Stephen Kallao

Nicholas Carpenter has spent the last decade crafting deeply personal songs that balance humor, vulnerability and heart.

Growing up in Chattanooga, Tenn., Janjay Lowe tried to forget his early life in Liberia, but survivor’s guilt caught up with him.

We welcome back Chicago's Brigitte Calls Me Baby. The Chicago indie rock band performs songs from its sophomore album, Irreversible.

It's a historic weekend in Philadelphia. We're celebrating with some local veterans who've been playing together for 35 years. Born from Philadelphia's vibrant club scene, The Hooters blend rock, folk, ska and reggae, blazing their own trail.

As a kid growing up in West Philadelphia, Jeffrey Townes remembers watching local DJs spin records at block parties and being instantly hooked.

When Stanley Clarke first picked up the acoustic bass, he drew a bow across the strings and was greeted by a terrible sound. Since then, he's made it his mission to make the instrument sing.

Jazz guitarist Bill Frisell takes great care with each note he plays. When he stopped by the World Cafe studio to talk about his new album, In My Dreams, he brought that same care to the stories he chose to tell.

The Minneapolis duo, Ant and Slug, join us to talk about their latest studio album, Jestures. It's a sprawling concept album with 26 tracks — one for every letter of the alphabet, in order.

The Country Music Hall of Famer is in the midst of releasing a new EP every month for a year for his 50 Years From Home project.

The singer-songwriter joins World Cafe for a new installment of Backtracking, where musicians revisit songs from their back catalog that have shaped their careers.