World Cafe

For years, Willie Watson was an integral part of Old Crow Medicine Show. After he parted ways with the band, the singer wiped the slate clean, releasing a pair of cover albums. On his new self-titled album, Watson’s songwriting and voice are front and center. On the next World Cafe, Willie Watson joins us to play songs from the new record, and he talks about finding the confidence to write and record in his own way.

When Big Thief’s Buck Meek first heard the music of folk artist Tucker Zimmerman he heard a kindred musical soul. Zimmerman, who has been recording since the 1960s, made his latest album, Dance of Love, with Big Thief. Both Zimmerman and Meek talk about how they found each other and made music together on the next World Cafe.

For Brazilian indie pop artist Felipe Puperi, music is about feeling, not thinking. That’s part of what guides his music as the songwriter and producer for the indie-pop band Tagua Tagua. You can clear your mind and feel the music with an exclusive live mini concert from Tagua Tagua, on the next World Cafe.

Peter Cat Recording Co.’s latest album Beta, was self-described as a “collection of stories about the future, told 50 years in the past, to make sense of the present.” The Indian rock band, originally from Delhi, join World Cafe to talk about how retreating to the beachside region of Goa changed the sound of the new record, and we’ll hear songs from Beta.

Grammy winning, singer-songwriter Sarah Jarosz is opening up on her latest album, Polaroid Lovers. She’s not only opening up emotionally (the first time she ever cried in the studio was while recording one of the songs on the album), but she’s also opening up creatively by working with more collaborators and co-writers. Hear her talk about that, and the instrument she calls her soulmate: the octave mandolin, on the next World Cafe.

After the departure of their longtime lead guitarist, Toronto band Valley pressed the reset button, putting pen to paper immediately. Rob Laska and Karah [like Sarah] James join us to talk about how that experience taught the band how to press on. Valley will also play songs from their new album, Water the Flowers, Pray for a Garden, on the next World Cafe.