Rapper, singer, and songwriter Dessa is a longtime member of Minneapolis’s influential Doomtree collective, has toured and recorded with orchestras, and been artist-in-residence at The Greene Space, our ground floor performance venue here in New York. But Dessa is also a writer, a poet, and a keen observer of the times. Her explicit commentary on the state of American politics, along with digressions on art, science, business, love, failure, and creativity fuel her latest songs, which she performs in-studio.

Set list: 1. Camelot 2. Tough Call 3. What if I'm Not Ready

The duo called Dalava has put out three albums based on old Czech, specifically Moravian, folk songs, sourced from melodies transcribed over 100 years ago by the great- grandfather of Dálava's singer, Julia Úlehla. Their latest record, Understories, uses symbolic birds and stories to set a series of progressively darker, more experimental arrangements that seem to cast those songs adrift in both time and place. Julia Úlehla and guitarist Aram Bajakian (Lou Reed, John Zorn) explore magic and realism, harnessing the intense emotion in the body memory of ancestral connections as they perform in-studio. -Caryn Havlik

Set list: 1. Escape Velocity 2. Entanglement 3. Side Real Time

Argentine singer-songwriter Marilina Bertoldi’s brand of rock 'n' roll contains multitudes between the old and the new. Her electric guitar, though it may only be a decade old, has all the markings of a seasoned instrument that has taken the stage at sweaty clubs and music festivals across the Americas and Europe. And the sound of it adds an unmistakably retro touch to Bertoldi’s music, which is often accompanied with glitchy and sampled production elements (and a state-of-the-art pedalboard to control it all). All the sonics aside though, it is Bertoldi’s intensely honest storytelling, which takes on a deeper meaning on stage, that makes her artistry stand out.

Listen to her fiery performance from our Manhattan studios with Manu Fernandez on drums, as well as her words on life on the road and the creative process behind the latest album PARA QUIEN TRABAJAS Vol. I, which recently earned Bertoldi a Latin Grammy nomination. (- Sırma Munyar)

Setlist: 1. Pucho 2. O No? 3. La Casa de A

Canadian indie rock collective The New Pornographers has a history that spans almost three decades. Leaving nine albums behind, the band enters a new era with The Former Site Of, which, as always, centers on frontman A.C. Newman’s introspective songwriting, studying self-destructive tendencies and character building with power pop soundscapes in the backdrop. While writing the new batch of songs, some of which originated prior to the creation of the previous record Continue as a Guest, Newman looked for ways to not “ruin them with lyrics”; sporadically revisiting demos, muting and unmuting the vocals, looking to achieve symbiosis between the story and its music.

As A.C. Newman puts it, “Being a musician… It’s easy to lose sight of why you do it” and get sidetracked by the business side of the job. Remembering the purest reasons why lies in the writing process that leads to words like: “The thing about fortune / It does no favors / And it's form fitting / You barely know that it's there” (Pure Sticker Shock).

Newman pays a visit to our studios with bandmember Kathryn Calder, accompanied by session musicians Lilah Larson and Adam Minkoff for a special live performance and an eye-opening interview. (- Sırma Munyar)

Setlist: 1. Votive 2. Pure Sticker Shock 3. Spooky Action 4. The Former Site Of

Experimental music composers Elori Saxl and Henry Solomon found common ground in electroacoustic duets in their collaborative album, Seeing Is Forgetting.

Solomon is a Los Angeles-based saxophonist who can improvise in any musical setting, whether he’s recording with Paramore, Miley Cyrus, and HAIM, or assembling a score for a film. Saxl’s intricate music writing also knows no bounds, dancing between classical and electronic music in her commissions from PBS, Guggenheim, and This American Life. Together, the duo recorded three hours of music in LA, embarking on a sonic adventure free of hesitation and doubt. Blurring the rigidity of the steps between musical notes, they filled the gradients with glides and noise, often losing track of who’s playing which parts, as their sessions went on. The tricky part of their creative process was narrowing their “near-telepathic” musical conversations down to an album form. But they finally did, achieving fluid cohesion between Saxl’s JUNO-106 harmonies and Solomon’s baritone sax and bass clarinet melodies. Now, their conversations continue on stage and throughout the live performances captured at our Manhattan studios, built upon the base of Seeing Is Forgetting, but continuously encountering new ideas and happy accidents. (- Sırma Munyar)

Setlist: 1. Reno Silver 2. Thousand Steps 3. Heart

Martin Hayes is one of the great Irish fiddlers of our time, and one of the things that makes his playing so distinctive is the way he incorporates elements of jazz and contemporary classical music. Hayes is a founding member of the Irish-American supergroup The Gloaming, and he’s led a couple of ensembles, the Martin Hayes Quartet and the Common Ground Ensemble, that include musicians from the New York new music scene. Guitarist Kyle Sanna, for example, is part of the Common Ground Ensemble, who are part of a St Patrick's Day 2026 concert at Carnegie Hall and he joins Martin Hayes to play a few tunes, in-studio.

Set list: 1. The Wild Geese/Lord Leitrim 2. Port An Deoari/My Mary Ann 3. The Golden Castle/Mikey Callaghans

As both a musician and an activist, Steve Earle has been a voice for people living on the margins. His songs blend folk, country, and rock, and among his many awards are a bunch of Grammys and his recent induction into the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. And yet, many people will be more familiar with Steve Earle’s work as an actor, on screen, on stage, and on TV series like The Wire and Treme. Add in a tumultuous personal life, and you have a guy with stories to tell. Steve Earle’s current tour is called Fifty-One Years of Songs and Stories, and he plays a solo set, including a tune from the show, 'Tender Mercies', in-studio.

Set list: 1. Copperhead Road 2. I Don't Trust Happiness 3. City of Immigrants

The young Mexican singer-songwriter Humbe is no stranger to posting short clips of his songs on TikTok. He feeds on the transparency between his artistic universe and the fans that flock to it like a moth to a flame. His authentic brand of soul, contemporary R&B, and Latin dance music triggers the algorithm time and time again, connecting with audiences across the globe. The latest album, Dueño del Cielo, marks another milestone in his artistic exploration, “looking into the sky when there’s nothing left on the ground”. Filled with religious imagery, voice memos of lived experiences, and dreamy depictions of the chemistry behind human emotions, the album combines Humbe’s candid lyricism with impressively passionate vocal performances.

Humbe’s 2026 tour is ongoing with dates in North America, South America, and Europe. He takes a break from the road to play a stripped-down set with his band at our Manhattan studio. (- Sırma Munyar)

Setlist: 1. Harry Stamper 2. Fantasmas 3. Morfina