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The Mix
4:44 pm
Mon July 23, 2012

The Mix: New Orleans, Inside Out

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Credit Jason Saul / WWNO
A Mardi Gras Indian performs at the 2008 Voodoo Music Experience festival, held in New Orleans City Park.
Credit Jason Saul / WWNO
Leo Nocentelli of The Meters performs at the 2008 Voodoo Music Experience festival, held in New Orleans City Park.
Credit Jason Saul / WWNO
A Mardi Gras Indian performs at the 2008 Voodoo Music Experience festival, held in New Orleans City Park.
Credit Sean Gardner / Getty Images
Mardi Gras Indians march through the crowd at the 2007 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. The Mardi Gras Indians are a mainstay of New Orleans culture, marching alongside brass bands in the annual Mardi Gras parades.
Credit Rick Diamond / Getty Images
Musician Don Vappie & the Creole Serenaders perform during the 2011 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.
Credit Rick Diamond / Getty Images
Trombone Shorty.
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Allen Toussaint.
Credit Catherine Nomura / Flickr
Irma Thomas.
Credit Jason Saul / WWNO
John Boutte performs at the 2008 Voodoo Music Experience festival, held in New Orleans City Park.
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Gwen Thompkins is a New Orleans native, NPR veteran and host of WWNO's Music Inside Out, where she brings to bear the knowledge and experience she amassed as senior editor of Weekend Edition, an East Africa correspondent, the holder of Nieman and Watson Fellowships, and a longtime student of music from around the world.
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Originally published on Fri August 3, 2012 3:17 pm

Louisiana music has such a hold on music lovers around the world that nearly every popular artist borrows from it. Or replicates it. Or, some might say, steals from it.

There's plenty to go around. From classical to Cajun and blues to bounce, Louisiana has expanded the American songbook while teaching the rest of the planet to "shake dat thing." And we haven't even mentioned Louis Armstrong yet.

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World Cafe: Next
4:36 pm
Mon July 23, 2012

Next: Field Report

Credit Ashlee Whitty
Field Report.
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Originally published on Mon July 23, 2012 5:00 pm

Under the guidance of veteran singer-songwriter Chris Porterfield, Field Report's folksy, Springsteen-esque tunes are rife with mellow acoustic guitars and electrified keyboards.

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Deceptive Cadence
2:44 pm
Mon July 23, 2012

A Know-It-All's Guide To Olympic Music

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Among all things official at the Olympics, like the flag, is music composed for the opening and closing ceremonies.
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Originally published on Thu July 26, 2012 5:24 pm

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Mountain Stage
1:58 pm
Mon July 23, 2012

Nickel Creek On Mountain Stage

Credit Brian Blauser / Mountain Stage
Nickel Creek performs on Mountain Stage.
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Nickel Creek was perhaps the best-known acoustic music group of the late '90s and early 2000s. The band formed in 1989 in Carlsbad, Calif., when its three principal members — Chris Thile and siblings Sean and Sara Watkins — were still children.

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World Cafe
10:05 am
Mon July 23, 2012

Andrew Bird On World Cafe

Credit Cameron Wittig / Courtesy of the artist
Andrew Bird's latest record, Break It Yourself, was released this month.
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Whistling polymath Andrew Bird has become a perennial favorite of folk-pop aficionados and classical fans alike. As a trained violinist and a longtime touring musician, he has a way of expertly melding many genres and influences into his own unique brand of baroque pop. Showcasing his impressive skills with the violin, guitar, mandolin, glockenspiel and vocals, Bird is a picture of versatility.

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