NPR Music

The World Cup is taking a page from the Super Bowl. For the first time ever, the final match will feature a halftime performance headlined by three acts, each of whom has captured the global spotlight this year.⁠ ⁠ 🔗 Tap the link in our bio to read more about the World Cup performers.

Jobi Riccio. Dua Saleh. Tank and the Bangas. Plus, others not named Drake! NPR Music's Stephen Thompson chats with Joe Kendrick of @wncw_radio in North Carolina about their favorite albums out today. Plus, a handful of NPR Music writers and critics offer personal picks in our lightning round ⚡️💿⁠ ⁠ 🎧 Listen to the episode at the link in our bio.

#tinydesk • The light and powerful @DonWas and the Pan-Detroit Ensemble breathes fire into a Grateful Dead classic ⚡️⁠ ⁠ Watch the full performance at the link in our bio, only on npr.org/tinydesk or @nprmusic 's YouTube❗️⁠ ⁠ Photo: @moogiem | Maia Stern/NPR

@s.g.goodman 's “(Re) Planting by the Signs,” a deluxe edition of her critically acclaimed 2025 album, expands the original record with five additional tracks, featuring Senora May and @timmytychilders , Dan Reeder, Goodman’s cover of “Pepper” by the Butthole Surfers and more. This album is special to us in public media. A portion of the proceeds from the Childers/May recording are being donated to Goodman’s local NPR station, @wkmssoundsgood , in Murray, Kentucky. Long live public radio. Photo credit: Emma Delevante & Ryan Hartley #sggoodman #tylerchilders #senoramay #music #Kentucky

The brothers and their parents were taken into federal custody earlier this year during a required immigration check-in. The story caught the ear of a country music icon.⁠ ⁠ Swipe through to learn more. Tap the link in our bio for the full story.⁠ ⁠ Reporting: Sergio Martínez-Beltrán/NPR⁠ Photos: @brendabazan • Brenda Bazán for NPR⁠

#tinytalk • The cast of @ragtimemusical share what they’ve learned from each other’s characters and how strength and hope carries their stories forward.⁠ ⁠ Tap the link in our bio to watch Ragtime's Tiny Desk Concert.⁠ ⁠ Host: @mitra_arthur • Mitra I. Arthur/NPR⁠ Producer: @alanteserene • Alanté Serene/NPR

Winning NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest still hasn’t sunk in for Cameron McCloud, frontman and co-founder of Cure for Paranoia. “I’m not gonna believe that it’s happening until I’m behind that little desk,” McCloud told KERA News shortly after hearing the news. The Dallas hip-hop collective has been making music together for 10 years, and has entered the contest for the past four. This year, the group filmed their entry in front of a 30-foot sculpture of an eyeball downtown. McCloud said that the band, which also includes producers Jay Analog and Tomahawk Jonez, wanted to make sure that viewers knew they were from Dallas. “And girl, if that didn’t work, we was just going to skydive off of Reunion Tower and play music, I guess,” McCloud joked. He recently sat down for a video interview with the station to talk about what the win means to his band, how North Texas has shaped him as a person and as a musician, and the importance of his late mother’s support. Watch the full conversation at the link in bio. Photo and video courtesy of Kathy Tran (@kathytranx ) #NPRTinyDesk #Dallas #NorthTexas #Hiphop

For this week's episode of 'Alt.Latino,' hosts Felix Contreras (@tiofelixc ) and Anamaria Sayre (@anamaria.sayre ) waded through hundreds of Tiny Desk Contest entries to select six standouts, which showcase a huge variety of musical expression💫⁠ ⁠ 🔗 Listen to the episode and watch the entries at the link in our bio.

#tinydesk • For a better part of the last 30 years, @foofighters has worn the crown for stadium-sized guitar rock. But for this performance, the band shrinks its sound down to something that fits perfectly behind the Desk🌟⁠ ⁠ Watch the full performance at the link in our bio, premiering only on npr.org/tinydesk or @nprmusic 's YouTube❗️

#tinydesk • Featuring new songs and beloved classics, @foofighters shrinks down its outsized sound without losing any urgency or oomph.⚡️ Tomorrow only on npr.org/tinydesk or @nprmusic ’s YouTube❗️ Photo: @Moogiem | Maia Stern/NPR

In some ways, M.I.A. feels like a proxy for what is currently happening to many online. She followed the conspiracy pipeline from anti-state to anti-infrastructure to post-science, and eventually went from seeing herself as a revolutionary agent of counterculture to seeing conspiracy theorists as the new counterculture, reading their anti-establishment posturing as a similar rejection of the status quo.⁠ ⁠ 🔗 Tap the link in our bio to read more about the M.I.A controversy.

Our latest mix of the best new tracks this week includes a massive eye-roll from Charli xcx, the first-ever solo music from Mike D of the Beastie Boys, another surprise drop from electronic music icons Boards of Canada, and more.⁠ ⁠ 🎧️ Listen to the episode at the link in our bio.