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Some vocal performances are so emotionally compelling that you can’t help but hang on every word while eagerly anticipating the next. Such spellbinding experiences are the live performances of two acts that come from two different parts of the Americas: Mexican singer-songwriter Humbe and the Nashville-based folk-rock trio The Lone Bellow. Humbe may be young in years, but he’s been writing and releasing songs that sound timeless for almost a decade. His viral hit “Fantasmas” opened a new chapter for the Latin Grammy nominated star on the rise. The Lone Bellow has been around for a little while longer, consistently growing a loyal fan base since the early 2010s. But they hit a roadblock as they were working on their latest album, What a Time to Be Alive, after a break-in to their tour van resulted in the loss of the precious hard drives that contained their vocal recordings. Thanks to a successful crowdfunding campaign, the band managed to finish the record and get back on the road. Both acts tell these tales behind their music, and more, as they share heartfelt renditions of their songs for this episode of Soundcheck. - Sırma Munyar

The Lone Bellow's Setlist: 1.I Did It for Love 2.You Were Leaving 3.No Getting Over You

Humbe's Setlist: 1.Harry Stamper 2.Fantasmas 3.Morfina

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Girl Ultra is the project of Mexico City-born Mariana de Miguel; a singer-songwriter whose creativity knows no bounds. Though she started her musical career as an underground R&B artist on Soundcloud about a decade ago, nowadays she experiments with all kinds of genres from Pop and Rock to Reggae and Funk, mixing her musical and cultural influences into her stories about lust, heartbreak, friendship, intimacy, and more.

Born out of a longing to create an alter ego inspired by a superhero heroine, Girl Ultra became an invigorating entity for de Miguel that kept her attached to girlhood as she welcomed her thirties. As she continues to perceive life through this lens, de Miguel also often collaborates with other innovative musicians. In fact, her latest record, titled RRRomeo, is filled with exciting guest appearances – most notably the Canadian electro-funk duo Chromeo, who are featured on five of the eight tracks.

It all started when Chromeo reached out to de Miguel to produce new music for Girl Ultra during lockdown. “I never took so long – like five years – just marinating this project… It was a fun exercise to just come back to it with different skills along the years,” says de Miguel, describing the process that began in Burbank, California at Chromeo’s studio. Now, finally ready to share RRRomeo with the world, de Miguel brings some of those skillfully put together, eclectic songs to our studio, for this episode of Soundcheck. - Sırma Munyar

Setlist: 1.Mentirasmentiras  2.Te Caigo  3.Denisse

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California-based harpist Lara Somogyi may be classically trained, but there’s nothing classical about her approach to making music. She surrounds herself with several effects pedals to expand the sound of her harp into an otherworldly orchestra.

Between her technical skillset and deep understanding of electronic music production, Somogyi has carved a path of her own, both as a session musician recording for film and TV scores such as Hans Zimmer’s The Lion King and the Netflix series Bridgerton, as well as a collaborator to electronic experimentalists like Bonobo and Ólafur Arnalds.

On her new record, titled a [time] patterned, Somogyi reinforces the relationship between her existential contemplations and sound design adventures. “This record was all really born from my curiosity on how we experience time,” she says, adding that she experiences time in a sensory way, associating various periods of her life with the sounds she hears, like crickets or rustling birch trees in the summer. Becoming obsessed with the idea that “music can decorate our time”, Somogyi began to layer and alter the timing of her plucked harp sequences, stretching them into ambient soundscapes or crystallizing them into fragmented pieces through electronic processing. Every tool she used on the record was a time-based tool, and she brings some of them to our studio for an unforgettable performance, featuring a string quartet with Laura Metcalf on cello, Angela Pickett on viola, and Maria Im and Caroline Cassio on violin, for this episode of Soundcheck. - Sırma Munyar

Setlist: 1.mirabel 2.elsewhere 3.acceptances

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Hardships tend to take time to overcome, and some songwriters turn to music to process their emotions as they move from one battle to the next. Two of those songwriters are Steve Earle and Anjimile, who come from very different walks of life. Steve Earle has earned multiple Grammy Awards and an induction into the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville after spending decades reflecting on his experiences as an activist, actor, and a man who happened to go through seven marriages and spend a couple of months in jail for drug possession. Anjimile, on the other hand, was born to immigrant parents from Malawi who were both devout Christians, which made his journey as a trans man a complex situation that kept unraveling as years went by. As Anjimile performs some new songs that explore sexuality, gender, spirituality, and more, Steve Earle plays some of his old hits that document the troubled but full life he has lived, for this edition of Soundcheck. 

Steve Earle's Setlist: 1.Copperhead Road 2.City of Immigrants

Anjimile's Setlist: 1.Rust & Wire 2.The Store 3.Waits for Me

Watch the live performance videos on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/newsoundsmusic

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During her two-decade career, the singer, actor, playwright and two-time NAACP Image Award winner Somi has blended the sounds of American and African music – jazz and R&B, but also Afrobeat, folksong, and highlife. Her last album was a tribute to the South African singer Miriam Makeba; that record also served as a companion to an Off-Broadway musical that Somi wrote – under her full name Somi Kakoma, called Dreaming Zenzile.

Now a Harvard PhD recipient (the Creative Practice and Critical Inquiry Program), Somi has a new album of original music called What Does It Take To Bloom. Written and recorded between Dakar, Lagos, Paris and New York City, Somi’s latest explores the many facets of self-discovery – questions of becoming and of identity (she is the Midwestern daughter of immigrants from Uganda and Rwanda) – and navigates uncertainty, loss, and change (Somimusic.com). Somi joins us to perform some of these songs, in-studio.

