Ann Powers
Ann Powers is NPR Music's critic and correspondent. She writes for NPR.org and she can be heard on NPR's newsmagazines and music podcasts.
One of the nation's most notable music critics, Powers has been writing for NPR Music since April 2011.
Powers served as chief pop music critic at the Los Angeles Times from 2006 until she joined NPR. Prior to the Los Angeles Times, she was senior critic at Blender and senior curator at Experience Music Project. From 1997 to 2001 Powers was a pop critic at The New York Times and before that worked as a senior editor at the Village Voice. Powers began her career working as an editor and columnist at San Francisco Weekly.
Her writing extends beyond the web, magazines and newspapers. Powers co-wrote Tori Amos: Piece By Piece, with Amos, which was published in 2005. In 1999, Power's book Weird Like Us: My Bohemian America was published. She was the editor, with Evelyn McDonnell, of the 1995 book Rock She Wrote: Women Write About Rock, Rap, and Pop and the editor of Best Music Writing 2010.
After earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in creative writing from San Francisco State University, Powers went on to receive a Master of Arts degree in English from the University of California.
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Parton, who died at 80 on Tuesday, had charm, depth, beauty, wit and radiant goodness. She was also a songwriter whose work told the story not just of country music but of the country itself. -
Phoebe Bridgers is your favorite pop star's favorite pop star. And she's just released a gorgeous new solo album, Lost Weekend. The record's 16 songs are full of lore, lush sonic ideas, and quotable insights. -
A look inside Phoebe Bridgers' new album, "Lost Weekend," and the lives she's lived since we heard from her last.
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With the release of the Rolling Stones' latest studio effort, "Foreign Tongues," NPR Music's Ann Powers reviews that album and makes the case for Mick and Keith to keep going as long as they want. -
Juana Summers talks with NPR Music's Ann Powers about why Charli XCX's music for the Wuthering Heights film represents a bigger, musical trend in romance reading. -
One of the most expressive singer-songwriters of her generation, Sarah McLachlan's deeply felt and virtuosic performance is miraculous. -
Backed by a band and choir, Pastor John P. Kee transforms the Tiny Desk into an old, wood-floored country church. -
Protest requires people to take a stand and hold firm. Pop songs are designed to appeal across demographic lines. In music, as in the rest of the world, resistance takes place closer to the ground. -
From a song by a certified superstar that came out in the very first week of January to breakthroughs from lesser-known indie acts, here are selections from NPR Music's list of the best songs of 2025.
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From tear-jerkers to mic-drops, NPR's music critics share the 2025 lyrics that made them laugh, cry and hit replay.
