NPR Music

Pages

Music
2:26 am
Thu June 28, 2012

The Bajo Quinto: The Instrument That Will Not Go Gently

Originally published on Thu June 28, 2012 11:34 am

Almost 20 years ago, a young student at the National University of Mexico went in search of a very old instrument in the mountains of the southern state of Oaxaca. Today, he has become a leading force in the revival of the instrument called the bajo quinto and the music played on it.

Ruben Luengas was working on a research project at the National School of Music in Mexico City in 1995. He wanted to focus on the music of his hometown, in the Mixtec region of Oaxaca, so he asked his 97-year-old grandmother to tell him about the music played at her wedding.

Read more
All Songs Considered Blog
5:01 pm
Wed June 27, 2012

'Big Easy Express': Three Bands, One Train, A Ton Of Music

Credit Bryan Ling

Originally published on Thu June 28, 2012 7:25 am

Attention fans of Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, Mumford & Sons and Old Crow Medicine Show: You are bound for glory! Big Easy Express is a new film featuring all three bands and their whistle-stop journey from Oakland to New Orleans aboard a vintage train.

Read more
Thistle and Shamrock
4:20 pm
Wed June 27, 2012

Thistle And Shamrock: Solas

Credit Courtesy of the artist
Solas

The music of Solas is always exciting perhaps because it's constantly evolving. Meet Seamus Egan and Win Horan who chat about their roles in shaping Irish-America's most influential band and share loads of their music with us.

Copyright 2012 National Public Radio. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.

Mom And Dad's Record Collection
3:30 pm
Wed June 27, 2012

Chris Thile's First Musical Memory

Credit Danny Clinch
Chris Thile says he was only a year old when he first heard "The Girl from Ipanema."

Originally published on Wed June 27, 2012 8:54 pm

It's clear Chris Thile has an ear for music: The 31-year-old mandolinist, best known for his bands Nickel Creek and Punch Brothers, has been playing music his entire life.

Read more
World Cafe
3:03 pm
Wed June 27, 2012

Third World On World Cafe

Credit Courtesy of Artist
Third World.

Together nearly 30 years, the reggae band Third World is one Jamaica's most popular and decorated musical acts, with listeners around the world and 10 Grammy nominations to its name. Partly responsible for mainstreaming reggae music, the group formed in 1973 and built a solid following playing the Kingston reggae scene, making its debut at Jamaica's Independence Day celebration.

Read more

Pages