Rhiannon Giddens spoke with WNYC's Radiolab for its miniseries The Vanishing of Harry Pace and with NPR's Radio Diaries for its feature "The Rise and Fall of Black Swan Records," both about the groundbreaking life of Pace, who, a century ago, founded Black Swan Records, the first major Black-owned record company, and launched the careers of Ethel Waters and Louis Armstrong, and what happened next. "This period—basically between emancipation and the Harlem Renaissance—it is the key to our American character," Giddens says.

Chris Thile was on NPR's Here & Now, from WBUR in Boston, to talk with host Robin Young about his new solo album, Laysongs—six original songs and three covers that contextualize and banter with his ideas about spirituality. "If I have a religion now, it's trying to keep my ears wide open to the human beings that I encounter," Thile tells Young. "I worry that we as human beings have a tendency to find people who think and act and look like we do and we pod up ... I don't think that we're ever going to change someone's mind if we're not willing to be changed." You can hear their conversation here.

Chris Thile was on WNYC's All of It with Alison Stewart on Friday, the release day for his new solo album, Laysongs, to share some songs from the album and the stories behind them for an All of It Listening Party. You can hear their conversation here. Laysongs is Thile's first truly solo album: just Thile, his voice, and his mandolin, on new recordings of six original songs and three covers, all of which contextualize and banter with his ideas about spirituality.

The Black Keys are on NPR's World Cafe to discuss their new album, Delta Kream, and share some tracks from it. "One of the really fun things about The Black Keys is that they themselves are huge music fans," says host Raina Douris. "Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney get excited talking about the artists who've influenced them, and today you will hear that excitement as we dive into the new Black Keys album, Delta Kream." You can hear their conversation here.

k.d. lang is on CKUA's Hidden Track podcast to discuss her new album of classic dance remixes, makeover. "The album explores a stunning collection of dance remixes dating from 1992 to 2000," says host Grant Stovel. "It's a collection that invites us to re-assess k.d.’s one-of-a-kind journey and body of work all over again—but this time, on the dance floor!" Also on the episode is "k.d. lang superfan" Tegan Quin, of Tegan & Sara, with an appreciation of lang's work and role as an LGBTQ+ trailblazer. You can hear it here.

The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney are on the latest episode of NPR's Here & Now, from WBUR in Boston. They talk with Peter O'Dowd about their new album, Delta Kream, which celebrates the band’s roots, featuring eleven Mississippi hill country blues standards they've loved since they were teenagers, including songs by R. L. Burnside and Junior Kimbrough, among others. You can hear their conversation here.

Chris Thile was on WNPR's Audacious with Chion Wolf. "I’ve been following his work for over 10 years," says Wolf, "simultaneously singin’ my heart out to his recordings, while being totally mind-boggled at his mandolin playing." You can hear their conversation about his music, what makes Bach a musical "truth north," and more here.

The Staves performed three tracks from their new album, Good Woman live from the BBC's Radio Theatre for BBC Radio 6 Music's Shaun Keaveny show. “Like warm buttermilk and honey siphoned into my ear canal," says Keaveny. You can hear the performances here. The band's album-release livestream show from February will be rebroadcast with a special new encore recorded from the sisters' family home in Watford on May 20. "We loved playing this show and wanted to give you all another chance to see it," says the trio, "or watch it for the first time before the real thing comes back later this year (fingers crossed)." 

Lake Street Dive, whose new album, Obviously, recently topped the Non-Commercial / Public Radio chart, could be heard in sessions for three such stations this past week. For The Current, 89.3FM out of Minneapolis/St. Paul, the band performed three songs from the new album, and Rachael Price and Akie Bermiss spoke with host Bill DeVille about the album and some tour bus memories. For WYCE in Grand Rapids the band performed two songs, and Mike Calabrese and Mike "McDuck" Olson spoke with WYCE music director Shane German. And for WNRN in Virginia, the band played two songs, and McDuck spoke with host Patrick Coman. You can watch the sessions here.

Laurie Anderson was the subject of a feature profile on NPR's All Things Considered by contributor Allyson McCabe, marking last week's red vinyl release of Anderson's 1982 debut album, Big Science. The profile examines the breadth of her career, from her earliest performance pieces to her Grammy Award–winning 2018 collaboration with Kronos Quartet, Landfall, to new projects she has in the works. You can listen to the piece, featuring conversations with Anderson, Kronos Quartet's David Harrington, and others, here.

Rhiannon Giddens is a guest on the latest episode of NPR's Here & Now ahead of tomorrow's release of her new album with Francesco Turrisi, They're Calling Me Home. "If you're looking for music to soothe your spirit, Rhiannon Giddens is here for you," says host Peter O'Dowd. They discuss the new album, which Giddens and Turrisi, ex-pats in Ireland, recorded during the COVID-19 lockdown, and its themes of the longing for the comfort of home and the metaphorical call "home" of death. You can hear the conversation here.

Lake Street Dive was on NPR's World Cafe to perform three songs from the band's new album, Obviously: "Hypotheticals," "Making Do," and "Being a Woman." Band mates Rachael Price and Mike "McDuck" Olson also spoke with host Raina Douris about the album, working with producer Mike Elizondo, and the band's evolving approach to songwriting. You can listen to the episode and watch the performances below.