Exploring Intimacy in Music and Celebrating Americana

Sabrina Carpenter. The Beaches. Margo Price. This week, Stephen Thompson chats with NPR Music's Hazel Cills and WMOT's Jessie Scott about the best new albums out this new music Friday.

The Starting 5:

• The Beaches, 'No Hard Feelings'

• The Beths, 'Straight Line Was A Lie'

• Margo Price, 'Hard Headed Woman'

• Rodney Crowell, 'Airline Highway'

• Anna Tivel, 'Animal Poem'

Read more about WMOT's live webcast from AMERICANAFEST 2025.

The Lightning Round:

• Blood Orange, 'Essex Honey'

• Jaelee Roberts, 'Let Me Be Lonely'

• Brad Mehldau, 'Ride Into the Sun'

• CMAT, 'EURO-COUNTRY'

• Tiwa Savage, 'This One Is Personal'

See the long list of albums out Aug. 29 and sample dozens of them via our New Music Friday playlist on npr.org.

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