Tiny Desk Meets SXSW

Plus, our favorite new releases out March 25.

View this email online March 26, 2022 by Marissa Lorusso This week, we’re sharing sets from Tiny Desk Meets SXSW — plus, new releases from Maren Morris, Camp Cope, Ibibio Sound Machine and more. NPR Every year, our team looks forward to the SXSW music festival. A few members of the team usually head down to Austin to attend hundreds of shows and see bands from all over the country and the world. Sometimes, we’ve even gotten to curate our own stage at the festival.  In 2020, of course, the festival was canceled due to the pandemic. Last year, it returned as an online festival — so we programmed a virtual "stage" of Tiny Desk (home) concerts in a series called Tiny Desk Meets SXSW. This year, we decided to bring the virtual stage back, with another round of Tiny Desk Meets SXSW: four videos filmed in various locations, all of them full of surprises. We kicked things off with the English band Yard Act, who play a set filled with brash sounds aimed at capitalism and equality (or the lack thereof), all done with both venom and humor. Then, we shared a set from KAINA, a singer and songwriter whose set was an ode to her childhood casita and to her creative community in Chicago. Next was Pom Pom Squad, whose music — led by the bitterly romantic songwriting of Mia Berrin — brings a much-needed dose of silliness to self-serious grunge and punk. Lastly, we shared a performance from rapper Maxo Kream, who performed a set with a full band in a Houston performance space that highlights the incredibly complex puzzle of his life. Newsletter continues after sponsor message New Music This week on New Music Friday from All Songs Considered: Nashville singer Maren Morris drops her most emotionally and lyrically expansive record so far — her third major label full-length, Humble Quest. Plus, London's electro-Afro-funk group Ibibio Sound Machine, the Brooklyn pop artist Barrie and more great releases out March 25. Camp Cope’s breakthrough record, How to Socialise & Make Friends, was fueled by the emotional rage that stemmed from the band members' own egregious experiences of misogyny in the music industry. But the Australian trio’s new album, Running with the Hurricane, finds a band at peace and embracing tenderness. In 2018, the singer Koffee wasn't just Jamaica's next female sensation — she was the most-buzzed-about reggae artist anywhere. Now, her debut album, Gifted, has finally arrived. Uplifting vibes abound on the record, with tracks emphasizing her proud assertion of Caribbean identity. The NPR Classical playlist is celebrating women’s history month with a playlist update of distinctive music by two Aussies, Liza Lim and Peggy Glanville-Hicks, plus, from the 18th century, little known Ana Bon, and pieces by Tania León, Olga Neuwirth and Angélica Negrón. Featuring In the spring of 2018, Amelia Meath and Nick Sanborn of Sylvan Esso purchased a wooded property in North Carolina. They had a vision for the space: It would become a recording studio, the kind they'd always wanted. Our friends at North Carolina Public Radio visited the studio, called Betty’s, to learn about how it’s become a home base for the state’s collaborative music scene. The creators of a new opera about Emmett Till — composer Mary D. Watkins and librettist Clare Coss — hope it will inspire white people to confront racism. But others worry it depicts Black trauma for white entertainment while masquerading as activism. Last year, our Turning the Tables series published essays about life-changing records by women artists. Now we’re digging deeper into that conversation with a series of podcast episodes featuring writers from the series talking about the albums they chose. On the latest episode, I’m joined by two writers for a conversation about challenging assumptions about what makes an album great. One More Thing Rocking out to NPR news Listen to your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to hear live radio from WUFT 89.1 (edit station). Need a new playlist? Follow NPR Music on Spotify and Apple Music What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: nprmusic@npr.org Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can sign up here. Looking for more great content? Check out all of our newsletter offerings — including Books, Pop Culture, Health and more! You received this message because you're subscribed to NPR Music emails. This email was sent by National Public Radio, Inc., 1111 North Capitol Street NE, Washington, DC 20002 Unsubscribe  |  Privacy Policy