Photo of Somi by Knoor The Luo

Set list: 1. We're All Falling 2. Ngayaya 3. Aiwah
Watch the live performance videos on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/newsoundsmusic

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Australian singer Grace Cummings is the kind of songwriter who believes in the spontaneity of the creative process. “I’m a loner. I talk to myself a lot,” she says, and amid those internal conversations, she stumbles upon some mistakes that eventually lead to good writing. She’s no longer a stranger to how songs make their way out of her brain, having already recorded four albums. Her latest record, titled Bloodhorse!, is filled with snapshots of her tumultuous emotions, referencing both religious and mythological themes in a grand musical context of orchestral folk-rock arrangements. But when she picks up the guitar or sits in front of a piano for a solo performance, it’s hard to predict how far she’ll stretch her deep, soulful voice into visceral cries that, evidently, can’t be contained.

For this edition of Soundcheck, Cummings performs a few songs from her latest record in a way that can only be described as personal, inimitable, and untamed. - Sırma Munyar

Setlist: 1.John Lennon 2.I'm Not Crazy 3.FAKE

Watch the live performance videos on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/newsoundsmusic

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Blackstar was David Bowie’s last record, a musical farewell, and it featured the sax player Donny McCaslin. In fact, Bowie ended up using Donny McCaslin’s whole band for that album. The experience led McCaslin to expand his already restless musical palette, and on this episode of Soundcheck, he brings his quintet to our studio to play some of his post-Bowie tunes. There's also a visit with Guitarricadelafuente, a rising young Spanish singer and guitarist with a couple of high profile collaborations of his own - with Australian pop star Troye Sivan. He’s also had two hit singles in Spain, and he’ll play songs from his album Spanish Leather, a title borrowed from Bob Dylan. Guitarricadelafuente and his band play an intimate set in our studio.

Donny McCaslin Quintet Set list: 1. KID 2. Solace 3. Mercy

Guitarricadelafuente Set list: 1. Poses 2. Mataleón

Photo of (L) Guitarricadelafuente by Pedro J Pacheco, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Photo of (R) Donny McCaslin courtesy of the artist

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Wendy Eisenberg is a Brooklyn-based guitarist, improviser, and songwriter who uses guitar, pedals, the tenor banjo, the computer, the synthesizer and the voice. They are also a professor of songwriting, and a constant collaborator in many different circles: with the improvising trio Squanderers, an art rock band called Editrix, and the minimalism-inspired guitar quartet led by Bill Orcutt, to name a few. Their latest album, also called Wendy Eisenberg, is full of tracks that almost present as conventional songs, but which actually dance around form and genre. Some of them may be indebted to jazz, and also inhabit the in-between space where folk, pop, outsider country music, and math rock all hang out.

OH. And the riffs! Their masterful fingers climb through odd rhythms, spidery melodies, and unexpected progressions, taking sudden swerves and turns while still creating a sense of spaciousness. On the record, the songs also feature contributions from friends and collaborators on pedal steel, strings, synth, bass, drums. Over this all, Eisenberg’s clear voice conversationally addresses time – reflecting on memories, embracing change, growing - while they describe “moving through this new world right now,” (Bandcamp). Wendy Eisenberg plays some of their songs in a solo set, in-studio. – Caryn Havlik

Photo of Wendy Eisenberg by Eleanor Petry

Set list: 1. Meaning Business 2. Vanity Paradox 3. Will You Dare

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The artist known as Everlast was the lead rapper in the group House of Pain, whose single “Jump Around” remains one of hip hop’s most familiar songs. But in the 1990s he began adding bluesy guitars to his songs, creating enormous hits like “Put Your Lights On,” his collaboration with Santana, and the plea for empathy called “What It’s Like.” Everlast is still writing songs, and his latest album – his first in eight years, Embers To Ashes, was produced by Yelawolf and recorded in Nashville. It’s a collection of unflinching and moving songs that tell tales of glory grasped and lost, along with hard-earned wisdom and warnings. Everlast plays a stripped-down set in-studio.

Photo of Everlast by Lisa Franchot

Set list: 1. Losing Man's Game 2. Happy You Can Cry 3. Stones

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It’s common for songwriting artists to process their emotions through composing music. LA-based folk singer Annahstasia spent many years crafting her debut album, Tether, doing just that, without a metronome guiding her: “We’re human beings in a room following our heartbeats and the natural rhythm that we feel together… My production style is essentially like energy doula-ing,” she says. As for English baroque pop experimentalist Patrick Wolf, the making of his latest album, Crying the Neck, as well as other batches of new songs he’s been releasing that ended his decade-long hiatus, was a way to acknowledge that he was “a damaged vehicle”, after losing his mother to cancer and struggling to recover from a hit and run. Both artists are known for their big, often orchestral songs, but on this edition of Soundcheck, they each put on a solo performance, revealing the raw side of their lyrics and melodies.

Annahstasia's Setlist: 1.Be Kind 2.Slow

Patrick Wolf's Setlist: 1.Enter the Day 2.The Last of England

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Norwegian singer-songwriter Sondre Lerche defines himself as a “chord progression artist”: “You establish a pattern, and then of course, you have to break it,” he says. This line of thinking is likely what drives him to disrupt the normal sequence of his daily life too, by staying out all night before a recording session, just to tap into the right emotion for a song the next day. Some artists don’t respond well to structure while creating and Sondre Lerche is definitely one of them. Whether he’s exploring acrobatic melodies that push his lungs to their limits or jumping from one genre to another, he seems to put the art first and figure out where he fits in it as a vessel later.

