NPR Music

Ben Howard is already a phenomenon in the UK. Word of mouth spread quickly after a series of performances around London and his native Devonshire and, after seeing him live, I can see why. He sang a handful of haunting folk songs, including standout "Depth over Distance".

Click here for more from this KCRW session.

For World Cafe's 13th episode of Latin Roots, Latin-music expert Ernesto Lechner talks tango. Lechner was born and raised in Buenos Aires, which is widely regarded as the genre's birthplace.

Though John Lydon remains best known as Johnny Rotten, former lead singer of The Sex Pistols, his music career didn't end with the pioneering punk act's split in 1978. Lydon formed Public Image Ltd shortly thereafter and dropped his adopted stage name. Widely considered the first post-punk band, PiL experiments with a wide palette of sounds, including dub, rock and disco.

Allison Miller has a jazz portfolio with Dr. Lonnie Smith, Steven Bernstein and a host of others, as well as a pop career with Brandi Carlile, Ani DiFranco and Natalie Merchant. She's a U.S.