World Cafe

Noeline Hofmann grew up in Alberta, spending time herding cattle as a ranch hand. The 21-year-old singer-songwriter has a gift for conveying the imagery of the rugged West in songs like “Purple Gas”. Coming up, Noeline Hofmann joins World Cafe to talk about what being a ranch hand has in common with writing songs, and we’ll hear live performances recorded in studio.

Five years ago, MJ Lenderman was working at an ice cream shop – now, he’s being profiled by GQ and The New York Times, with his latest album, Manning Fireworks, being called one of the best of last year. MJ Lenderman performs songs from the new album live and talks about how he stays creative in a world full of distractions, on the next World Cafe.

Brooklyn band Momma’s latest album, Welcome to My Blue Sky, is a compilation of stories from their first tour, including the changes and challenges that come with being on the road. On the next World Cafe, Momma performs songs from Welcome to My Blue Sky, live, plus they discuss the album, as well as the strangest experience they’ve had on stage.

Yasmin Williams can do incredible things with an acoustic guitar. On her latest album, Acadia, the virtuoso explores the past, present, and future of the instrument, with collaborations from Aoife O’Donovan, Darlingside, and Don Flemons. Coming up, Yasmin Williams talks about why she’ll sometimes spend hours refining a single note, and shares dazzling live performances.

Sharon Van Etten had had a streak of impressive solo records dating back to her debut, Because I Was in Love, but on her new album, the backing band became the band, period. They’re called The Attachment Theory and it’s the most collaborative record Van Etten’s made to date. Coming up, Sharon and bassist Devra Hoff join World Cafe to talk about taking a sonic trust fall and share live performances from their self-titled debut.

Matt Farley has written over 25,000 songs – some about food, some about celebrities, some about body parts, birthdays, or animals. He may have a song with your name in it. Together, those songs have racked up millions of streams online. On the next World Cafe, Farley talks about why he writes so much and about the accusation that he is not an artist, but a “song spammer.”

Chuck Prophet dove deeply into Cumbia music during the COVID lockdowns and while being treated for Stage 4 lymphoma. Healthy again, he has released an album called Wake the Dead with the Cumbia group ¿Qiensave? and is out touring. On the next World Cafe, he talks about what Cumbia has in common with punk music and what encouraged him to follow his love of Cumbia on the new album.

Will Marsh left his home in Virginia during the pandemic and headed south to New Orleans. It was there that he retooled his band, Gold Connections, and headed into the studio to make Fortune, a dynamic indie rock record that carries the DNA of old Virginia and the modern spirit of New Orleans. Coming up, Gold Connections joins us for a mini concert, playing songs from Fortune.

Oasis are back together, and on the next World Cafe, revisit Liam Gallagher’s 2019 stop by the show, where he talked about his album, Why Me? Why Not. Liam also looks back on the first Oasis album, Definitely Maybe, and shares what song from that record meant the most to him.

Every artist’s discography tells a story. On a new Backtracking, Keith Urban looks back at his entire catalogue and tells stories about songs that played a special role in his life and career: the song that changed everything, the song he wrote in just one sitting, the song that surprised him and made him cry, and more. That’s next time on World Cafe.