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Heavy Rotation: 10 Songs Public Radio Can't Stop Playing

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Courtesy of the artist

World Cafe

Heavy Rotation: 10 Songs Public Radio Can't Stop Playing

September 1, 2018 • This month's playlist includes 10 songs by Slingshot artists: public radio's favorite new musicians of 2018.

Listen: Octavian Takes Off With 'SPACEMAN' Mixtape

Octavian's latest mixtape SPACEMAN is available now. Will Robson Scott /Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Will Robson Scott /Courtesy of the artist

New Music

Listen: Octavian Takes Off With 'SPACEMAN' Mixtape

September 10, 2018 • The Southeast London rapper drops off his first project since being named one of NPR's Slingshot artists, playing hopscotch with trance, alternative R&B and hip-hop all at once.

Hear New Music From Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker, Lucy Dacus' Supergroup Boygenius

Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus are boygenius. Lera Pentelute/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Lera Pentelute/Courtesy of the artist

New Music

Hear New Music From Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker, Lucy Dacus' Supergroup Boygenius

August 21, 2018 • The three songwriters share a musical sensibility and a friendship, so it's only natural they combined their superpowers for a collection of aching, intimate songs.

Bedouine performs a Tiny Desk Concert on April 16, 2018 (Bob Boilen/NPR). Bob Boilen/NPR hide caption

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Tiny Desk

Bedouine: Tiny Desk Concert

April 30, 2018 • Bedouine is Azniv Korkejian, a singer and guitarist who echoes sounds from the 1960's North American folk songwriters, but with vocal inflections closer to Leonard Cohen than to Joni Mitchell.

Dermot Kennedy performs a Tiny Desk Concert on July 27, 2018 (Eslah Attar/NPR). Eslah Attar/NPR hide caption

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Eslah Attar/NPR

Tiny Desk

Dermot Kennedy: Tiny Desk Concert

August 24, 2018 • Backed for the first time ever by members of the Howard Gospel Choir, the Irish singer-songwriter shows off a voice built to fill stadiums in more ways than one.

George Li performs a Tiny Desk Concert on July 31, 2018 (Eric Lee/NPR). Eric Lee/NPR hide caption

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Eric Lee/NPR

Tiny Desk

George Li: Tiny Desk Concert

August 31, 2018 • Watch the young Harvard grad dispatch some of the most "knuckle-busting" piano repertoire with uncommon panache and precision.

Haley Heynderickx performs a Tiny Desk Concert on July 2, 2018 (Eric Lee/NPR). Eric Lee/NPR hide caption

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Eric Lee/NPR

Tiny Desk

Haley Heynderickx: Tiny Desk Concert

August 3, 2018 • One of our favorite new artists of 2018 visits the Tiny Desk.

Hatchie Takes Fans Along For The Ride With An Intimate Tour Diary

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Music

Hatchie Takes Fans Along For The Ride With An Intimate Tour Diary

WFUV and Folk Alley

July 31, 2018 • The Australian band's sound is riddled with early 2000's vibes reminiscent of Beanie Babies and low rise jeans. A reemergence of that sound is exactly what the band's homeland of Australia needed.

WebsterX's New Trio Of Songs Denotes His Restless Summer

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New Music

WebsterX's New Trio Of Songs Denotes His Restless Summer

88nine Radio Milwaukee

July 27, 2018 • Leading the the hip-hop Renaissance in Milwaukee, 26-year-old rapper Webster X punctuates his three new singles with unbridled charisma and a "who asked you?" mentality.

Watch Kansas City's Hembree Layer Up An All-Out Jam

Raymond Furey/Raymond Furey

SXSW 2018

Watch Kansas City's Hembree Layer Up An All-Out Jam

opbmusic.org

March 23, 2018 • The relatively new band, selected for our Slingshot program, knows how to start small and end big. "Had It All" takes a looping pop riff and ramps it up to an all-out rock jam.

Watch Gracie And Rachel Bring The Moody Ballad 'Only A Child' To SXSW

Raymond Furey

SXSW 2018

Watch Gracie And Rachel Bring The Moody Ballad 'Only A Child' To SXSW

Nevada Public Radio

March 26, 2018 • These Brooklyn-based childhood friends from Berkeley, Calif. create what they call orchestral pop.

Raymond Furey/Raymond Furey

Watch WebsterX Get The Crowd Jumping On 'Until I'

88nine Radio Milwaukee

March 23, 2018 • The Milwaukee rapper is an arts activist involved in community engagement. The NPR Slingshot artist's charisma and passion paints his high-energy performance.