Sondre Lerche’s latest album, aptly titled Acrobats, contains a big, cinematic sound, while blending elements of folk, jazz, pop, and rock. But his background in musical theatre becomes more apparent when it’s just him and his guitar, as he addresses the subjects of his songs as though they’re right by his side with unmistakable realism, for this episode of Soundcheck. - Sırma Munyar

PS – Sondre Lerche is on tour in North America and Europe this Fall: https://www.sondrelerche.com/tour

(Photo of Sondre Lerche by Hilde Solli)

Setlist: 1.Little Kids 2.Acrobats 3.How Much of This Was Planned

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Shearwater is the project of singer, songwriter, and ornithologist, Jonathan Meiburg, who recently took a trip to the Antarctica to study the “the bizarre life of the polar seafloor” and wrote a book called A Most Remarkable Creature : The Hidden Life of the World’s Smartest Birds of Prey. As he made significant attempts at understanding his natural surroundings, Meiburg also had several collaborators in Shearwater. Now, he’s back with a new album titled, The New World, joined by pianist Emily Lee and multi-instrumentalist Dan Duszynski.

On the album, the band is also joined by a wide array of other respected musicians, from Firaz Zriek on qanun to Shahzad Ismaily on drums, bass, synthesizers, and more. But they bring a couple of other contributors to our studio: legendary avant-garde artist Laurie Anderson on vocals and violin, and Doug Wieselman on clarinet. Together, they perform skeletal, subdued, and sophisticated renditions of some of their cerebral new songs.

Jonathan Meiburg of Shearwater will be at Rough Trade Below on Thursday, September 17th, in New York, for a live acoustic performance and signing. - Sırma Munyar

Setlist:1.Daydream Unbeliever 2.More and More 3.You and Your Dog

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Folk music is known to be the music of the people, but it can sound vastly different from region to region. There are also songs that take inspiration from folk music but fall under a different genre altogether. For American singer-songwriter Mike Doughty, who is a founding member of the cult 90s band Soul Coughing, the art of storytelling found a home in alternative rock music. As for the Argentine recording artist and educator Sofia Rei, using electronics to blur the lines between traditional South American, Caribbean, and contemporary dance music is a natural practice. On this episode of Soundcheck, you get to hear both of their live performances and stories, recorded at WNYC studios.

Mike Doughty's Setlist: 1.White Lexus 2.Mr. Bitterness 3.Light Will Keep Your Heart Beating in the Future 

Sofia Rei's Setlist: 1.El Mundo Es Redondo 2.Si Una Cae 3.Marciana

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Saul Williams is many things. A poet, a musician, an actor, and a writer, embodying multiple forms of art in his existence. He’s the preacher in the Oscar-winning 2025 film, Sinners. He’s the conceiver of several books, including his latest title, Songs My Mother Taught Me: Why the Artist Must Take Sides. And now, after seven long years, Williams is back with a new album called Leap Year, in which he uses his voice in more ways than one. He sings and speaks his contemplative words, often relying on his vocal samples to enrich the production. But in our studio, his solo performance is thoughtful yet subdued, putting his lyricism front and center. Hear those words, and a few others, as Williams shares his inner world with host, John Schaefer. - Sırma Munyar

Setlist: 1.Friends That I Ain't Met Yet 2.Vengeful Spirit 3.Robot Slave

(Photo of Saul Williams by Sam Lee)

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North Carolina singer and guitarist Alex Sauser-Monnig records under the name Daughter of Swords, in which they "combine the eerie sound of old Appalachian folk music with elegant guitar playing and touches of lo-fi pop." (John Schaefer) They're also part of the alternative folk trio Mountain Man, a group of singers whose precise harmonies offer songs of warmth, belonging, and community. Sauser-Monnig’s record, Dawnbreaker, a homespun country-pop offering of vulnerability, brings liberation to the "breakup record" and hope for the next phase of life. Daughter of Swords joins us to perform in-studio on this episode of Soundcheck from August 2019. - Caryn Havlik 

(Photo of Daughter of Swords by Kendall Bailey Atwater) 

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Some musicians make ambitious records that dig into the depths of meaning behind art, mythology, time, or life itself. Two of those musicians are the British singer-songwriter Paris Paloma and the American alternative R&B producer Cautious Clay. Both musical adventurers sit down with our host, John Schaefer, to chat about their latest works and perform intimate live sets exclusively for Soundcheck. Hear how hitmaker Paris Paloma’s career progressed after her viral hit, “Labour”, and the process that led to the creation of her sophomore album, The Fatal Flaw. Then, multi-instrumentalist Cautious Clay explains how he takes listeners through each hour of the day and night in The Hours trilogy.

Paris Paloma's Setlist: 1.labour 2.Miyazaki 3.Stem the Flow

Cautious Clay's Setlist: 1.Tokyo Lift (5am) 2.Art Museum (2am)

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Trumpeter and bandleader Arturo Sandoval is a Latin music legend who began his career as a co-founder of the essential Cuban band Irakere and since moving to the States has incorporated the sounds of soul, jazz, funk, and Afrobeat into his music. Barack Obama awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and his life was the subject of the film For Love Or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story, with Andy Garcia starring as Arturo. The real Arturo Sandoval was born in Cuba, defected to America with the help of his friend Dizzy Gillespie, and became one of the foundational figures in Afro-Cuban jazz. By the way, he was recently knighted by the King of Spain.

His new album shows that Sandoval retains his youthful enthusiasm; it’s called Sangú – an inadvertent bit of Spanglish that simply means “sounds good.” Arturo Sandoval leads his band in some of these latest tunes from Sangú - bebop, funk, Yoruba spiritual memory, riding along with Cuban phrasing and percussion, in-studio. He also demonstrates the jaw harp, shows off his “Red Trumpet”, and tells the harrowing story of how he gained political asylum for himself and his family while touring in Europe in 1990. - Caryn Havlik

Set list: 1.Scat 2. La Ventura 3. Sangu 

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Ghost Hounds is a Pittsburgh-based blues-rock band with a sound that may remind you of classic early 70s bands like The Rolling Stones. In fact, they’ve opened for the Stones and do a cover of that band’s song “Gimme Shelter” on the new Ghost Hounds album. But most of their music is original  and their latest record, called Justified, is full of apocalyptic imagery and songs that swagger their way through the End Of Days. Ghost Hounds brings a rootsy, intimate version of the band to play these new songs, in-studio. 

