WNYC, New York Public Radio, brings you Soundcheck, the arts and culture program hosted by John Schaefer, who engages guests and listeners in lively, inquisitive conversations with established and rising figures in New York City's creative arts scene. Guests come from all disciplines, including pop, indie rock, jazz, urban, world and classical music, technology, cultural affairs, TV and film. Recent episodes have included features on Michael Jackson,Crosby Stills & Nash, the Assad Brothers, Rackett, The Replacements, and James Brown.
Latest episodes
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36 min
Guitarist and Singer Ruthie Foster Shares Her Genuinely Soulful Brand of Folk Blues, In-Studio
Ruthie Foster was born into music, grew up with music, and it was only natural that music would follow her wherever she’d go. The now Grammy-winning singer-songwriter was a soloist…
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51 min
Best of Soundcheck: Everlast, Ghost Hounds
The artist known as Everlast was the lead rapper in the group House of Pain, whose single “Jump Around” remains one of hip hop’s most familiar songs. But in the 1990s he began addi…
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32 min
Raw and Punchy Soul From Brooklyn-Based Eli Paperboy Reed, In-Studio
For the past 20 years or so, Eli Paperboy Reed has been making records that revel in the vintage sounds of Memphis and Chicago soul, with a healthy dose of R&B, early rock’n’roll,…
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33 min
Welsh Indie Rock Band The Royston Club Bare Their Emotions, In-Studio
It’s rare to come across a traditional origin story like The Royston Club’s nowadays: a group of small-town kids from Wrexham, Wales, coming together to form a band in high school…
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51 min
Best of Soundcheck: Helado Tropical, Martin Hayes With Kyle Sanna
Helado Tropical ("tropical ice cream") is a collaboration between Helado Negro, the experimental pop project of Ecuadorian-American singer/songwriter Roberto Carlos Lange, and Reyn…
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27 min
Mexico City Cumbia Punk Marimba Band Son Rompe Pera Brings the Sweaty Mayhem, In-Studio
They started as a street band in Mexico City, but Son Rompe Pera has attracted attention as far south as Chile. Formed in 2017, they’re a party band with a distinctive sound center…
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32 min
The Messthetics With Marc Ribot Leave Space For Play and Crunch, From the New York Guitar Festival 2026
From the 2026 New York Guitar Festival, recorded live at Bryant Park, hear a set from the instrumental trio called The Messthetics -who are Anthony Pirog (guitar), Joe Lally (bass)…
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51 min
Best of Soundcheck: Humbe, The Lone Bellow
Some vocal performances are so emotionally compelling that you can’t help but hang on every word while eagerly anticipating the next. Such spellbinding experiences are the live per…
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31 min
Mexican Alternative R&B/Pop Artist Girl Ultra Reinvents Her Musical History, In-Studio
Girl Ultra is the project of Mexico City-born Mariana de Miguel; a singer-songwriter whose creativity knows no bounds. Though she started her musical career as an underground R&B a…
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35 min
Adventurous Harpist Lara Somogyi Weaves Time Patterns, In-Studio
California-based harpist Lara Somogyi may be classically trained, but there’s nothing classical about her approach to making music. She surrounds herself with several effects pedal…
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51 min
Best of Soundcheck: Steve Earle, Anjimile
Hardships tend to take time to overcome, and some songwriters turn to music to process their emotions as they move from one battle to the next. Two of those songwriters are Steve E…
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35 min
Song-Maker Somi Refuses to Fit Inside Any Artistic Box, Plays In-Studio
During her two-decade career, the singer, actor, playwright and two-time NAACP Image Award winner Somi has blended the sounds of American and African music – jazz and R&B, but also…
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35 min
Australian Singer-Songwriter Grace Cummings Brings a Visceral Twist to Pretty Melodies, In-Studio
Australian singer Grace Cummings is the kind of songwriter who believes in the spontaneity of the creative process. “I’m a loner. I talk to myself a lot,” she says, and amid those…
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51 min
Best of Soundcheck: Guitarricadelafuente, Donnie McCaslin
Blackstar was David Bowie’s last record, a musical farewell, and it featured the sax player Donny McCaslin. In fact, Bowie ended up using Donny McCaslin’s whole band for that album…
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36 min
Ever-Shifting Guitarist Wendy Eisenberg Dares With Homegrown and Poetic Songs, In-Studio
Wendy Eisenberg is a Brooklyn-based guitarist, improviser, and songwriter who uses guitar, pedals, the tenor banjo, the computer, the synthesizer and the voice. They are also a pro…
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37 min
Everlast Dishes Out Gritty Humanity in Blues-Rock Style, In-Studio
The artist known as Everlast was the lead rapper in the group House of Pain, whose single “Jump Around” remains one of hip hop’s most familiar songs. But in the 1990s he began addi…
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51 min
Best of Soundcheck: Annahstasia, Patrick Wolf
It’s common for songwriting artists to process their emotions through composing music. LA-based folk singer Annahstasia spent many years crafting her debut album, Tether, doing jus…
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39 min
Norwegian Chord Progression Artist Sondre Lerche Sings Acrobatic Melodies, In-Studio
Norwegian singer-songwriter Sondre Lerche defines himself as a “chord progression artist”: “You establish a pattern, and then of course, you have to break it,” he says. This line o…
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38 min
Indie Rock Band Shearwater Performs Cerebral Songs with Laurie Anderson, In-Studio
Shearwater is the project of singer, songwriter, and ornithologist, Jonathan Meiburg, who recently took a trip to the Antarctica to study the “the bizarre life of the polar seafloo…
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51 min
Best of Soundcheck: Sofia Rei, Mike Doughty
Folk music is known to be the music of the people, but it can sound vastly different from region to region. There are also songs that take inspiration from folk music but fall unde…