Wed, 23 Sep 2026 05:00:00 -0400

The dam appeared to break in 2024, as South African phenom Tyla made Grammy and chart history. But for a wide field of buzzed-about voices, the path to a crossover has narrowed.

(Image credit: Photos by Patrick T. Fallon/Shotbycozyy/Axle Jozeph/Leon Neal/Theo Wargo/Getty Images)

Meet the future of the LA Philharmonic and San Francisco Symphony

Tom Huizenga — Tue, 22 Sep 2026 11:19:27 -0400

As the classical concert season ramps up, two of America's finest orchestras will soon be led by new conductors when Daniel Harding takes over in Los Angeles and Elim Chan leads in San Francisco.

(Image credit: Stefan Cohen)

'They touch everything': Sylvan Esso confronts the Spotify dilemma, again

Brian Burns — Mon, 21 Sep 2026 17:45:46 -0400

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A year after pulling its music in protest, the duo is back on Spotify. For Amelia Meath and Nick Sanborn, that journey has been frustrating, eye-opening — and full of smaller victories.

(Image credit: Graham Tolbert)

Saul Williams opens a portal between politics and possibility

Rodney Carmichael — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 00:01:00 -0400

The unflinching multidisciplinary artist has long welcomed new challenges. With the release of a new album and a new book, he embraces the role his career has been building toward: investigative poet.

(Image credit: Sam Lee)

Jorja Smith finds love in the club

Sheldon Pearce — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 14:29:30 -0400

What Are the Odds, Jorja Smith pivots toward the dance-floor genres that have haunted the corners of her music but rarely taken center stage.'/>

The English artist made her name with thoughtful pop-R&B. On What Are the Odds, she pulls her dancier roots to the surface.

(Image credit: Bolade Banjo)

Big Thief offers a glimpse at the power and wonder of creation

Ann Powers — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 14:00:08 -0400

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At a pair of surprise shows at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium, the beloved indie group was accompanied by an all-star crew of collaborators to preview a forthcoming triple album, Horsepower.

(Image credit: Genesis Baez)

How Dolly Parton wrote the story of a changing America

Ann Powers — Wed, 26 Aug 2026 09:46:34 -0400

Parton, who died at 80 on Tuesday, had charm, depth, beauty, wit and radiant goodness. She was also a songwriter whose work told the story not just of country music but of the country itself.

(Image credit: Richard E. Aaron)

An art-rock illusionist rewrites pop in her own image

Sheldon Pearce — Thu, 20 Aug 2026 11:05:03 -0400

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Taja Cheek's psychedelic project L'Rain has always been tagged as experimental. On fata morgana, she asks what separates music like hers from the mainstream.

(Image credit: Mackai Sharp)

Ravyn Lenae, viral success story, adjusts to the aftershock

Sheldon Pearce — Fri, 14 Aug 2026 11:12:24 -0400

Blue Island is the third studio album by Ravyn Lenae, and the first since the unlikely viral breakout of her song "Love Me Not."'/>

TikTok made "Love Me Not" a Top 10 hit, but its rise felt disembodied from the artist behind it. On Blue Island, Lenae responds to a career plot twist by stepping into the past.

(Image credit: Cairo Dipika)

Phoebe Bridgers remembers everything

Ann Powers — Thu, 13 Aug 2026 05:00:00 -0400

Lost Weekend, comes after the songwriter won three Grammy awards with her group boygenius, then retreated from the public eye, reeling from the effects of fame, a complicated love life and the sudden death of her father.'/>

Bridgers' third solo album is her account of a time in which she retreated from the public eye, reeling from the effects of fame, a complicated love life and the sudden death of her father.

(Image credit: Olof Grind)