Set list: 1. Something Wicked 2. Sinner's Prayer 3. Pale Horse Riding

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For this episode of Soundcheck, the rapper, singer, and author Dessa gets political, and Syrian-American rapper Omar Offendum gets historical. Minneapolis-raised singer and rapper known as Dessa has found a way to reflect modern society with scathing satire and wry humor, in both her songs and in her essays and poems. Her explicit commentary on the state of American politics, along with digressions on art, science, business, love, failure, and creativity fuel her latest songs, which she performs in-studio.

Set list: 1. Camelot 2. Tough Call 3. What if I'm Not Ready

And the Syrian-American rapper, poet, and peace activist Omar Offendum offers a musical history lesson of sorts, one with uncomfortable echoes of our own time, in “The Little Syria Show.”  It’s about a remarkable immigrant neighborhood in New York that lasted from the 1880s to 1940 and was a center of music, poetry, and publishing – including a book you may well have on your shelf.  In a celebration of Arab-American cultural heritage, Omar Offendum shares insights on diasporic memory and performs some of the songs from The Little Syria Show, in-studio.

Set list: 1. Peddling Dervish 2. Mojaddareh 3. Not Quite White

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Listen to a sampling of some of the 2026 New York Guitar Festival, with pieces by Gyan Riley and an arrangement of Debussy by Australian guitarist brothers Ziggy & Miles, plus,  recorded live in August at Bryant Park.

Gyan Riley is the son of the groundbreaking minimalist composer Terry Riley, and began as the guitarist in his father’s All-Star Band.  He plays all the guitars - electric, classical, and bass– with chamber music elegance and brilliant virtuosity.  He was joined by drummer Kenny Grohowski (Imperial Triumphant, Titans to Tachyons, Secret Chiefs) and bassist Greg Chudzik, which made this an all-star lineup. Listen to their set, recorded live at the second night of the 2026 New York Guitar Festival.

Then, Australian brothers Ziggy & Miles, who happened to be the first guitar duo (and, oddly, the first Australians) to be accepted into the Juilliard School’s Artist Diploma program play an arrangement of Claude Debussy’s “Claire de Lune.”  Plus, hear another piece by the Chicago-based duo of Goran Ivanovic and Fareed Haque, from night one of the 2026 New York Guitar Festival.

Set list: 

1. Debussy: “Claire de Lune”, arr. Ziggy & Miles
2. Gyan Riley – “Jibberjab”
3. Gyan Riley, Greg Chudzik, Kenny Grohowski – “Greymaxxing with Blue”
4. Gyan Riley, Greg Chudzik, Kenny Grohowski – “Because Today”
5. Goran Ivanovic & Fareed Haque – “Adventure”

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Listen to a sampling of some of the 2026 New York Guitar Festival, with pieces by the duo of Goran Ivanovic and Fareed Haque and Pierre Bensusan recorded live in August at Bryant Park.

Guitarist Goran Ivanovic is Croatian-born, while Fareed Haque is of Pakistani and Chilean descent.  Both now live in Chicago, and their music is a deep dish pie of South Asian, Latin, and Balkan ingredients, liberally spiced with improvisation. Hear some of their Balkan-South Asian-Latin fusion, recorded live at the first night of the 2026 New York Guitar Festival.

1. Topansko oro 2. IndoBalkan 3. Gypsy Circus

Then, Algerian-born French guitarist Pierre Bensusan plays in the open tuning system known as DADGAD. Bensusan draws on Celtic traditional and North African music, adding improvisation, vocalise, and electronic effects to create his own sonic world. Listen to some of his set from the second night of the 2026 New York Guitar Festival.

1. Hekimolu 2. The Alchemist 3. Intuit

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The London band Public Service Broadcasting makes music out of history: the space race, the UK mining industry, and now, the final flight of Amelia Earhart, have all been turned into albums. Public Service Broadcasting plays live. Then, hear Em Spel, the folk-rock singer from Chicago, also known as Emma Hospelhorn, a classical flutist who is a member of Chicago’s experimental chamber music collective Ensemble Dal Niente. When she steps into the universe of her solo project, Em Spel, she writes and sings surreal, beguiling songs that fall somewhere in between dream pop, art rock, and folk music. Em Spel also plays live for this best of Soundcheck. 

Public Service Broadcasting set list: 1. Electra 2. Arabian Flight. 3. Go!

Em Spel set list: 1. The Poet 2. Sea Wall

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The Mexican guitar duo Rodrigo y Gabriela first made a name for themselves busking in Dublin, Ireland, even though they spoke no English at the time. With roots in flamenco, classical, and thrash metal, they perform technical feats of wonder in both originals and incredible covers. The 2019 album, Mettavolution contains driving numbers, some incredibly fleet-fingered virtuosity, and a mind-altering psychedelic cover of a Pink Floyd tune. Rodrigo y Gabriela joined us for some stunning guitar precision in this 2019 session from the archives.

Set list: 1. Mettavolution  2. Electric Soul 3. Terracentric

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Baltimore-based Dan Deacon has been a mad scientist of electronic music since releasing his debut album Spiderman Of The Rings in 2007.  He built a reputation for wild, dance-oriented live shows, but Dan is also classically trained and in recent years has been doing a lot of film music, along with scoring music for dance. His latest album is the score for a National Geographic documentary called Time and Water, and Dan Deacon, along with an electro-acoustic chamber orchestra -which includes the Bergamot Quartet, members of Baltimore-based contemporary music group Mind on Fire, and a Yamaha Disklavier (an upright bot-assisted piano) - perform in-studio. 

