Natalie Merchant was on NPR's World Cafe to talk with host Kallao about her new album, Keep Your Courage, and give intimate performances of four songs from it: "Come On, Aphrodite," "Narcissus," "Big Girls," and "Tower of Babel." "It's a beautiful record that revolves around love in its many forms," says Kallao. "She calls it like she sees it, and that's a guest you feel lucky to speak with. And I think you'll dig hearing it." You can do that here.

“Natalie Merchant is unique—her voice, her approach to her career—and her new album is unique in this moment,” Alison Stewart says of her guest on WNYC’s All of It. They discuss the album, Keep Your Courage, ahead of Merchant's concerts at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, joined by The Knights orchestra, this weekend, and at NJPAC in Newark with Orchestra of St. Luke’s on June 25. You can hear their conversation here.

“Brad Mehldau is one of the greatest jazz musicians of our time,” says Tom Power, host of CBC’s Q. “The way he thinks about music is unlike anyone else I’ve ever met.” Mehldau is on the show to talk with Power about his new solo album, Your Mother Should Know: Brad Mehldau Plays The Beatles, about which Power says: “I really loved it.” You can hear their conversation here.

"That lush, layered contralto voice can belong to only one person—Natalie Merchant," NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday host Ayesha Rascoe says of her guest. "She does it all." They talk about Merchant's new album, Keep Your Courage, out this Friday on Nonesuch, and her months-long tour, also starting this Friday. You can hear their conversation featuring excerpts from the album here.

“When Natalie Merchant was fifteen, a year before she began her music career in the band 10,000 Maniacs, she put a picture of a statue of Joan of Arc up on her wall,” BBC Radio 4 Front Row presenter Samira Ahmed says of her guest. “The image adorns the cover of her new album, Keep Your Courage, a celebration of women in myth and history, ancient and modern, and a celebration of love of all kinds—familial, platonic, and romantic.” You can hear their conversation about the album and more here.

“One of the most majestic and stunning singers on the current scene,” TSF Jazz host Jean-Charles Doukhan says of Cécile McLorin Salvant, his guest on Deli Express, in translation from the French. “Each of her albums is a masterstroke. And each of her concerts is a powerful and unforgettable experience.” Of her new album, Mélusine, he exclaims: “As always, brilliant!” You can watch Salvant’s performance of the album track “Le temps est assassin” in the TSF Jazz studio with Glenn Zaleski on piano and Keita Ogawa on percussion here.

Steve Reich was on CBC's Q to talk with host Tom Power about his early musical influences, like Igor Stravinsky, Charlie Parker, and Miles Davis; his own seminal works Clapping Music, Come Out, Drumming, Different Trains, and Music for 18 Musicians; and a new generation of composers exciting him now, including Caroline Shaw and Nico Muhly. You can hear their conversation here.

k.d. lang, who was recently announced a recipient of the 2023 Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards for Lifetime Artistic Achievement, Canada’s highest honor in the performing arts, was on CBC’s Q to talk with host Tom Power about the honor, her “groundbreaking” career, and more. You can hear Power’s conversation with lang, whom he calls “one of the biggest music stars ever from Canada,” here. The Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards will be presented on May 27.

“The Kronos Quartet in the world of classical music are like The Beatles,” says Tom Power, host of CBC’s Q. “They pack rooms all around the world. They’ve been doing it for 50 years now. And those rooms are filled with people who don’t typically listen to classical music. So ... what have they figured out?” Kronos Quartet artistic director, founder, and violinist David Harrington spoke with Power and tries to answer that question, among others. You can hear their conversation here.

"Brad Mehldau is one of the most influential and acclaimed jazz pianists living today," Sam Briger, producer of NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross, says of his guest on the show. From the piano at WNYC Studios in New York City, Mehldau talks with Briger about his upcoming live solo album, Your Mother Should Know: Brad Mehldau Plays The Beatles, out this Friday, and performs several musical examples during their conversation. They also discuss Mehldau's new memoir, Formation, due in March from Equinox Publishing. You can hear it here.

Molly Tuttle was on NPR's All Things Considered as part of its series on first-time Grammy Award nominees. Tuttle is nominated for two Grammy Awards: Best New Artist and, with her band Golden Highway, Best Bluegrass Album for their debut album, Crooked Tree. She talks with host Ailsa Chang from the famed Station Inn in Nashville and performs the title track to the album. You can hear it here.

Makaya McCraven was on NPR's World Cafe to talk with host Raina Douris about his new album, In These Times, and share two tracks from it—the title track and "The Calling"—performed live at his 2020 debut concert at Chicago's Symphony Center. You can hear their conversation and the performances here.