Music Features

Dating back at least to 1977, when Aretha Franklin, Paul Simon, and Linda Ronstadt performed during Jimmy Carter’s first day on the job — and all the way up to Lady Gaga and Jennifer Lopez at Joe Biden’s swearing-in ceremony — it hasn’t been unusual for rock and pop stars …

Nancy Sinatra wasn’t planning on revisiting her old hits. The singer, who ruled the Sixties with dark psychedelic-pop classics like “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’ ” and “Bang Bang,” walked away from the music business in the Seventies to focus on raising her daughters and supporting progressive causes. She …

No artist had a bigger year in 2020 than Bad Bunny. In February, the Puerto Rican superstar released his acclaimed second album,YHLQMDLG, filled with nods to the old-school reggaeton he grew up listening to back home. The world shuttered shortly after that, but he still found a way to keep …

Christmas albums now arrive in every genre — jazz, new age, country — but jam band? Other than Jorma Kaukonen‘s 1996 Christmas album, not so much. That may start to change with Michael Falzarano and Extended Family’s A Kaleidoscope Christmas, a collection of original and classic yuletide songs led by …

“I’ve never seen such an outpouring of positivity,” says Wolfgang Van Halen, who’s used to dealing with cranky Van Halen fans online. Usingthe band name Mammoth WVH, he released his first solo single and video, “Distance,” on Monday, paying tribute to his late dad, Eddie Van Halen — and fans …

More than half a year has passed since the pandemic shut down the world, and Robert Plant says he’s doing relatively well. “I can tell you that I’m still breathing, and I’ve got a warped sense of humor, and I can still sing a tune,” he deadpans. “But beyond that, …

When Brittany Howard released 2019’s Jaime, the album immediately began exposing Howard to new types of fanbases she had never before reached in her work with Alabama Shakes. “I have people coming out from all different pockets of what they like,” she told Rolling Stone last month. Never before have …

For the last several decades, Leo Kottke has perfected the way he likes to tour. Instead of using a tour bus, the guitarist drives himself, piling his guitars into the back of a rental car. He deals with venue staff directly, settling up on his own. And he doesn’t bring …

Frederick “Toots” Hibbert, who died Friday at age 77, wasn’t just a pioneer and key popularizer of Jamaican music; he was also an essential bridge between the worlds of ska, rocksteady, reggae, and the great American R&B tradition. His vocal delivery, raspy yet gorgeously supple, and poignant way of writing …

Early in 2019, a manager for an aspiring rapper named Flo Milli tracked down the TikTok user @nicemichael and offered him $200 to bring more attention to a dance for “Beef Flomix.” The resulting video clip amassed more than 100,000 likes, helping jumpstart “Beef Flomix;” after the song became popular …