World Cafe

University of Georgia’s student run radio station WUOG was the very first station that played R.E.M. back in 1980. These days, they’re still seeking out and spinning the best new music that Athens, Georgia has to offer. Visit WUOG as we kick off our Sense of Place: Athens series, on the next World Cafe.

Two years ago, Shannon and the Clams lead singer Shannon Shaw lost her fiancé in a car crash, just months before they were to be married. The band’s new album, written in his memory, grapples with the loss and finds healing in the aftermath. Titled The Moon Is In The Wrong Place, it is the band’s most focused and raw production to date. On the next World Cafe, Shannon and the Clams join us to perform a set of songs from the album.

The Black Keys have been on a tear, releasing four albums in under half a decade. Their latest, Ohio Players, is a blast. Patrick Carney and Dan Auerbach wanted to recreate the energy of their early records and invited some friends along, including Beck who co-wrote several songs on the album, and Oasis’s Noel Gallagher, who’d never written with another band before. Patrick and Dan join World Cafe to talk about a “back-to-fun” approach, and to share live performances from this year’s South by Southwest.

Mark Knopfler has been obsessed with making music since he was a teenager, and on his tenth solo album, One Deep River, he still is. Mark discusses the determination it takes to make it as a musician, the brotherhood that comes from playing in bands, and looks back on early days with Dire Straits and playing for Bob Dylan, next time on World Cafe.

It’s been nearly a decade since Sturgill Simpson released his breakthrough album Metamodern Sounds in Country Music. On the next World Cafe, hear an interview and performance recorded in 2014 just before Simpson was named the Emerging Artist of the Year at the Americana Music Awards. He reveals that the record’s success came as a huge surprise – he originally thought it would be the last album he would ever make.

For their latest album, the French electronic duo Justice turned to Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker to help take their bombastic fusion of disco, funk, and electronic music to new places. On the next World Cafe, Justice’s Garpard Auge and Xavier de Rosnay join us to talk about Hyperdrama, why electronic music is made better with the human element and making their own loops for the record.

Rosanne Cash and John Leventhal are touring together to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Rosanne’s album, The Wheel, as well as John’s debut solo record, Rumble Strip. On the next World Cafe, the married duo performs a set of songs from The Wheel and Rumble Strip, recorded live at the 30A Songwriters Festival in Northwestern Florida earlier this year. Join us.

Written from the road, the relentlessly busy Charley Crockett titled his 14th album $10 Cowboy after being called one by a heckler on the street. Crockett joins World Cafe to talk about making the album and how he went from busking on the street to becoming a rising star in the Americana world. It’s Charley Crockett on the next World Cafe.

Dan Boeckner has been in a lot of different bands: Wolf Parade, Handsome Furs and Divine Fits, to name a few. But he had never released a solo album until now. On the next World Cafe, the Canadian musician joins us to talk about why now was the right time to release Boeckner!, what the DIY music scene was like in Vancouver during his early years, plus Dan Boeckner performs songs from his new album. Join us.

One of the premiere singer-songwriter festivals in the US happens along the Emerald Coast in Northwestern Florida. It’s called the 30A Songwriters Festival. Over the next few weeks, we’re taking you there as we broadcast the 30A Sessions, courtesy of our friends at WMOT. This week, Grace Potter performs a set of songs, including some from her latest album, Mother Road. Join us, on the next World Cafe.