Plus: Scotland’s great lost all-female bands
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Picks of the week
Pop superstar Sabrina Carpenter on freakish fame, fighting Disney and writing the song of the summer
‘I’m a tyrant!’  
Pop superstar Sabrina Carpenter on freakish fame, fighting Disney and writing the song of the summer
After 14 years in obscurity, she has now been streamed by billions, censored by the BBC and toured with Taylor Swift – and she’s still only 25. But the Espresso singer says the public aren’t making life easy
The reader interview  
‘Optimists have happier lives’: Laurie Anderson on Bowie, Lou Reed and ‘romantic, inspiring’ JFK
‘We like it when things fall apart’  
Heavy rockers Wunderhorse on embracing music’s messy side
‘They couldn’t even afford a bag of chips!’  
Scotland’s great lost all-female bands
‘Steam will come out of readers’ ears!’  
Joe Boyd on his epic, enraging history of global music
‘Colonialism and nationalism, we’re rejecting all that’  
The folk musicians rethinking Britishness
Reviews
Alexis Petridis's album of the week  
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds: Wild God – this masterpiece will make you fall back in love with life
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds: Wild God – this masterpiece will make you fall back in love with life
Kitty Empire's album of the week  
Gillian Welch and David Rawlings: Woodland – 10 exquisite songs of loss and love
Album review  
Spirit of the Beehive: You’ll Have to Lose Something – like an arthouse horror movie in sound
Film review  
Kneecap – Irish-language hip-hop trio in fiercely riotous Belfast romp
Folk album of the month  
Nuala Kennedy and Eamon O’Leary: Hydra – sumptuous folk songs
Album review  
Mura Masa: Curve 1 – relentlessly above par
 
In conversation with Tim Minchin
The Guardian

Tim Minchin will reflect on how it’s never too late to put something beautiful out into the world in his novel, You Don’t Have to Have a Dream.

Date: Thursday 5 September 2024
Time: 7.30pm-9pm BST

The Guardian Live
 
Spotlight
Love story: Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour at Wembley
The Guardian picture essay  
Love story: Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour at Wembley
Scottish photographer Dougie Wallace documented the Swifties from the UK and beyond decked in their finery to see their hero perform
Classical
Classical album of the week  
Smetana & Schubert: Piano Trios album review – immensely promising debut
Smetana & Schubert: Piano Trios album review – immensely promising debut
Feature  
The factional anthem: why dictators, leaders and protesters have fought over Beethoven’s Ninth
The factional anthem: why dictators, leaders and protesters have fought over Beethoven’s Ninth
Album review  
Thomas de Hartmann: Rediscovered – a lament for postwar Ukraine
Thomas de Hartmann: Rediscovered – a lament for postwar Ukraine
Proms 2024  
Prom 42: Beethoven’s Ninth by Heart – music and emotion made electrifyingly visual
Prom 42: Beethoven’s Ninth by Heart – music and emotion made electrifyingly visual
Concert review  
São Paulo Symphony Orchestra/Fischer – a rich and colourful library of music
São Paulo Symphony Orchestra/Fischer – a rich and colourful library of music
Proms 2024  
Prom 41: Ensemble Resonanz/Minasi – soloists shine in underpowered Mozart programme
Prom 41: Ensemble Resonanz/Minasi – soloists shine in underpowered Mozart programme
Add to playlist
Australian critic's picks  
X Club, the hard and fast DJ duo raving around the world
X Club, the hard and fast DJ duo raving around the world
Feature  
‘It’s fun, quirky and romantic’: why everyone wants Bridgerton music at their wedding
You may have missed
‘Peter Gabriel’s cover of The Book of Love bought me a house’: the Magnetic Fields on 69 Love Songs
How we made  
‘Peter Gabriel’s cover of The Book of Love bought me a house’: the Magnetic Fields on 69 Love Songs
‘The album expressed a position on heteronormativity. I’d sing a male part or lesbian part. It’s normal now, but 25 years ago it felt electrifying’
‘We’re not trying to rival the Prodigy’  
How podcasters took over music festivals
Famous for unhinged debauchery, this weekend Reading and Leeds festivals will see the debut of the Aux, a stage dedicated solely to podcasts. So is chatting the new rock’n’roll?
Palestinian hip-hop collective DAM  
Music can’t stop a war machine
Despite censorship and boycotts, the veteran rap group have never shied away from the political. But the situation in Gaza has made them question whether there’s really any power in art
Profile  
How Northern Irish rap trio Kneecap rose to fame by subverting the Troubles
As an Oscar-entry film about the rappers opens this week, Kneecap speak about fusing irony and provocation – and the anti-immigrant riots
A moment that changed me  
I had a drunken idea to start a music festival – so I sold my house
I left school at 14 and became a builder, but I had always wanted to work in the music industry. Setting up the festival proved harder and more rewarding than I ever expected
Taylor Swift  
Key takeaways from the European leg of the Eras tour
A look at the Swiftonomics, a plot foiled, and Swift’s response to a tragedy, as singer prepares to head to Canada
Live music this week
Festival review  
Green Man: Sherelle sets the tone, Big Thief are a big hit and Sampha closes in style
Green Man: Sherelle sets the tone, Big Thief are a big hit and Sampha closes in style
Jazz  
André 3000 – live spiritual jazz leaves hip-hop visionary with nowhere to hide
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