Matt Andersen has logged countless miles following little white lines down the highway, crossed vast oceans, and left audiences around the world forever changed by his powerful, soul-baring song writing. Those travels have been fueled by a profound devotion to music, a journey that began in New Brunswick with six...

The sandy shores of Asbury Park, New Jersey are hallowed ground in the northeast; the rolling waves have ushered generations of venerated musicians to worldwide acclaim. Dogs in a Pile, an eclectic quintet, has emerged as the heir apparent to the town's rich musical legacy. Merging funk, jazz, and rock...

Centering the 11-string long-necked tar, MVF Band draws on polyphonic roots, global rhythms, funk, and jazz's tight grooves and improvisational play. Add to this Miqayel Voskanyan's expressive singing voice and you'll find this dynamic, and ultimately uncategorizable work, at home in clubs, concert halls, and folk festivals.

Tank and The Bangas don't go anywhere quietly. Sitting around a dimly lit room in London's neighborhood of Camden Town, vocalist Tank Ball, bassist Norman Spence, drummer Joshua Johnson and saxophonist Albert Allenback can't go mere minutes without bursting into play fights, or talking over one another, or laughing from...

In the beginning there was Thump... The primordial groove of the Universe. Thump thumped its way through all things. In the beginning groove was harmony, and harmony was groove, and it was good.

For the making of his fourth album If I Were a Butterfly, Rayland Baxter holed up for over a year at a former rubber-band factory turned studio in the Kentucky countryside--a seemingly humble environment that proved to be something of a wonderland. "I spent that year living in a barn...

The sun sets over the ranch, a can of beer cracks, and an acoustic guitar wrangles the day's thoughts and memories into a semblance of order. During moments like these, California-born and Nashville-based singer and songwriter Emily Nenni chronicles her life through delicate songcraft rife with honky-tonk spirit and spiked...

For nearly four decades, Laurie Lewis has gathered fans and honors for her powerful and emotive voice and her versatile, dynamic songwriting. She is a sought-after recording producer and an equally skilled teacher and mentor. And she is an inspiration and a ground-breaker--across genres, across geography and across gender barriers.

Often referred to as "The Hendrix of the Sahara," Vieux Farka Touré was born in Niafunké, Mali in 1981. He is the son of legendary Malian guitar player Ali Farka Touré, who died in 2006. Ali Farka Touré came from a historical tribe of soldiers, and defied his parents in...