Set list: 1.Weeping Birch 2. A Home For All Of Us 3..Become a Mountain Suite 

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Sometimes music takes us back or far into the future. Other times, time and travel are at the very core of the music we listen to. On this edition of Soundcheck, the (mostly) Havana-based band Orquesta Akokán takes us on a musical time travel through the classic Cuban dance sounds of the mid-20th century, live from our studio. After a substantial dose of mambo, cha-cha-chá, rumba, salsa, and more, Dallas-born and now New York-based singer-songwriter Hannah Jadagu studies the themes of time and travel in her dreamy alt-pop songs, which contain layered vocals that are as light as air. 

Orquesta Akokán's Setlist: 1.Con Licencia 2.Pan con Tibiri 3.Caracoles 4.Suave Suave

Hannah Jadagu's Setlist: 1.Give Me Time 2.Normal Today 3.My Love

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Dominican-Italian singer-songwriter YEИDRY has been around for over a decade, and in the span of her rich music career that’s lived many lives, she compiled highly personal songs, some of which would eventually end up on her debut album coming out this Fall. She called it “Como Agua”, which translates to “Like Water”, aptly summarizing not only YEИDRY’s way of making music, but also her way of life. In the process, she learned to go with the flow, taking her notebook filled with scribbled lyrics into the studio each day and getting comfortable with the cathartic moments of translating her experiences into music. Twice an immigrant with loved ones living all over the world, she hasn’t quite figured out where home is yet; she has found a sanctuary in her art instead. 

Having already sustained through many years of her “expensive” music career, YEИDRY likens herself to the mythological character of Icarus, flying too close to the sun. “I’m going to fall at some point if I keep wanting more,” she says, but all that fear disappears as soon as she starts singing her delicate melodies for this edition of Soundcheck. - Sırma Munyar

Setlist: 1.Amapolas 2.Mala Mia 3.Espejo

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Grammy-nominated jazz and R&B ensemble, Terri Lyne Carrington + Social Science, are back with their sophomore album, Trip the Night Fantastic, after a seven-year-long break. In line with their debut record, Waiting Game, the group has a new batch of songs dealing with a wide range of social justice issues, voiced in melodies and spoken words.

“Once you open your eyes to any social issue, so many others go hand in hand, because they overlap. There are all these intersections, so I can’t really do anything without thinking about gender justice or even racial justice, because those are two huge parts of my identity,” says the bandleader Terri Lyne Carrington, whose day job as the founder and artistic director of Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice undoubtedly highlights the source material for the album. But, at the end of the day, Trip the Night Fantastic is a communal effort, with each member sparking the flame for a new creation which then becomes enriched with the input of guest artists such as Arooj Aftab, Brandee Younger, and Tarriona ‘Tank’ Ball. And though those artists are missing from this Soundcheck session, most of the Social Science band is present, with Terri Lyne Carrington on drums, Matthew Stevens on guitar, Morgan Guerin on bass, joined by guest vocalists Christie Dashiell and Ian Michael, who also plays our piano. - Sırma Munyar

(Photo of Terri Lyne Carrington by Meredith Truax)

Setlist: 1.Autonomy Song 2.Children's Song 3.Solidarity Song

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Welcome to the WASABI edition of Soundcheck! No, not the spicy green paste that comes with your sushi order. We’re talking about the collaborative project formed by the London-born indie rock band Art Brut and their New York counterpart, We Are Scientists, known as We Are Scientists Art Brut International. Though they released a collaborative record in 2019, each band visited our studios at separate moments in time. But how could we not combine their sessions into one when they all spoke so fondly of each other? Join us, as we revisit their recent live performances and interviews with our host, John Schaefer.

We Are Scientists' Setlist: 1. Please Don't Say It 2. Dead Letters 3. What You Want Is Gone

Art Brut's Setlist: 1. Formed a Band 2. Emily Kane

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Brooklyn-based guitarist and composer Yasser Tejada & the group Palotré combine African-rooted Dominican traditional folk styles and fuse them with R&B, church gospel, funk, jazz, and rock into a celebration of Afro-Dominican culture. On this edition of Soundcheck from 2019, they play some songs from their record, Kijombo, in-studio. 

Watch the video of the session here. 

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The late South African pianist and composer Abdullah Ibrahim (aka "Dollar Brand") had a notable career, helped early on by Duke Ellington, and  acknowledged later by Nelson Mandela, who called Ibrahim “our Mozart.” In 2019, Abdullah Ibrahim became a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master, and he released an album titled The Balance, (which was his 70th or 71st LP, and that's not including his work as a sideman, which might push the total album credits to over 100!). The Balance is full of "lush horn lines, lilting melodies, and uplifting chord progressions, characteristic of Abdullah's own particular brand of Township Jazz," and on this episode of Soundcheck, which was recorded in August 2019, Abdullah Ibrahim performs some solo piano works, in-studio. 

Setlist: 1.Dreamtime 2.Nisa 3.The Balance

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On this episode of Soundcheck, a great band bids farewell after a monumental career that lasted more than a quarter of a century. American avant-garde group The Bad Plus spent long years fusing instrumental jazz with rock music, with each member playing their seemingly traditional instruments to their fullest extent in unexpected ways. They perform some tunes from their final record, “Complex Emotions” and reflect on their creative journey. Also, Ethiopia-born, California-based singer Meklit joins us with live renditions of some songs from her album, “A Piece of Infinity,” singing in her native tongue of Amharic and taking inspiration from the Golden Age of Ethiopian pop music.

Meklit's Setlist: 1. Ambassel 2. Tizita

The Bad Plus' Setlist: 1. Casa Ben 2. Carrier

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After almost a decade-long wait, the Grammy-nominated alt-country artist Tift Merritt returns with her new record Sugar, in which she sings, “I didn’t really want to be here tonight / I don’t need you looking at me / I don’t like the light bright.” Is a romantic love story the inspiration behind these words? Or is it the music industry itself, which is, as Merritt puts it, the ultimate “bad boyfriend”.

