Bob Boilen

If someone said that the band GOAT took its name from the initials for "Get Out A Tambourine," it'd be easy to believe. The Swedish collective makes irresistible trance/dance music that doubles as hypnotic hippie hoodoo. GOAT captures the spirit of the '60s in its guitar meanderings and acid tones; ...

Holly Williams is a powerful singer and a songwriter. She writes songs from the heart and I've witnessed this song bring more than a few people to tears (I'm included). You may know Holly Williams as the daughter of Hank Williams Jr., and the granddaughter of Hank Williams, though the ...

President Obama presented his plan to “degrade and ultimately destroy” the militant group calling itself the Islamic State — and which the president calls ISIL — to the American people last night.

The president’s plan involves arming moderate Syrian opposition forces, extending U.S. airstrikes against the Islamic State into Syria ...

Like a fog horn over dark waters, the opening brass sets the tone for this alluring song from Mirah. "No Direction Home" is probably the darkest song on her 2014 album Changing Light and this video plays with that darkness, using a lighthouse as its centerpiece. ...

Last week in New York City, on the fringe of Times Square, a band of busy artists gathered in a building brimming with songwriting history. The Brill Building's golden age, when songs like "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" and "Be My Baby" were written in its offices, are in the ...

George Harrison's first six solo albums are being reissued as a box set called George Harrison: The Apple Years 1968-75. Those albums, from his days on The Beatles' label Apple Records, were I think his strongest, most interesting records: Wonderwall Music, Electronic Sound, All Things Must Pass, Living In The ...

We threw a curve ball at Justin Townes Earle. Despite his five albums full of well-loved songs, we asked him to play new material for this Tiny Desk Concert; songs we hadn't yet heard. Earle's new album Single Mothers comes out this week, and here he performs two tracks ...

Barbra Streisand, one of the most loved singers of all time and the best-selling female recording artist ever (according to RIAA statistics) has teamed up with the ever soulful, gospel-inspired singer John Legend on a song she originally recorded with Bee Gees singer and songwriter Barry Gibb in ...

These days, Jessica Lea Mayfield is all contrasts, starting with the way she sets her wistful voice against her shimmering guitar. It's got a harder edge to it than the rootsier music of her past. Then there's that cotton-candy hair and all the glitter; her guitar glitters, her eyes ...

Geneviève Bellemare is a new voice collaborating with experienced producers, including Mitchell Froom (Paul McCartney, Randy Newman, Pearl Jam), Paul O'Duffy (Amy Winehouse and James Bond soundtracks), busbee (Katy Perry, Pink) and Tony Berg (Lucius, Edie Brickell). The music found on her new EP, Live and Die, out ...

What immediately attracted me to Trampled by Turtles when I first saw the band was its speed, but the Minnesotans are about more than just blistering bluegrass. They also write beautiful, heartfelt folk-pop songs, as this Tiny Desk Concert demonstrates.

All three of these tunes come from Trampled By Turtles' ...

The song title "Jackie and Wilson" is a playful nod, of course, to the great R&B singer Jackie Wilson. And don't worry — Hozier, the 24-year-old Irish soul singer and guitarist, has the grace and the backbeat to make it work.

Andrew Hozier-Byrne has already released two hit-filled EPs, and ...

Take a deep breath, in black & white. Alice Boman's fragile singing, mixed with ethereal images from the Swedish countryside, make for a small laptop vacation, in her new video for the song "Be Mine."

Filmmaker Anders Weberg, know for his "slow cinema" films with running times of literally hundreds ...

Warning: This song will put a smile on your face.

I've seen many magical collaborations at the Newport Folk Festival over the years, as artists band together and create in the Newport spirit. This particular venture was epic, featuring the strongest anthem of the year — by the Portland ...

They're simply my favorite band of the decade, so I'm thrilled that alt-J will be premiering a good chunk of its new album live for you to see and hear on September 2. That album, This Is All Yours, is another eclectic mix of English folk and art rock, with ...

Nickel Creek was made to sing and play around a single microphone, so a Tiny Desk Concert seemed inevitable. All it took was a reunion tour — celebrating 25 years of Nickel Creek — to make it happen.

All three of the band's remarkably talented core members have been ...

Rodrigo Amarante has made the year's tenderest record. Cavalo is sonically rich and spare at the same time: Every instrument breathes and every sound blends, yet every moment is distinct. At Cavalo's core are heartfelt songs and Amarante's sweet, smoky voice.

Amarante is from Rio de Janeiro, and these ...

As the end of summer nears, here's one more bouncy tune to carry you into fall. "Black Lemon," by Generationals, two former high school buddies Ted Joyner and Grant Widmer, mixes marimba-based jolliness and lyrics tinged with darkness. It looks at life's ties that bind and searches for ways to ...

Shark attacks, poison, swords, lightsabers, a stake to the heart; all are more desirable than not having the love of your life. In this video for "Good and Ready," a boy and his three friends act out numerous, creative scenarios in which a person might perish, as Anthony D'Amato (along ...