World Cafe

Jacob Collier is being considered for Album of the Year at the Grammys. Djesse [pronounced Jessie] Volume 4 is a continuation of his ambitious project to collaborate with dozens of artists. The British singer, songwriter, and composer talks about what he’s learned and why he’s happy to take on the role of “music teacher to the internet”, on the next World Cafe.

The lead singer of Portishead, Beth Gibbons, has one of the most distinct voices in popular music. Earlier this year she released her debut solo album, Lives Outgrown, to critical acclaim – it was nominated for Britian’s biggest music award, The Mercury Prize. Coming up, Beth Gibbons joins us for a mini concert playing songs from Lives Outgrown, recorded at Royal Albert Hall in London, complete with an eight-piece band, on the next World Cafe.

Michael Kiwanuka’s new album, Small Changes, strips away excess production elements, to remind people why we fell in love with him in the first place, his voice. Kiwanuka, who once again worked with Danger Mouse and Inflo, will talk about big life events and the small changes he made to navigate them. Plus, we’ll hear songs from the new album. It’s Michael Kiwanuka on the next World Cafe.

Thanksgiving is all about gathering with the folks you love, so this year the whole World Cafe team got together to make a playlist of their favorite cozy fall songs to set the mood for your celebration. The perfect soundtrack to turkey roasting, potato mashing and taking half-naps on the couch – next time on a Thanksgiving World Cafe.

Since 2000, AmericanaFest has been a showcase of all things Americana and beyond. Hundreds of artists have played dozens of venues over the last 25 years in Nashville, including some of the biggest in the world. Join us for the final installment of AmericanaFest Highlights, putting the spotlight on some of our favorite performances from AmericanaFest 2024, including Charles Wesley Godwin, Donavon Frankenreiter, and Iron & Wine. That’s on the next World Cafe.

35 years ago, Queen Latifah took over the hip-hop throne with the release of her debut album, All Hail the Queen. World Cafe correspondent John Morrison talks about how that album challenged the historically male-dominated hip-hop space, and about Queen Latifah’s legacy – on a new edition of the Culture Corner, next time on World Cafe.

Call it an American Invasion: Lucinda Williams crossed the Atlantic to record her new album, Lucinda Williams sings the Beatles from Abbey Road. We’ll feature music from her tribute to the Fab Four, and revisit a conversation with Lucinda from last year, where she talks in depth about her memoir “Don’t Tell Anybody the Secrets I Told You”, including the stories behind of some of her most iconic songs. It’s Lucinda Williams on the next World Cafe.

On McKinley Dixon’s new album, Beloved! Paradise! Jazz?, he moved to Chicago, looking for a blank canvas to generate ideas for this wildly inventive and sonically lush LP that tackles themes of longing. Dixon will talk about why his sound can be difficult to pin down, his love of animation, and how the author Toni Morrison inspired the album’s title, on the next World Cafe.

We’re revisiting our favorite conversations of 2023, and if you like wordplay and huge dirty guitar riffs that sound like no one else, Queens of the Stone Age are back with their first new album in six years, called In Times New Roman. Frontman Josh Homme joins World Cafe host Raina Douris to discuss self-producing the album, as well as the influence of polka on his music. Then, Oliver Sim of The XX discusses taking inspiration from horror movies for his solo debut, Hideous Bastard. Sim will talk about the album and why he empathizes with the monsters in those films, on the next World Cafe.

2023 marked the long-awaited arrival of De La Soul’s catalog to streaming services. In one of our favorite interviews of the year, De La Soul’s Maseo and Posdnuos join us to look back on their remarkable career, including 1989’s seminal album, 3 Feet High and Rising. Plus, in another highlight conversation, we’ll talk with Tom Rowlands of The Chemical Brothers to find out how they chase emotions through sound on their latest album, For That Beautiful Feeling. That’s coming up on World Cafe.