“This was a little song that was negotiating how I could come back and stay grounded in my own world that I’ve built off-stage,” she explains. And that world recently got a lot bigger. Merritt, alongside her partners, restored a historic boutique hotel in Raleigh, North Carolina, now called, The Gables. “I wanted to build a place where I wanted to hang out,” she says, as she expresses her hope that her neighborhood will feel the same way. For a songwriter who feeds on every day singing at the kitchen table and the strange but lovable characters of the South, a communal space may just become the breeding ground for new stories to tell through music. 

Until those songs come to light, we have an entire album to keep us company, and Merritt’s solo performance for this episode of Soundcheck is just the primer we needed. (- Sırma Munyar)

Setlist: 1. Everyday Singing 2. Sugar 3. Finest Feelings

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Chamber pop duo Gracie and Rachel, formed by keyboardist Gracie Coates and violinist Rachel Ruggles, spent many years playing music together, living together, and even growing up together during their high school years. But when time came to work on their new album, they couldn’t write in the same room. Instead, they each turned their attention inward, reflecting on their emotions separately. The result was two batches of songs that undeniably belonged together, in their fourth record titled If We Could, Would We.

Gracie and Rachel bring their confessional lyrics, ethereal vocals, dreamy soundscapes drenched in strings, guitars, and synths, back to our studio: this time with Asher Kurtz on guitar and Connor Parks on drums, for this edition of Soundcheck. (- Sırma Munyar)

Setlist: 1. Leaving Home Is Going Home 2. Green Light 3. Caroline 4. Myself Again

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Latin music culture has produced countless artists who amplify decades of traditions and stories through their unique point of view. Two of those artists are Julieta Venegas and Marilina Bertoldi, who have both earned numerous Latin Grammy nominations in recent years. Singer-songwriter Julieta Venegas, who collaborated with superstar Bad Bunny on “Lo Siento BB:/,” is a multi-instrumentalist whose artistry encapsulates pop, rock, and regional Mexican music. And Argentine rock 'n' roll icon Marilina Bertoldi’s creativity contains multitudes, as her retro electric guitar solos pierce through a wall of glitchy and sampled sounds. As you listen to both artists’ performances from our studios, you’ll be transported to a small seaside town in the summer in one moment, and a sweaty nightclub in the next.

Julieta Venegas's Setlist: 1. La Línea 2. Tiempos Dorados 3. Oleada 

Marilina Bertoldi's Setlist: 1. Pucho 2. La Casa de A 

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Multi-instrumentalist Zoh Amba is widely known in the avant-garde jazz world for their remarkable talent as a saxophonist. Having cemented their reputation as a natural improviser, they now turn their attention to seemingly new territory that is really a homecoming: gritty, Appalachian folk-rock music.

In their debut singer-songwriter record, titled Eyes Full, Zoh Amba studies the culture of their hometown of Kingsport, Tennessee, picking up the guitar as a main instrument for the first time. With every voice-cracking cry, Zoh Amba embodies the troubles of hardworking small-town people, telling their stories in musical settings that are not sophisticated, but raw and authentic instead. The same spirit of mirroring the struggles of others can be vividly heard in this edition of Soundcheck, as Zoh Amba performs some of their aching new songs live with their band. (- Sırma Munyar)

Setlist: 1. Weed Eating 2. Eyes Full 3. Runnin' Bet 4. Southern Soil 5. Dead End Street

(Photo of Zoh Amba by A.J. Morales)

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Helado Tropical ("tropical ice cream") is a collaboration between Helado Negro, the experimental pop project of Ecuadorian-American singer/songwriter Roberto Carlos Lange, and Reyna Tropical, which is the work of the Mexican-American musician Fabi Reyna (also of the cumbia band Savila). Created out of openness and spontaneity, and nearly “telepathic communication” in the studio. there is a tenderness and intimacy that feels like “summer's warmth on a Sunday” to their debut record. Helado Tropical shares some of their new languorous and inviting groove-based Latin pop, in-studio. 

Set list: 1. Tocando 2. Sensacion 3. Soledad

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New York’s history as a city of immigrants has had a huge impact on music. Six-time Grammy-winning pianist Arturo O’Farrill follows in the footsteps of his father, Chico O’Farrill, a pioneer of the Afro-Cuban jazz that developed in NY in the 1940s. Now, Arturo O’Farrill often collaborates with his own sons, trumpeter Adam O’Farrill and drummer Zack O’Farrill, in both Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra and The O'Farrill Family Band. The latter group comes together to play music from all three generations in our studio. After that, another New York-based musician, clarinetist Michael Winograd and his all-star band, recreates a pivotal moment in the history of klezmer and jazz music, honoring the traditions of an earlier group of musical immigrants, the Jewish people of Eastern Europe.  

O'Farrill Family Band Set list: 1. Chico O'Farrill: Pura Emocion 2. Arturo O'Farrill: Alisonia 3. Adam O'Farrill: The Man From the Sea

Michael Winograd & All-Star Band Set list: 1. Tipsy 2. Silkene Pajamas

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Jazz-funk brass band EMEFE didn’t plan on getting back together after their indefinite hiatus in 2016. Everyone involved with the project at the time, including founding member and drummer Miles Francis, went on to pursue other musical endeavors, until one of their 2015 album tracks, titled “Sun Spat,” began to gain some traction online years later.

“We never heard from anybody from Spotify or any of these companies. It truly felt like people listening,” says Francis, highlighting this rare experience at a time when artists fought for attention like never before. After millions of streams, fan covers of the song emerged and EMEFE couldn’t ignore the buzz anymore.

