NPR Music

With a recurrence of cancer, famed conductor Michael Tilson Thomas is ending his musical career. One of his final concerts is in Miami Beach, where he'll lead the orchestral academy he helped found.

Singer/songwriter Lucy Dacus's new album Forever Is a Feeling features music written about "falling in love, falling out of love." She adds, "You have to destroy things in order to create things. And I did destroy a really beautiful life."

The New York City debut from the British soul singer counters the prevailing narrative around her. As she guided fans in spiritual healing, she did it as she has her whole career: on her own terms.

In the early 1990's, American rock music was just beginning to emerge from "hair metal." A new book recounts the wild festival of music and activism that helped redefine rock: "Lollapalooza."

The rapper Playboi Carti's much-hyped MUSIC leads this week in albums. Plus, the rapper Doechii continues to make gains with her recently released "Anxiety" and Chappell Roan finds minor country chart success with "The Giver."

The jazz singer's 1960s concert career is amply documented on record, with live albums from Berlin, LA, Tokyo and the French Riviera. Now comes a newly released concert of Fitzgerald in Oakland, Calif.

Rising harpist Ashley Jackson explores spirituals, musical ancestors and the influence of the church on her new album, Take Me to the Water. She spoke with NPR's Michel Martin.

Mama Nous writes children's lullabies and simple songs that acknowledge universal emotional truths and help people process their feelings. Kids love them, but so do adults.

Even as the songs on Forever Is a Feeling chronicle a love that's come to fruition in public, Dacus still creates a particular kind of safe space for the fans who delight in swooning with her.

What does a K-pop idol look like when set free from the system? On their own for the first time, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa and Rosé each arrive at a different answer.