World Cafe

Written from the road, the relentlessly busy Charley Crockett titled his 14th album $10 Cowboy after being called one by a heckler on the street. As a part of World Cafe’s look back on the best interviews of 2024, hear Crockett talk about how he went from busking to becoming a rising star in the Americana world. Plus, in the second hour of World Cafe, Nashville singer-songwriter Lizzie No. She sees her record, Halfsies, as a video game – she explains why and shares how Beyonce’s Lemonade inspired her to ignore genres and follow her own path.

World Cafe is playing back some favorite interviews of 2024, including Nick Cave. His album Wild God bursts with joy – a contrast to Cave’s last two albums which saw him grappling with the recent death of his son. Nick Cave discusses religion, death, life – and how devastation and grief helped him accept the possibility of a joyful relationship with the world. Plus, in the second hour of World Cafe, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings. Their latest album, Woodland, is named after the pair’s Nashville studio, which was destroyed by the 2020 tornados. They talk about how the rebuilding process resulted in this new set of songs, the first original material from them in many years.

World Cafe is revisiting some of the best conversations of 2024, like jazz master Abdullah Ibrahim. He left South Africa in the 1960’s during apartheid and was signed by Duke Ellington. Now, at the age of 90, he is still creating fresh works and performing all over the world. Plus, in the second hour of World Cafe, Jon Muq. He grew up just outside of the capital of Uganda, but moved to Austin, Texas, to pursue his music career dreams. This Spring he put out his debut album, Flying Away, produced by Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys.

Christmas is a holiday full of traditions: you might hang the same decorations, watch the same movies, and eat the same food every year. When Ben Folds was making his new Christmas album, Sleigher, he was thinking about the way Christmas is a constant, no matter how much your life changes. He discusses the album and performs songs from it live, as we celebrate Christmas with Ben Folds on the next World Cafe.

For over 30 years, Radio DJ Robert Drake has been doing a Christmas Eve radio marathon broadcast called “The Night Before” from WXPN in Philadelphia. He joins World Cafe to spotlight the best new Christmas music, including songs from David Shaw of the Revivalists and John C. Reilly, and explore some of the more eccentric holiday offerings from over the years.

As part of our Best Interviews of 2024, join World Cafe for a session with Feist. In the first edition of the new feature, Backtracking, Feist looked through her back catalog and picked out four songs that marked special moments for her. She shares their stories and plays them live. Plus, in the second hour of World Cafe, Sampha. He wanted to create a sound that felt like a bird flying through the sky and you can hear that on his album, Lahai. He talks about that, the novella that inspired him, and how becoming a father has reshaped him.

Known for his uncanny ability to unearth surprising facts about some of the world’s most famous musicians, Nardwuar has become a legendary interviewer in the process. On the next World Cafe, the Canadian music journalist shares behind-the-scenes stories of some his most memorable encounters, including Snoop Dogg, Kurt Cobain, and James Brown. Plus, we dig into what drives his unrelenting curiosity.

This summer, King Gizzard and Lizard Wizard released their 26th album, Flight b741, their most collaborative album to date. But before World Cafe could tape our interview with them, the band announced a new album, next year’s Phantom Island. Exploring new sonic territory as usual, it’s their first record written and performed with an orchestra. Hear about both albums on the next World Cafe.

We return to Louisiana’s Cajun Country with a new installment of our monthly series Acadiana Music Showcase, produced in conjunction with our friends at KRVS in Lafayette, LA. Experience a live performance from the indie rock quintet The Debtors, that includes music from their latest album Everyone is Alright, on the next World Cafe.

Quincy Jones was a peerless figure in popular music. He passed away in November at the age of 91, and on the next World Cafe, Culture Corner correspondent John Morrison takes you through some of Quincy Jones’ work in pop, jazz, and film, as he shows how pretty much all of post-World War II popular music can be traced along Quincy Jones’ career.