Shortly after their reunion, they recorded a new album, aptly titled Forward. Now, they’re back on the road as a 10-piece band, with Doug Berns on bass, Jake Pinto on keys, Jas Walton on tenor sax, Lynn Ligammari on baritone sax, Jackie Coleman on trumpet, Aani Kisslinger on trombone, Alden Harris-McCoy and Tony Jarvis on guitars, and Javier Ramos on congas and shekere. We managed to fit them all into our studio to bring you their special performance of afrobeat-infused EMEFE songs, old and new, for this edition of Soundcheck. (- Sırma Munyar)

Setlist: 1. Stutter 2. Sun Spat 3. The Dirt

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The Tunisian-born, American-based singer and activist Emel Mathlouthi, who records simply as Emel, became famous when her song "Kelmti Horra" became the anthem of the Arab Spring uprising some fifteen years ago. Since coming to the States, Emel has released a series of albums united by the themes of freedom, struggle, and community. Sonically, though, her songs have varied from dark electronica to North African-inflected pop to haunting and artful ballads. Her 2024 album, MRA, lifts up women and spotlights the fight against [the] patriarchy, and veers into more pop and hip hop than ever before. Emel and her band play live, in-studio. 

Set list: 1. footsteps 2. Nar 3. Massive Will

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What makes certain musical moments memorable? In the case of the Canadian indie rock band The New Pornographers, it’s a quarter of a century filled with inventive arrangements, power pop melodies, and striking lyrics that feel both abstract and relatable. And in the case of Portuguese fado singer Carminho, it’s a single, show-stopping moment in the film “Poor Things,” where all the action stops as she sings an aching song from atop a balcony. On this edition of Soundcheck, The New Pornographers play some tracks from their latest record “The Former Site Of,” while Carminho breathes new life into songs from her album, titled “Eu Vou Morrer de Amor ou Resistir: ‘I’ll die of love, or I’ll resist.’”

The New Pornographers' setlist: 1. Votive 2. Spooky Action 3. The Former Site Of // The New Pornographers are playing live dates in North American through October 2026

Carminho's setlist: 1. Canção à ausente 2. Lá vai Lisboa // Carminho is playing live dates in Europe now through fall of 2026

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Folktronica songwriter Ásgeir didn’t plan on becoming a singer. When he was younger, all he wanted to do was to make music with his garage band. He only found himself singing in front of a microphone because “somebody had to do it.” 

As he grew into his musical identity, Ásgeir immersed himself in the music of his vocal heroes, including Jeff Buckley, Jónsi of Sigur Rós, and Justin Vernon of Bon Iver. Their ethereal falsetto tones influenced his own approach to singing and a new Icelandic star was born.

Ásgeir’s first record, titled Dýrð í dauðaþögn, became the best-selling debut album in Iceland to date in 2012, beating the debuts of Björk and Sigur Rós. Since then, he’s been singing his songs mostly in English, often with lyrics borrowed from the poetry of his father, Einar Georg Einarsson. In his fifth studio album, Julia, Ásgeir takes the pen in his own hands for the first time, interpreting his life experiences from a singular lens. He plays some songs from that record and reflects on their inception. (- Sırma Munyar)

1. Smoke 2. Ferris Wheel 3. Sugar Clouds

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Saxophonist Isaiah Collier spent most of his lifetime playing his instrument religiously. He looked up to his idol John Coltrane so much that he performed several tribute concerts in his name. But the young jazz composer is ready to take on new creative challenges with his upcoming EP, JOY. What kind of new challenges? Well, he showed up at our studio without his saxophone, for one. 

On this episode of Soundcheck, Collier plays our piano and sings his soulful new songs with his band: with Davis Whitfield on keys, Conway Campbell on bass, and Tim Regis on drums. Collier’s compositions are deeply personal, but they carry the spirit of communal celebration, which becomes most apparent in these exuberant, dynamic, and spontaneous performances. (- Sırma Munyar)

1. Where I'm Loved 2. When the Dust Settles 3. Joy

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Music can be a serious business. But no one says, “I work music.” You play music. In this episode, discover two very different musical acts who understand the significance of having a playful streak. First, we welcome three best friends who formed the indie rock band Horsegirl when they were still in high school in Chicago; they play a couple of songs from their sophomore album, “Phonetics On and On.” Later, New Orleans-born, three-time Grammy-winning jazz pianist and composer Sullivan Fortner makes good use of our piano, performing some of his original music as well as a piece by Chopin in a way only he can.

Horsegirl Set list: 1. Where'd You Go 2. Switch Over 3. 2468

Sullivan Fortner Set list: 1. Grandpa's Spells (Jelly Roll Morton) 2. It's A Game 3. Chopin's Valse Du Petit Chien

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What happens when an electric guitar is used to interpret music from cultures that completely ignore the Western tonal system? Guitarist Marisa Anderson dove into the depths of late filmmaker Harry Smith’s record collection to find out. While Smith himself once did similar research to compile his influential Anthology of American Folk Music, Anderson was more interested in compositions and improvisations that emerged outside of her country. She felt particularly drawn to recordings from places the United States has been in conflict with for decades, which led her down the path of producing her own Anthology of UnAmerican Folk Music.

Transcribed in her “first language”, the electric guitar, and accompanied by soundscapes built with keyboards, the accordion, and other instruments, Anderson carefully arranged pieces from Afghanistan, Yemen, Vietnam, and more. As she bent the strings of her guitar to achieve some form of microtonality, she kept questioning the concept of being unamerican: “Who are the people we’ve been told in our lifetimes are “unamerican?” What have we lost or been denied access to in the fallout from that label?”

