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Smith entered the 2020 Tiny Desk Contest with his band Britton & The Sting. He says "Blackstronauts" is about finding joy: "I want us all to put on our freedom suits and fly together," he says.

Neil Young may be the hardest man in rock 'n' roll to pin down. Biographer Jimmy McDonough tried his best, but as he tells Scott Simon on Weekend Edition Saturday, he couldn't do it, even in 800-plus pages. But it sure was fun trying.

The summer of 2005 may not go down in history as another Summer of Love, but Woodstock's legacy includes a summertime routine of music festivals across the country. Weekend Edition Sunday music director Ned Wharton lists some of the best bets.

The compiler of Classic African American Gospel, a new collection from Smithsonian Folkways, talks about the roots of Motown in gospel music, its role in the Civil Rights movement, what new gospel sounds like and who's playing it.

The American Southwest continues to inform Calexico's sprawling, cross-cultural indie rock, but here it's a more self-contained, even lonesome affair.

Harry Shearer happily dons the grizzled hair and mustache of Spinal Tap's bassist one more time.

For many years, the search for unknown or forgotten soul singers has dug deeply into music archives. But surprises still turn up. Music critic Milo Miles says this year's best discovery is a West African singer and bandleader named El Rego.

British singer-songwriter Teddy Thompson worked with David Kahne, who's helped acts ranging from The Strokes to Tony Bennett, to write and record his fifth album, Bella. Rock critic Ken Tucker says the result is a romantic album that spans a wide range of styles and moods.

In the wake of Sonic Youth's collapse, Moore's new solo album is almost calming in its familiarity, particularly as it recalls a minor-key update of SY's well-loved late-'90s salvo A Thousand Leaves.

Afrobeat has proven to be the most durable and appealing fusion of African and American pop styles -- in spite of the death of Afrobeat's creator, Fela Kuti. Critic Milo Miles talks about how some smart, determined Afrobeat inheritors both sustain and build upon the style's foundations.