Music News

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.

Pianist Jon Batiste has been busy. He's offering three new albums at once: one tribute to Mozart and two tributes to Thelonious Monk.

The New York-based string quartet's new album Rhythm Nation teems with beats ranging from West Africa and Venezuela to jazz standards and Janet Jackson.

We asked people to share the story of how they became a Deadhead and received hundreds of responses. Their stories are tender, comical and sometimes spiritual.

The 1976 film is about a '60s trio based loosely on The Supremes. It wasn't a big hit, but it has a devoted cult following, and critic Ken Tucker says it features some of Aretha Franklin's finest performances.

The Grateful Dead understood the importance of recording its legacy. A number of archivists and historians are dedicated to maintaining the band's immense collection of music and memorabilia.

As soon as the weather warms up, fans of the Grateful Dead partake in an important summer tradition: gathering together to experience the band's music.

The Grateful Dead endured an original run of 30 years, but its appeal has survived just as long in a world where the band no longer exists. The question now is not whether the music will continue, but how?

Death never stopped the Grateful Dead before. Since Jerry Garcia's death in 1995, a sprawling collection of musicians and fans across generations have kept the band’s legacy alive in different ways. But without members Phil Lesh and Bob Weir, Deadheads are experiencing their first summer where there’s no clear inheritor of the Grateful Dead’s mantle. Where does the music, and the dedicated community that has grown up around it, go from here? NPR Music's resident Deadheads Felix Contreras and Isabella Gomez Sarmiento took a cue from the Dead itself: They hit the road, interviewing musicians, fans and archivists to learn how the band and its fans built a legacy that has spanned generations, and to find out what's next. For more podcast episodes and stories about the future of the Grateful Dead, check out our series Dead After Death. This episode was produced by Noah Caldwell. It was edited by Jacob Ganz and Hazel Cills. The executive producer of NPR Music is Suraya Mohamed. Our executive director is Sonali Mehta.

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