Sudan Archives' Disparate Sound, Inspired By Jellyfish, Pulls From Everywhere

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Review

All Songs Considered

Sudan Archives' Disparate Sound, Inspired By Jellyfish, Pulls From Everywhere

April 6, 2018 • Violin plucks, finger snaps and a slick flow percolate on "Nont For Sale," the first taste of Sudan Archives' upcoming EP Sink.

Nilüfer Yanya Sings A Lullaby In A Place Of Uncommon Objects

Nülifer Yanya plays a South X Lullaby. Nickolai Hammar/NPR hide caption

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Nickolai Hammar/NPR

SXSW 2018

Nilüfer Yanya Sings A Lullaby In A Place Of Uncommon Objects

April 6, 2018 • The London-based singer performs in a shop filled with sentimental curiosities of a world gone by, while singing about old memories and the pain of lost love.

Mt. Joy's Mountain Of Accolades: The Band Unpacks Its Humble Beginnings

Mt. Joy band members Matt Quinn and Sam Cooper with NV89 on-air personality Willobee Carlan. Malayna Joy/Nevada Public Radio hide caption

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Malayna Joy/Nevada Public Radio

Music Interviews

Mt. Joy's Mountain Of Accolades: The Band Unpacks Its Humble Beginnings

NV89

July 19, 2018 • The indie rock group has had a booming year with appearances on 'Conan' and at festivals like Lollapalooza and Bonnaroo. But before cracking out the instruments, the members cracked open law books.

Mt. Joy's Mountain Of Accolades: The Band Unpacks Its Humble Beginnings

58:55

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Frank Ockenfels/Courtesy of the artist

Read Phoebe Bridgers' Tour Diary, In Her Own Words

June 1, 2018 • The 2018 Slingshot artist writes an NPR-exclusive chronicle of life on the road promoting 2017's Stranger in the Alps. The saga involves Whole Foods coffee, Harry Potter and forgotten lyrics.

Watch The Shacks Perform Live For WGBH's Front Row Boston Series

The Shacks performed an 11-song concert at WGBH's Fraser Performance Studio. WGBH hide caption

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WGBH

Watch The Shacks Perform Live For WGBH's Front Row Boston Series

WGBH Radio

June 12, 2018 • The Shacks make woozy rock reminiscent of The Zombies. Watch an intimate concert recorded inside WGBH's Fraser Performance Studio.

Jade Bird backstage during 2018 Stagecoach Country Music Festival on April 27, 2018 in Indio, Calif. Jason Kempin/Getty Images hide caption

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Jason Kempin/Getty Images

All Bets Are On Jade Bird

KERA

May 21, 2018 • The British-born artist developed a fondness for American country music in her teens. At just 20 years old, the NPR Music Slingshot artist's new single is starting to break big in the U.S.

All Bets Are On Jade Bird

Listen · 2:34 2:34

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Transcript

Fans Of '90s Indie Rock Need To Hear Hello June

Kevin Jack Photography

New Music

Fans Of '90s Indie Rock Need To Hear Hello June

West Virginia Public Broadcasting

June 28, 2018 • The West Virginia-based band's new single, "Mars," will bring you back to the days of Bill Clinton and MTV's 120 Minutes.

Phoebe Bridgers Sings An Ode To New Love With 'Georgia' On The World Cafe

Phoebe Bridgers inside the World Cafe Performance Studio at WXPN in Philadelphia. Galea McGregor/WXPN hide caption

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Galea McGregor/WXPN

World Cafe

Phoebe Bridgers Sings An Ode To New Love With 'Georgia' On The World Cafe

XPN

April 10, 2018 • Stranger in the Alps was one of NPR Music's Stephen Thompson's top albums of 2017. Watch Bridgers perform "Georgia" from her World Cafe studio session.

The South Meets Britain: Jade Bird Drops In On Deep Ellum, Texas

Jade Bird in front of a mural in the entertainment district of Deep Ellum, Dallas, Texas. Austin Roa /VuHaus hide caption

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Austin Roa /VuHaus

Music

The South Meets Britain: Jade Bird Drops In On Deep Ellum, Texas

KXT

June 5, 2018 • KXT spent two days with the British-born singer-songwriter as she explored the historic entertainment district east of downtown Dallas.

Brent Cowles Shares His Favorite Songs On The Colorado Sound

Brent Cowles taking over the airways at the Colorado Sound. Chris Coomey/Colorado Sound hide caption

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Chris Coomey/Colorado Sound

Brent Cowles Shares His Favorite Songs On The Colorado Sound

The Colorado Sound

June 27, 2018 • Cowles took over the decks at The Colorado Sound for a guest DJ appearance. His set included Blake Mills, Alabama Shakes and more.

Brent Cowles Introduces His Favorite Songs On The Colorado Sound

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