The Return Of Roséwave, Your Summer Soundtrack

Plus, Tiny Desk (home) concerts from Merry Clayton and Tom Jones. [View this email online]( [NPR Music]( by Marissa Lorusso and Lyndsey McKenna [Roséwave: It's not a genre; it's a lifestyle.]( Kara Frame/NPR As Song of the Summer contenders make their way to the airwaves and colleagues become suddenly unavailable after lunch on Fridays, we think it’s safe to say summer has arrived (no, not technically, but if you ask your newsletter editors, anything after Memorial Day counts). Since 2017, we’ve greeted the season’s long days and steamy temperatures with [roséwave, our genre-slash-lifestyle dedicated to breezy, listenable tracks](. Last year, the celebratory, carefree spirit of roséwave didn’t quite feel right (see [our Lost Summer playlist]( from late 2020). And while this summer promises to be unlike any other, roséwave is back, and her crowd-pleasing spirit remains. Whether you're ready to hit the club immediately or are preparing for a more cautious reentry to everyday life, roséwave understands, and [our kickoff playlist]( features a little something for everyone, from Gen-Z icon Olivia Rodrigo to perennial favorite Carole King, from Prince to Mariah Carey, plus Bad Bunny, Arlo Parks and more. And this is only the beginning. We'll be sharing playlists – varietals, if you'll permit the parlance – all summer long. [Back 2 Basic]( Marissa Lorusso and Lyndsey McKenna --------------------------------------------------------------- Newsletter continues after sponsor message --------------------------------------------------------------- New Music - Like roséwave, Lorde is back. It's been four summers since the release of her 2017 album Melodrama; now, [the singer-songwriter has returned]( with the confident, sunny single, "Solar Power." - The 2021 Tiny Desk Contest closed for entries this week, and now our judges will start to search for a winner. In the meantime, we’ve been sharing weekly lists of [the best entries we’ve seen](. Plus, on All Songs Considered, Bob Boilen [played a song from 2018 Contest winner Naia Izumi]( and a track from musician and producer Maddie Jay, who Bob first heard when she performed with Izumi on tour. - This time last year, Morning Edition was looking for ways to chronicle and make sense of this tumultuous moment. That led to the launch of the Morning Edition Song Project, which asked musicians to write one original song about their experience. Now, after 25 entries, the [project’s final installment]( comes from the celebrated composer and pianist Vijay Iyer, who says his composition was an attempt to account for the toll of “carrying all of this confusion and loss and anxiety and rage, all at the same time … for months and months.” --------------------------------------------------------------- Featuring - [Live music is shifting back into high speed]( in New York City: Foo Fighters will be the first band to perform at Madison Square Garden since March 2020, and the Strokes will host a show at Irving Plaza to support the mayoral campaign of Maya Wiley. [Bruce Springsteen will return to Broadway]( for a run of Springsteen on Broadway shows from June 26 through Sept. 4. - From NPR Live Sessions: [Watch Yola perform “Diamond Studded Shoes”]( live from Easy Eye Sound Studio for WFUV. - This week, World Cafe [featured an interview with First Aid Kit]( about the duo’s live tribute album to Leonard Cohen, Who By Fire. --------------------------------------------------------------- Tiny Desk [Merry Clayton's Tiny Desk (home) concert]( NPR You might know [Merry Clayton]( as one of rock’s most important and arresting backing vocalists (for starters, see The Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shelter," Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama" and Carole King's Tapestry). But for her Tiny Desk (home) concert, her powerful, knowing voice is center stage as she performs songs that testify to the power of faith and friendship. Also this week: We shared a Tiny Desk (home) concert from [Tom Jones]( on the Welsh singer’s 81st birthday, plus an acoustic performance from songwriter and producer [Rostam](. --------------------------------------------------------------- One More Thing “Froggytastic!!! Probably the [best stuffed frog museum]( I have ever visited.” --------------------------------------------------------------- Stream your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to find your local station stream. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: [nprmusic@npr.org](mailto:nprmusic@npr.org?subject=Newsletter%20Feedback) Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can [sign up here](. Looking for more great content? [Check out all of our newsletter offerings]( — including Books, Pop Culture, Health and more! Need a new playlist? 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