A playlist to keep things hot as summer's end draws near

Plus, Tiny Desk concerts from Juilliard Jazz.

View this email online Sept. 3, 2022 by Marissa Lorusso This week, we’re sharing our roséwave playlist for the end of summer; plus, we catch up with former Tiny Desk Contest winners. Zayrha Rodriguez/NPR It’s Labor Day weekend, which (unofficially) marks the end of summer. When summer 2022 kicked off, we were still hitting repeat on Kendrick Lamar’s introspective, complex album Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers; then, of course, we couldn’t stop talking about Beyoncé’s Renaissance. And for the past month, our team has been listening to Tommy McLain’s swamp pop, Eli Winter’s inventive guitar music and The Mountain Goats’ action-movie-inspired new release — you can hear a conversation about those records (and more) on a new episode of All Songs Considered about the best music we heard in August. But if you’re mourning the end of the season and want to hold on to some of that summer heat, we’ve got a playlist for you. The final edition of this year’s roséwave series is a tribute to what writer Reanna Cruz calls “the beautiful, fleeting feeling of good-natured lawlessness” that characterized their summer, featuring selections from The B-52s, Bad Bunny, Madonna, Lady Gaga and more. I loved all the roséwave playlists that my colleague Lars Gotrich commissioned this summer — perfect imagined soundtracks for seasonal flings, family fiestas, hypothetical romances and summer getaways. (Singer-songwriter Maggie Rogers even made us one!) While roséwave season may soon be in the rearview, I’m going to try to follow Reanna’s lead. “Even though the days are getting shorter and the wind is getting colder, that doesn't matter,” they write; their playlist has “the energy that's gonna get you through the rest of the year.” Another series I’ve been keeping an eye on this summer comes from the members of our Tiny Desk Contest team. They’ve been spending the summer catching up with some of our contest winners and asking how their lives have changed since they came to the Desk. That includes this year’s winner, Alisa Amador, who recently spent some time headlining the cross-country Tiny Desk Contest On The Road tour. The team also caught up with 2016 winner Gaelynn Lea, who has performed all over the world, co-founded a coalition that amplifies disability culture in the music industry and started writing a book — and, most recently, wrote music for the Broadway adaptation of Macbeth. Lastly, the team spoke to Fantastic Negrito, who won the first Tiny Desk Contest in 2015. He’s gone on to headline world tours, win three Grammy Awards, release a handful of albums and become a catalyst for creativity in his local Oakland community. He spoke to NPR Music while on tour for his latest studio album, White Jesus Black Problems. Newsletter continues after sponsor message More to read, watch and hear On his new album, Lost & Found, Sean Shibe defies expectations. The Scottish guitarist ditches his traditional nylon-strung instrument for a Fender Stratocaster to play a startling range of music, from Meredith Monk to Chick Corea. This week on New Music Friday from All Songs Considered: the accessible pop-punk of Yungblud, the latest release from Megadeth, a new rarities collection from Stereolab and more great records out on Sept. 2. Last weekend, Nicki Minaj co-hosted the MTV VMAs and was awarded the Video Vanguard Award. As Minaj tore through a number of her career-spanning hits during the show, writer Meaghan Garvey was thinking about the massively successful, often subversive, routinely surprising career the rapper has had — and how Minaj has remained a fighter, for better or worse.  This week, Jazz Night In America kicked off a new mini-series spotlighting emerging artists with distinct points of view. The first episode in the series features Samara Joy and includes highlights of a live set at Dizzy's Club and an interview with the singer and songwriter. Tiny Desk NPR This week, the Tiny Desk team teamed up with The Juilliard School for a series of Tiny Desks to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Juilliard’s jazz studies program, including performances from bassist Endea Owens and her band The Cookout, the Isaiah J. Thompson Quartet and current students in the Juilliard Jazz Ensemble.  Also this week: The queens of SIX paid a visit to the Tiny Desk to perform a selection of songs from the musical about the six wives of Henry VIII. One More Thing 🎶 “I'm off the deep end, watch as I dive in” 🎶 Listen to your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to hear live radio from WBEZ (edit station). Need a new playlist? Follow NPR Music on Spotify and Apple Music What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: nprmusic@npr.org Enjoying this newsletter? 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