Accessibility links
Ra Ra Riot Ra Ra Riot artist page: interviews, features and/or performances archived at NPR Music

Ra Ra Riot

Ra Ra Riot On Mountain Stage

Ra Ra Riot on Mountain Stage Brian Blauser/Mountain Stage hide caption

toggle caption
Brian Blauser/Mountain Stage

Mountain Stage

Ra Ra Riot On Mountain Stage

The indie-rock band known for its chamber-pop flourishes visits West Virginia with new songs in tow.

Ra Ra Riot On Mountain Stage

  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/476609807/476610193" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Ra Ra Riot On World Cafe

Ra Ra Riot performs at World Cafe Live in Philadelphia. Breanna Keohane/WXPN hide caption

toggle caption
Breanna Keohane/WXPN

World Cafe

Ra Ra Riot On World Cafe

XPN

On the new Need Your Light, the band worked with Rostam Batmanglij, formerly of Vampire Weekend.

Ra Ra Riot on World Cafe

  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/468926783/468933881" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
More Than Just 'Indie Rock With Strings': Ra Ra Riot On Evolving Together

Ra Ra Riot is known for making indie rock you can dance to. Their new album, Need Your Light, is out now. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

toggle caption
Courtesy of the artist

Music Interviews

More Than Just 'Indie Rock With Strings': Ra Ra Riot On Evolving Together

The band is known for combining elements of rock, classical and electronic music. After making music together for over a decade, the members say they're aiming at a different goal.

More Than Just 'Indie Rock With Strings': Ra Ra Riot On Evolving Together

Listen · 2:56
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/467209159/467468465" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Review

New Music

Songs Of The Week: A Tournament Of Music

March is the month of tournaments, but why should college basketball have all the fun? Every weekday at NPR Music brings a new Song of the Day, so Jacki Lyden and Song of the Day editor Stephen Thompson recently sat down to debate this past week's selections.

Songs Of The Week: A Tournament Of Music

Listen · 4:31
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/102458401/102473251" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Review

Song Of The Day

Ra Ra Riot: Poignant And Propulsive

"Dying Is Fine" swipes a line from an E.E. Cummings poem and repurposes it in a catchy chorus. The song has appeared on early Ra Ra Riot singles, but it sounds especially polished and lively here, thanks in part to its sleek production and the surprisingly subtle strings, which add melancholy shading and a jolt of rhythm.

'Dying Is Fine' by Ra Ra Riot

  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/96500093/96496656" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Studio Sessions

Ra Ra Riot Navigates The Hype

WNYC Radio

The young band overcame the accidental death of its drummer to release its widely hailed debut full-length, The Rhumb Line. Ra Ra Riot performs in the studio and talks about nautical charts, string sections and the influence of Kate Bush.

Ra Ra Riot in Studio on WNYC Soundcheck - 08/18/2008

  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/94106363/94079212" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Song Premiere: Ra Ra Riot, 'Beta Love'

Ra Ra Riot. Shervin Lainez/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

toggle caption
Shervin Lainez/Courtesy of the artist

All Songs Considered

Song Premiere: Ra Ra Riot, 'Beta Love'

Download the fizzily catchy title track from Ra Ra Riot's new album, which comes out Jan. 22, 2013. "Beta Love" is the sound of a band that's left a lot of its grandiosity behind, but the band's intellectual curiosity remains intact.

Beta Love

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/164978249/164819796" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Live in Concert

Ra Ra Riot In Concert

Ra Ra Riot's first two years of existence have been difficult, but the band just put out a beautifully polished and inspired debut, The Rhumb Line. Hear the group showcase the album in a full concert, webcast live from the Black Cat in Washington, D.C.

Ra Ra Riot In Concert

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/95519776/95661873" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Ra Ra Riot On Mountain Stage

Ra Ra Riot performed on Mountain Stage. Brian Blauser/Mountain Stage hide caption

toggle caption
Brian Blauser/Mountain Stage

Mountain Stage

Ra Ra Riot On Mountain Stage

Indie-rock favorites Ra Ra Riot brings its string section to West Virginia's most famous stage. Hear a six-song set recorded live at the Cultural Center Theater in Charleston.

Ra Ra Riot On Mountain Stage

  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/136155367/136152828" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Ra Ra Riot On World Cafe

Ra Ra Riot performs on World Cafe. courtesy of the artist hide caption

toggle caption
courtesy of the artist

World Cafe

Ra Ra Riot On World Cafe

XPN

The band's style is fresh and innovative, capturing audiences with swooning string sections, melodious pop hooks and taught rhythms. Listen, as these five young musicians play songs from their new album, The Orchard.

Listen Now

  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/130217131/131326926" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Ra Ra Riot In Concert

Ra Ra Riot perform at noon ET at World Cafe Live. Doron Gild hide caption

toggle caption
Doron Gild

Concerts

Ra Ra Riot In Concert

XPN

The Syracuse pop band has made quite the name for itself in a short period of time. Listen to live versions of songs from its forthcoming album, The Orchard, from the World Cafe Live stage in Philadelphia.

Ra Ra Riot In Concert

  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/129159160/129180451" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
New Mix: Liz Phair, Ra Ra Riot, Vijay Iyer, More

Review

All Songs Considered

New Mix: Liz Phair, Ra Ra Riot, Vijay Iyer, More

On this edition of All Songs Considered, we share a track from Liz Phair, Bon Iver drummer Sean Carey, The Books, Agent Ribbons, David Dondero, Olof Arnalds, Vijay Iyer and Ra Ra Riot.

New Mix: Liz Phair, Ra Ra Riot, Vijay Iyer, More

Listen · 38:51
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/128621421/128619662" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

World Cafe

Ra Ra Riot: The Key To Melancholy

XPN

Ra Ra Riot features swooning strings, pop hooks and sinuous rock rhythms in a session from WXPN. After the tragic death of drummer and songwriter John Pike in 2007, the recording process for The Rhumb Line proved to be cathartic. The album takes a positive outlook on the darker side of life.

Ra Ra Riot in Studio on World Cafe 12/3/08

  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/97744615/97739524" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Review

World Cafe

Ra Ra Riot Crosses 'The Rhumb Line'

XPN

Ra Ra Riot features swooning violin and cello lines, pop hooks and sinuous rock rhythms that bring to mind Spoon with strings. After the tragic loss of the band's drummer and songwriter, The Rhumb Line is the product of a cathartic recording process that takes a positive outlook on the darker side of life.

Ra Ra Riot Crosses 'The Rhumb Line'

  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/95689669/95666742" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Browse archive or search npr.org