Anderson brings some of her interpretations to our studio for a solo performance and explains her process. “This project changed me permanently… I’m a better listener,” she says, as she approaches each new territory with the curiosity and joy of a child in a candy store. (- Sırma Munyar)

1. Hamd 2. Sarvi Simin 3. Taqsim for Guitar

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Photo of Lara Downes by Ebru Yildiz

Pianist Lara Downes has spent the last couple of years traveling the country and collecting not only music, but also stories, for a pair of projects that celebrate America at 250. One is her multimedia piece called The Declaration Project, and the other is an album of music that spans at least 250 years of American history called Hold These Truths, which amplifies the stories gathered in her Declaration Project. The music ranges from before the nation’s founding to new works – an overall reflection on revolution, resistance, and resilience from early 20th century composer Harry T. Burleigh to Nigerian-American composer Shawn Okpebholo. Lara Downes plays some of these works, in-studio. 

Set list: 
1. Harry Burleigh: The Frolic 
2. Christopher Tin:Hope Is the Thing with Feathers 
3. Jeff Beal: Elation 
4. Shawn Okpebholo: Wondrous Free 
5. Ricky Ian Gordon: Finding Home

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The New Orleans band Tank and the Bangas have been public radio favorites since they won NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest in 2017. Since then, they’ve built their considerable reputation on their high octane, dance-ready blend of R&B, hip hop, spoken word and pop. The Grammy-winning band has some new songs to play for us from their latest album, The Last Balloon. After that, we welcome Rodney Crowell into our studio, who helped create the genre known as alternative country. He’s written #1 hits for himself and artists like Bob Seger and Waylon Jennings, as well as collaborating with Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Sheryl Crow and, most notably, Emmylou Harris. He joins us to tell some tales and give us a taste of his 2025 album, Airline Highway. 

Setlist: 

1. Tank and the Bangas - "Move" 

2. Tank and the Bangas - "No Invite"  

3. Rodney Crowell - "Rainy Days in California"  

4. Rodney Crowell - "21 Song Salute"  

5. Rodney Crowell - "Taking Flight"

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For Dallas-born folk singer-songwriter Anjimile, who grew up in a conservative Christian family with immigrant parents from Malawi, life wasn’t always easy to figure out. His journey as a young adult, trans man, while simultaneously battling addiction, resulted in the brutally honest 2020 album, Giver Taker, which the artist deemed to be full of prayers. A few years later came The King, his most defiant and intense record to date, which helped Anjimile deal with the complex emotions that stem from existing as a Black, trans person in the current political climate. And though that album felt like one filled with curses, the latest addition to his discography, titled You’re Free to Go, appears to be “an album of blooming.” As Anjimile puts it, “a lot of the themes are related to transformation and/or growing pains… a blooming spring is a beautiful thing but it’s also a disruption to the status quo.” 

As his voice deepened and grew in confidence, Anjimile discovered “a newfound level of comfort”, both in singing and composing his music. And though he appeared on Soundcheck before, he returns with a new sonic palette and stories, encapsulating moments of acceptance and eagerness to let love in.  (- Sırma Munyar)

Set list: 1. Rust and Wire 2. The Store 3. Waits For Me

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Elizabeth Ziman, who performs as Elizabeth and the Catapult, is a singer-songwriter from Brooklyn. Over the past twenty years, she and a slowly rotating cast of musical friends have released six LPs, full of songs that offer a neat, often unexpected blend of the witty and the vulnerable. Her latest release is called Responsible Friend, "about slowing down in a world that keeps accelerating. It’s a commitment to friends, family, and self, at a time when everyone seems to be carrying more than they can reasonably hold" (Bandcamp). Elizabeth and the Catapult play in our studio. 

Set list: 1. 50/50 2. When the Doctor Needs A Doctor 3. I Love You Still

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On this episode of Soundcheck, revisit a special live performance and interview from our archives, recorded in 2019. Multi-instrumentalist, composer, host of the podcast Aria Code, and MacArthur Fellow Rhiannon Giddens collaborated with Italian pianist and percussionist, Francesco Turrisi on there is no Other: twelve songs that explore the connections between European, Arabic, African-American, and Mediterranean sounds with an opposition to "othering" and “a celebration of the spread of ideas, connectivity, and shared experience” (Nonesuch Records).

The duo’s artistic cross-pollinations and discoveries draw from Italy, Ireland, Iran, Africa, and Brazil, among other places, and reflect the history of the movement of both people and instruments (with particular attention paid to both the trans-Saharan and the trans-Atlantic slave trade). Giddens and Turrisi have mentioned in interviews that audiences probably won’t be thinking about how cultures meet, collide, and create new forms. But perhaps as the players weave their magic, the result might also be that the music will start deep and productive conversations about migrations. Rhiannon Giddens and Francesco Turrisi, along with bassist Jason Sypher, join us in-studio to perform some of these songs. – Caryn Havlik

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The London-based art rock band, Mary in the Junkyard, is getting ready to release their debut album after four years of trying to make sense of strange things in life through music. “I think that life is very surreal,” says the vocalist of the group, Clari Freeman-Taylor, as she explains why she enjoys “writing about things that may be a little bit unsettling”. Nothing about the order of life is rehearsed, so why should their music be? Their practice relies heavily on their songwriting and arranging rituals where they carefully piece each layer of sound together. But preparations for live performances are enforced with a spirit of spontaneity, which, as the viola and bass player Saya Barbaglia points out, is a big part of their sound. 

The duo blurred the rigid lines of classical music together as they grew into their teenage years with rock music. They traded hours of sight-reading for jam sessions that led to endless scraps of ideas. Those ideas would eventually become fully fleshed-out songs with the addition of drummer David Addison to the band. 

Mary in the Junkyard’s upcoming LP, Role Model Hermit, carries hints of Freeman-Taylor and Barbaglia’s classical music background, as dense string arrangements pop up every now and then. But in our studio, the trio reveals the core of each song they perform: raw, skeletal, dark, and light, all at the same time. (- Sırma Munyar)

Setlist: 1. New Muscles 2. Myrtle 3. Blood

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