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Three years ago, British soul singer Adele turned heads with her hit “Chasing Pavements,” from an album called “19.” Later this month, she’ll release a followup album called “21.” She joins us to talk about it, and she gives us a sneak preview with a live performance.

Noveller is the solo project of experimental guitarist and filmmaker Sarah Lipstate. A former member of the Brooklyn band Parts & Labor, she has also performed with Rhys Chatham’s Guitar Army and Glenn Branca’s 100 guitar ensemble. She joins us to play live from her most recent album, Desert Fires.

Grammy-winning vocalist Susan McKeown left her native Ireland for a home in New York City two decades ago. But she’s kept her Irish roots close by, with a sound that fuses a traditional Gaelic sensibility with a modern urban flair. She joins us to perform live and discuss her recent album, “Singing in the Dark.”

New York producer and tabla player Karsh Kale and the Delhi-based production team known as Midival Punditz share the cultural heritage of India and the musical heritage of the West. So what if there’s an ocean or two between them? Kale joins us in studio to talk about joining forces with the Punditz on his latest album.

In a 50-year career, sax player Charles Lloyd has done it all. Played in Cannonball Adderley’s band. Led his own groups with sidemen like Keith Jarrett and Herbie Hancock. Had a surprise crossover rock moment in the 60s and pioneered world music in the 70s.

Way before it became a major thread on the downtown music scene, the band Zlatne Uste has been playing Balkan Brass Band music. The band’s big annual celebration of Balkan music is coming up and we’ll hear some high-octane performances in the studio.

Banjo player Abigail Washburn has cornered the market on a sound that fuses Appalachian and Chinese music. Her creation is loyal to both traditions, yet undeniably fresh.

Folk-pop singer-songwriter Dar Williams began her career in Boston’s coffeehouse scene in the early 1990s. On her latest CD, “Many Great Companions,” she reinterprets songs from her career with guests like Mary Chapin Carpenter, Patty Larkin and Gary Louris of The Jayhawks. Williams joins us to play live in our studio.

Avant garde guitarist Gary Lucas toured with Captain Beefheart in the eighties and has been making music ever since. He plays live in the Soundcheck studio.

Jazz drummer Matt Wilson has been getting into the holiday spirit. He brings his Christmas Tree-o to our studio to perform some traditional – and not-so-traditional – holiday songs.

From her cameo appearance on super producer Mark Ronson's “Record Collection” to her behind the scenes work with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, MNDR (aka Amanda Warner) has had a busy year. To round out 2010, she brings her experimental dance pop live to the Soundcheck studio.

Sharon Van Etten has one of those voices: full, a little rough around the edges, never earnest – the sort that sends a hush through a noisy, crowded bar.

For much of the 90s, The Jazz Passengers brought together an all-star cast of New York’s downtown jazz musicians. Now saxophonist/composer Roy Nathanson is reuniting the band for their first full-length recording in 12 years.

Vaudeville swing duo The Two Man Gentlemen Band has penned songs like “Chocolate Milk” and “There’s Something in My Trousers” for their latest release, Dos Amigos Una Fiesta. The album is out today; Andy Bean and Fuller Condon join us to ham it up, live in our studio.

Chocolate Genius Inc. is the brainchild of the eclectic New York singer-songwriter Marc Anthony Thompson. In recent years his collaborators have included Marc Ribot, Meshell Ndegeocello and Bruce Springsteen. 

At the beginning of the decade, Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Tift Merritt was heralded as the next alt country queen. But over subsequent albums, she turned away from the charts and focused inward.

New York's Respect Sextet is known for its brash and eclectic approach to the jazz tradition. The group’s pieces mix and match elements of free jazz, funk grooves, New Orleans-style marches, bebop, and commercial jingles, all with a dash of whimsy.

Musician and composer Alan Palomo records under the name Neon Indian. Originally a project that started in Austin before transplanting to Brooklyn, Palomo has been hailed as one of the best examples of the dubious new genre catalogued as "chillwave" or "glo-fi." 

Mezzo-soprano Vivica Genaux has made Venice, Italy her home for some years now but she grew up in Fairbanks, Alaska. There she found that the harsh climate made her naturally suited to playing men on the opera stage and she has specialized in so-called trouser roles throughout her career.

For her latest album, soul and gospel star Mavis Staples enlisted the songwriting and producing talents of Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy. The result is You Are Not Alone, a collection that includes two Tweedy originals as well as songs by Randy Newman, Allen Toussaint, Little Milton and others.