Episode 1: Tank and the Bangas; Rodney Crowell (June 27)

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.”

Episode 2: Horsegirl; Sullivan Fortner (July 4)

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.

Episode 3: Carminho; The New Pornographers (July 11)

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.’”

Episode 4: The O’Farrill Family Band; Michael Winograd (July 18)

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. 

Episode 5: Julieta Venegas; Marilina Bertoldi (July 25)

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.

Episode 6: Meklit; The Bad Plus (August 1)

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.

ABOUT JOHN SCHAEFER

John Schaefer has hosted “Soundcheck” since the show’s inception in 2002. He has also hosted and produced WNYC’s radio series “New Sounds” since 1982 (“The No. 1 radio show for the Global Village” – Billboard) and the “New Sounds Live” concert series since 1986. He is also the co-host of the nationally syndicated series “Carnegie Hall Live,” produced by WQXR, and hosts the Ojai Talks, a series of live interviews with artists at the annual Ojai Festival in California. He created the  New Sounds Live  concert series in 1986, which features new works, commissioned pieces, and a special series devoted to live music for silent films.

John has written extensively about music, including the book “New Sounds: A Listener’s Guide to New Music” (Harper & Row, NY, 1987; Virgin Books, London, 1990); “The Cambridge Companion to Singing: World Music” (Cambridge University Press, U.K., 2000); the TV program “Bravo Profile: Bobby McFerrin” (Bravo Television, 2003) and the documentary film ”The Art Of Ostad Elahi” (sold out debut at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2019). He was contributing editor for Spin and Ear magazines, and his liner notes appear on more than 100 recordings, ranging from “The Music of Cambodia” to recordings by Yo-Yo Ma and Terry Riley. He is a frequent juror for the Pulitzer Prize in Music and teaches the Media Workshop each year at the Bang on a Can Summer Festival at Mass MoCA.

ABOUT WNYC

With an urban vibrancy and a global perspective, WNYC is New York’s public radio station, broadcasting and streaming award-winning journalism, groundbreaking audio programming, and essential talk radio to the city and beyond. WNYC offers its listeners a unique range of local, national, and international programming, including programming from NPR, American Public Media, and the BBC World Service, along with a roster of WNYC-produced local programs that champion the stories and spirit of New York City and the surrounding region, including “The Brian Lehrer Show” and “All Of It.” From its state-of-the-art studios, WNYC is reshaping audio for a new generation of listeners, producing some of the most beloved nationally-syndicated public radio programs including “Radiolab,” “On the Media” and “The New Yorker Radio Hour.” WNYC broadcasts on 93.9 FM and AM 820 to listeners in New York and the tri-state area, and is available to audiences everywhere at WNYC.org, the WNYC app, and through major digital radio services, all made possible through the generous support of our members, donors, and sponsors.