NYC Music News

Girls to the Front: Punk Pioneers Are Coming to Lincoln Center

The institution’s annual American Songbook series honors “singer outsiders” including Fanny and Poly Styrene in events curated by Kathleen Hanna and Tamar-kali.

Published on: March 25, 2025, 5:34 pm

NewJeans Had Planned a Rebirth. The Performance Ended in Tears.

K-pop’s most imaginative group has been battling its powerhouse label. Our critic watched as its first concert in months was upended by a court ruling.

Published on: March 25, 2025, 1:31 pm

How the Dutch National Opera Is Trying to Go Green

The Dutch National Opera in Amsterdam has made dramatic moves to go green, from the materials it uses in productions to the food it serves.

Published on: March 25, 2025, 9:01 am

Branford Marsalis and Steve Lehman Rethink the Jazz Cover Album

Marsalis leads a take on Keith Jarrett’s 1974 LP “Belonging,” and Lehman interprets “The Music of Anthony Braxton,” revealing fresh lessons.

Published on: March 25, 2025, 9:01 am

6 (Up-tempo) New Songs You Should Hear Now

Get your blood pumping with the latest tracks from Chappell Roan, J Noa, Illuminati Hotties and more.

Published on: March 25, 2025, 6:00 pm

Wild Up’s Darkness Sounding Festival: The Power of Tuning

The Los Angeles collective Wild Up brought its Darkness Sounding festival to New York, with some of the event’s appeal lost in transit.

Published on: March 24, 2025, 6:38 pm

Brian James, Pioneer of Punk Rock, Is Dead at 70

As the guitarist and main songwriter for the Damned, he helped spark an explosion on the British music scene in the 1970s.

Published on: March 23, 2025, 6:25 pm

Marty Callner, Director of Comedy Specials and Music Videos, Dies at 78

At HBO in the late 1970s, he established the template for presenting stand-up on the small screen. He then became a mainstay of MTV in its early days.

Published on: March 25, 2025, 1:58 pm

The Brooklyn Academy of Music Is Fighting to Regain its Mojo

The performing arts venue does not draw the attention or audiences it once did. Now it has lost another leader as it works to adjust to an uncertain future for cultural institutions.

Published on: March 25, 2025, 1:45 pm

Mariah Carey Did Not Copy ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ From Earlier Hit, Judge Rules

Two songwriters had filed a $20 million lawsuit accusing her of infringing on their copyright of a song with the same name: “All I Want for Christmas Is You.”

Published on: March 23, 2025, 12:54 am

‘Love Life,’ the Lost Great American Musical, Returns Over 75 Years Later

Kurt Weill and Alan Jay Lerner’s pioneering “Love Life” was thwarted by circumstance. Now, it is coming to Encores! at New York City Center.

Published on: March 22, 2025, 9:00 am

Mayhem Has the Wildest Story in Black Metal. Somehow, It’s Turning 40.

The Norwegian band’s early years were punctuated by headlines about death and church burnings. It went on to become a beacon of experimentation in the genre.

Published on: March 22, 2025, 9:00 am

The Power of ‘Two’: An Anniversary Playlist

Celebrate two years of this newsletter with songs by Dolly Parton, Stacey Q, Mitski and more.

Published on: March 21, 2025, 6:00 pm

Japanese Breakfast’s Shimmering Sadness, and 8 More New Songs

Hear tracks by Marianne Faithfull, the Waterboys featuring Fiona Apple, Debby Friday and more.

Published on: March 21, 2025, 6:38 pm

Hiroshi Yoshimura’s Environmental Music Is Enchanting a New Generation

The Japanese musician, who wasn’t widely known before his death in 2003, has become a beacon for listeners on YouTube and beyond.

Published on: March 24, 2025, 9:41 pm

Is Playboi Carti Rap’s Next — or Last — Superstar?

After nearly five years of building hype, the Atlanta rapper’s 30-song third album, “Music,” has finally arrived. Let’s discuss.

Published on: March 21, 2025, 2:12 pm

Sound Engineer for Eminem Stole and Sold His Songs for Bitcoin, U.S. Says

About 25 unreleased songs by the rapper were discovered online, and investigators traced sales of the music to a former employee, according to federal prosecutors.

Published on: March 20, 2025, 10:20 pm

J.B. Moore, Producer of Seminal Hip-Hop Records, Dies at 81

He was a magazine ad salesman when he and a colleague, Robert Ford, teamed with Kurtis Blow and helped break rap music into the mainstream.

Published on: March 21, 2025, 6:21 pm

For Cleveland Orchestra, It’s Beethoven (and Freedom) to the Rescue

When the star singer Asmik Grigorian dropped out of the orchestra’s performance at Carnegie Hall, Beethoven’s Fifth and his “Leonore” Overture No. 3 subbed in.

Published on: March 20, 2025, 5:48 pm

Jensen McRae and 10 More Artists to Watch

Meet the buzzy folk-pop songwriter, plus a dancey noise band, a dexterous Dominican M.C., a new generation of SoundCloud rappers and more.

Published on: March 20, 2025, 9:03 am

‘Buena Vista Social Club’ Brings the Thrill of Music Making to Broadway

A new musical inspired by the 1997 hit album gives a fictional back story to the veteran performers of the Havana music scene.

Published on: March 20, 2025, 2:00 am

Touring Kennedy Center, Trump Mused on His Childhood ‘Aptitude for Music’

The president, who recently took over Washington’s major performing arts center, reportedly said that he had not been encouraged to develop his musical talents.

Published on: March 20, 2025, 12:39 am

Amid Kennedy Center Upheaval, a Maestro Decides to Stay On

As the center goes through changes after President Trump’s takeover, Gianandrea Noseda is extending his tenure at the National Symphony Orchestra, one of the center’s main groups.

Published on: March 19, 2025, 7:00 pm

Dismayed by Trump, the Star Pianist András Schiff Boycotts the U.S.

Mr. Schiff, who has refused to play in Russia and his native Hungary because of strongman rule, said he was alarmed by President Trump’s “unbelievable bullying.”

Published on: March 19, 2025, 4:12 pm

Yasuaki Shimizu, a Japanese Sax Master, Takes North America

The composer and saxophonist Yasuaki Shimizu is at home in free jazz, classical and art pop. Finally touring North America, he’s going big by staying small.

Published on: March 21, 2025, 3:29 pm

How Alison Krauss Found the Song That Rekindled Her Distinctive Band

After 14 years between albums, the singer and fiddler has regrouped Union Station to sing about darkness and light. The group is carrying on without a key member.

Published on: March 19, 2025, 2:34 pm