Kimberly Junod

Warmth. That's the word that keeps popping up when I try to decide how to describe Brandi Carlile. Warmth is what she treats you with in conversation, always ready with a laugh, a thoughtful answer or a curious question.

Mickey Guyton is power personified. Equipped with a big voice and an even bigger message, Guyton represents a new generation of women making music in Nashville. Regardless of whether or not her music gets airplay on mainstream country radio, she makes country music to share her truth.

Matthew E. White co-founded Spacebomb Group, a music company based out of Richmond, Va., where he's given himself the chance to produce albums for artists like Natalie Prass. But White also makes music of his own.

Today's World Cafe session might inspire you to go back and read the journals you wrote as a kid. It's what started Lucy Dacus on the road to her latest album, Home Video. It's a collection of personal moments from the singer-songwriter's life, translated into song by way of her vulnerable, honest lyricism.

It probably comes as little surprise that Jakob Dylan thinks about songwriting a lot. He's been crafting songs for more than 30 years between his solo work and leading The Wallflowers.

Neil Finn was onstage with Fleetwood Mac when he was struck with the feeling of missing his own band, Crowded House. It had been over a decade since it last released an album, but that didn't stop Finn from pursuing a new project with bassist Nick Seymour and keyboardist Mitchell Froom.

When Valerie June enters a room, the air transforms. When she sings, her voice hits like an ocean wave and carries the listener along with it. With power and restraint, she uses her voice to its full effect.

John Hiatt is one of America's songwriting treasures. His work has been covered by dozens of artists over the years, including Bob Dylan and Bonnie Raitt. Hiatt's 22nd studio album finds him teaming with another legendary musician, Jerry Douglas.

Whatever you do, do not call Tom Jones' latest album a "covers album." More than that, Surrounded By Time is Jones' 41st studio album. It is also the fourth in a string of records produced by Ethan Johns, wherein Jones reinterprets the music of a wide variety of artists. His son, Mark Woodward, also joins as a producer on the new album.

The release of the latest Fleet Foxes album was all about timing. The digital version of the band's album Shore dropped on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2020, at exactly 9:31 a.m. eastern time – the precise moment of the autumnal equinox. But the physical version is coming out now – right around the spring equinox. So... why the delay?

The Grammys, like pretty much all of this year's awards season, are operating a little differently this year. While we usually find out the winners in February, this year the honors were pushed back, to this Sunday, March 14.

We catch up with TJ and John Osborne, aka The Brothers Osborne, who have carved an unusual path in country music. Theirs encompasses lots of interesting flavors, including blues, rock and bluegrass, which informs what they do, to create something still within the realm of country, but with a personal twist.

The presents are under the tree, the cookies are out of the oven, the eggnog has been dusted with a fine layer of nutmeg, and joining me by the roaring World Cafe fire is Andrew Bird. He's here to play songs from his new Christmas album, Hark!

It's a busy time for music critics as they prepare for the annual tradition of identifying the year's best albums and songs in listicle form. World Cafe Nashville correspondent Ann Powers took a break from her NPR deliberatons to share one more roundup of new songs coming out of the Music City.

Margo Price is new Nashville royalty, a crown princess that has carved out a lofty perch by being true to herself.

You might think that sitting down with two of music's biggest superstars would be kind of intimidating — that someone who has spent the last year breaking sales records and accepting countless awards would maybe be hard to relate to.

Pete Townshend: Not only is he the major creative force behind The Who, but he's also released several of his own solo records, prompted the first-known use of the term "rock opera" (for 1969's Tommy) and he's even credited with being the first person to smash a guitar on stage.

This summer, The Raconteurs released its first new album in 11 years.

Carlos Santana is arguably one of the most influential guitarists of the last 50 years — from his groundbreaking performance at Woodstock to his millions of albums sold in the '70s to his revival in the late '90s thanks to the album Supernatural and its lead single "Smooth." Santana's latest album is called Africa Speaks, which just came out on June 7.

David Keenan is a young singer with an old poet's soul and wardrobe. His acoustic guitar is adorned with pieces of poems, love letters and photographs.