NPR: Felix Contreras

Girl in a Coma is a trio of young women from San Antonio who play rock music — loud rock music — in both English and Spanish. Twenty-three-year-old lead singer and songwriter Nina Diaz is the youngest member of the band. Her sister Phannie plays drums, while their longtime friend Jenn Alva slaps the bass. Girl in a Coma is signed to Blackheart Records — a label owned by rocker Joan Jett — and takes its name from the song "Girlfriend In A Coma" by The Smiths.

Over the next few weeks, we're producing stories about the business of putting on free concerts, how they work and what they bring to their communities. Last week's Weekend Edition Saturday story covered non-profit concert presenters in New York City.

Frank Foster, a saxophonist and composer/arranger best known for his longtime association with the Count Basie Orchestra, has died. He passed away in his sleep early Tuesday morning at his home in Chesapeake, Va., according to his widow and manager, Cecilia Foster. He was 82.

Foster was a key member of the "New Testament" Basie band — the large ensemble Basie led in the 1950s and beyond. In addition to his playing on tenor saxophone and other woodwinds, he contributed many melodies and arrangements. At least one of those tunes, "Shiny Stockings," became a jazz standard.

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For the last 16 years, Ozomatli has been modestly proving that a band can mix music and politics and still sell records.

I say modestly because they don't draw attention to themselves for that. To do so would dilute their message. Instead their method has been to lead by musical example.

If the whole world were in school, the Cubans would have a Ph.D in rhythm. Even the seemingly easy swing of the Buena Vista Social Club was based on the African polyrhythms of the two-measure clave, which is part metronome, part rhythm marker.

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Vocalist and performer Gil Scott-Heron, called one of the padrinos of rap for his politically charged spoken word performances in the '70s, died yesterday at a Manhattan hospital. He was 62 years old.

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Carlos Santana made news this week, and not by playing music.

According to this article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Santana spoke out strongly against immigration legislation in Arizona and Georgia.

Los Tigres del Norte earned the respect they've generated in the music business and among their fans the hard way: note by note, line by line and mile by mile.

To explain the one of a kind connection to their audience, let me offer a short behind-the-scenes story about covering them for NPR News.

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About three years ago I finally replaced my turntable, and I've been returning to vinyl like a long lost friend.

During a recent crate-diving expedition to my local used vinyl store, I came across an album cover that caught my eye.

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Found Mariachi is an occasional series in which we shout out to mariachi found in unexpected musical places.

My first post featured Lady Gaga.

It's hard to believe that Julieta Venegas released her first album more than 10 years ago — I still think of her as a newcomer. But just as I mark time by checking in on my best friends' kids ("They're how old now?!"), so too do we see and hear Venegas maturing as a performer and songwriter who still defies expectations.

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Cinco de Mayo may be the world's most misunderstood holiday. It is NOT Mexican Independence Day (that's September 16). It is not a religious holiday. In fact, it's not even that big a deal in Mexico. Without making this a history lecture, let me briefly walk you through why this date matters.

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Last week's show featured a track by Latin music pioneer Joe Cuba and I promised to share the back story as to why we included it.

Seems a DJ who goes by the name DJ Turmix is rocking clubs, parties and other gatherings in New York not with various strains of dance music (house, trip-hop, trance, etc,).

He's doing it with straight-ahead, old school boogaloo.

Who knew a bunch guys in Mexican cowboy outfits would become part of a hip trend?

This post kicks off an occasional series of brief posts we're calling Found Mariachi in which we share unlikely mariachi sightings.

We kick things off with Lady Gaga.

No, seriously — Lady Gaga!

And because we recognize that one occurrence does not make a trend, but three do, here are two more: