Music News

The Los Angeles musician, producer and bassist stops by World Cafe to talk about his fifth studio album, Distracted.

Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest places, if you look at it right. And if you get confused, just listen to the music play. This week, resident Deadheads Isabella Gomez Sarmiento and Felix Contreras help host Robin Hilton hear what he’s been missing in the music of the Grateful Dead. Are you a Deadhead? Share your memories about the Grateful Dead and we may include them in a big series about the band we're launching Aug. 1. Support the show with a review on Apple or Spotify wherever you listen to podcasts. Questions, comments, suggestions or feedback of any kind always welcome: allsongs@npr.org Featured songs: (00:00) Intro and “King Solomon’s Marbles” (08:54) “China Cat Sunflower / I Know You Rider” Alpine Valley, WI 7.17.89 (11:03) “Help On the Way / Slipknot / Franklin’s Tower” (16:39) “Ripple” (23:34) “Morning Dew (Europe ‘72)” (26:17) “I Shall Be Released (Live)” (30:05) “Black Muddy River” (31:34) “One More Saturday Night” (32:09) “Sunrise” (33:21) “Shady Grove” (39:14) “Birdsong” (41:45) “Uncle John’s Band”

Glen Hansard, the Irish singer who won an Oscar for the musical movie Once and the led the bands The Frames and The Swell Season, died on Wednesday. He died following a motorcycle crash in Dublin.

The rising young conductor's new album, Ukrainian Mixtape, is a introduction to composers even some Ukrainians don't know very well.

You could look at Foreign Tongues, the Rolling Stones' 25th album, as a tour of the group's musical variations. But it mixes reliable fun and remarkable energy with a generous attitude toward aging.

Delbert Anderson channels his ancestors to honor those lost in the 1860s forced relocation of the Navajo. He's performing his composition over four and a half years, playing a new single note every few months.

The visa process for visiting artists has always been complicated and expensive. Under the current administration, it's gotten significantly worse.

After four decades as a founding member of Red Hot Chili Peppers, Flea goes solo with a stellar jazz band.

Social media can make a song go viral — even push it up the pop charts — seemingly overnight. Perhaps it's not surprising that some influencers are being paid to promote music without disclosing it.

Kaye's collaboration with Smith began in 1971 and continues to this day. He says she taught him to trust his musical sensibilities — and to always keep evolving. Now 79, he has his first solo album.