Bob Boilen

Watch Sylvan Esso playfully perform a big, blasting version of the the duo's song "The Glow," with a band of sax, guitars, drums and more.

Kuinka, one of our favorites from the recent Tiny Desk Contest, explores the nature of anger and bigotry in a stirring video for the song "Warsaw."

Watch Sylvan Esso perform a spare and beautiful version of the the duo's song "Slack Jaw," with Jenn Wasner of the bands Wye Oak and Flock Of Dimes.

"Sorry Is Gone," the title track to Mayfield's next album, is a song of empowerment that finds the singer moving past a difficult period in her life.

The festival's executive producer Jay Sweet explains how he picked this year's lineup and why the festival continues to resonate with people more than 50 years after it started.

Watch Sylvan Esso perform a version of the the duo's song "Die Young" with members of Wye Oak, The Mountain Goats, Hiss Golden Messenger, Mountain Men and Megafaun.

James Mercer, the emotional and creative heart of The Shins, gives a moving performance at the Tiny Desk, with two new songs and a classic from the band's 2003 album Chutes Too Narrow.

For one day only, members of Wye Oak, The Mountain Goats, Hiss Golden Messenger, Mountain Man and Megafaun joined Sylvan Esso to reimagine and record the electronic duo's music as a full band.

Jade Bird is a 19-year-old British singer with a voice that would sound as much at home on an Americana radio station in Nashville as it would back home.

You'll want to listen to this week's essential new music on a good pair of headphones, preferably in the dark and, if you take drummer Ian Chang's advice, while getting a massage.

Van William's song preaches personal, not political, revolution — but these days, the lines can get blurry fast.

In this video from Alexander F — the side-project of Rubblebucket's Alex Toth — a punk singer transforms into a ballerina in a Kafka-referencing piece of individualistic affirmation.

The British teenager has been a rising star since he took home the Emerging Artist prize at Glastonbury two years ago. His debut album lives up to that early promise.

A sense of gathering storms, of laughing at the darkness, informed Ritter's most recent record, Gathering. In an Essay for All Songs Considered, he explains the process.

Fragile Rock is a band that relies on the boogie of The B-52s, the melancholy of The Smiths and the humor of Kermit the Frog. Oh, and they're all puppets.

Japanese Breakfast's Michelle Zauner pulls inspiration from Korean breath-hold divers, robotic love, Jimmy Fallon, tubular bells and the sad and thrilling moments in life.

There's comfort and mystery in "Bodyriders," the newest song from Kalbells, the solo project of Rubblebucket singer and saxophonist Kalmia Traver.

We open this week's essential mix with the sweetly melodic sounds of Michael Andrews and his score for the film The Big Sick. Also: the sensual sounds of Rhye, Protomartyr's existential rock and more.

Dave Depper, now a full member of Death Cab For Cutie, brought a quirky disco sensibility to this duet with Laura Gibson.

Melina Duterte may have played all the instruments on Jay Som's newest record, Everybody Works, but her touring band brought a rougher edge to those silky recordings.