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NPR Music Presents: Josh Ritter In Concert

3.3.13 at 11:00pm by Stephen Thompson

Ritter's new album, The Beast in Its Tracks, is by any definition a breakup record; he wrote it following his own divorce, and every song finds him picking through a relationship's wreckage in pursuit of root causes and a way forward. Watch him perform the album's songs live on Monday, March 4 in an exclusive First Listen Live show for NPR Music.

First Listen: Richard Thompson, 'Electric'

1.30.13 at 12:45am by Stephen Thompson

The title of Thompson's 21st solo album promises a change of pace while doubling as a mission statement. And, sure enough, the record finds the great guitarist, singer and songwriter plugging in and indulging his rock 'n' roll side, complete with occasional solos that qualify as workouts.

Vampire Weekend, Live In Concert

5.15.13 at 7:15pm by Jason Bentley, KCRW Music Director

Watch the New York band perform a 12-song set, featuring material from its new album, Modern Vampires of the City. For this performance, recorded for KCRW, Vampire Weekend took a night off from a West Coast tour to play for a small audience of eager fans at Apogee's Berkeley Street Studio in Santa Monica.

First Listen: The Handsome Family, 'Wilderness'

5.13.13 at 12:15am by Stephen Thompson

The duo returns with a concept album about wildlife, with an emphasis on nature's capacity for destruction. Animals may burrow in and out of each of these songs, but they're merely helping humanity forge a pathway to madness.

First Listen: Piñata Protest, 'El Valiente'

5.13.13 at 12:15am by Felix Contreras

The band embraces the century-old traditions of Mexican music its members encountered while growing up in south Texas. But it also freshens classic sounds with an ear toward punk energy and reckless, intense power.

First Listen: G&D, 'The Lighthouse'

5.13.13 at 12:15am by Stephen Thompson

On The Lighthouse, Georgia Anne Muldrow and Dudley Perkins engineer an overstuffed, idea-packed collision of funk, soul, hip-hop, jazz, psychedelic space-rock, spoken-word poetry, protest music and more. Along the way, they examine innumerable intersections of love, politics, spirituality, healthy living, parenthood and world citizenship.

An Evening With Nico Muhly, 'Two Boys' And Other Works

5.9.13 at 4:00pm by Anastasia Tsioulcas

Join us for an intimate concert inspired by Muhly's exciting, intrigue-filled opera Two Boys, commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera. Muhly is joined by close friends including singers Paul Appleby and Jennifer Zetlan, violist Nadia Sirota and duo violinists Angela and Jennifer Chun.

Ólafur Arnalds, Live In Concert

5.7.13 at 11:00am by Bob Boilen

How can music be happy and sad at the same time? Listen to Arnalds' work and you'll hear it. This performance at New York City's (Le) Poisson Rouge re-imagines the Icelandic musician's magnificent work with a small orchestra: 28 musicians known as Ensemble LPR, along with guest singer Arnor Dan.

First Listen: Classixx, 'Hanging Gardens'

5.5.13 at 11:45pm by Otis Hart

All at once, Hanging Gardens feels vibrant and vintage, unmistakably young and inexplicably nostalgic. Classixx's Michael David and Tyler Blake may be known as DJs, but they're pop stars at heart, with melody reigning over rhythm and simple chord progressions carrying the day.

First Listen: Eluvium, 'Nightmare Ending'

5.5.13 at 11:45pm by Robin Hilton

Often amorphous and mostly instrumental, Matthew Cooper's songs suggest a sea of emotions: joy, sorrow, fear, love, awe. Nightmare Ending is a double album of hymns celebrating the majesty and wonder of life.