The Rhythm Atlas

Since we have now hit the half-way mark of 2026, I wanted to share tracks from some of my favorite albums of the year so far. As always, it’s difficult to narrow down favorites like this, but I’ve chosen a variety of pieces from some of the new albums I’ve kept coming back to throughout the year so far. I hope you can tune in live starting tonight, or listen to the streamed audio at any time! (See info below for details...)

Here are all the artists and labels included in the playlist:
Nuevos Rios - ZZK Records
Sofia Rei feat. Mireya Ramos and Pedrito Martinez - GroundUP Music
Jorge Drexler - Sony Music Entertainment España, S.L.
Tinariwen feat. Solafa Elyas - Wedge
Souad Massi - BackingTrack Production / Sony Music Entertainment France SAS
Cheikh Ibra Fam - Cumbancha
Damily - Les Disques Bongo Joe
Lady Maisery & Jimmy Aldridge & Sid Goldsmith - LM Records / FolkEast Festival
Eliza Marshall - One World Records
Holly Clarke - Holly Clarke
Medusa Quartet - Medusa Quartet
WÖR & Kongero - Nordic Notes
Le Bal Jacquin - A Tout Va / Modulor
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The program airs on two NPR stations this week, starting Thursday, July 2nd, 2026:
- Thursdays - 8 pm (Central Time US) on KAMU Public Broadcasting at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas
- Sundays - 6 pm (Central) on my home station Public Radio Tulsa in Oklahoma
Go to the Listen page on our website for live-stream links to the station websites and the archived audio stream for each show on PRX:
https://rhythmatlas.com/listen/

I hope you can tune in for this week’s radio program! The show kicks off with the fantastic Austin-based band Money Chicha - who are performing a *FREE* concert here in Tulsa at Guthrie Green on Saturday night, May 16th at 7:30 pm, with the Chris Combs Quartet with special guest Jesse Aycock opening. It should be an amazing concert! The rest of the playlist is full of wonderful new releases from all around the world that I think you’ll dig. 😎

Here are all the artists and labels included in the playlist for the radio show:
Money Chicha - Distrolux SL / Vampisoul
Nuevos Rios - ZZK Records
Doctor Nativo - Stonetree Records
The Klezmatics feat. Sofia Rei - SHAMUS RECORDS, Inc. / Asphalt Tango Records
Roger Davidson and the Frank London Klezmer Orchestra - Roger Davidson
DIVKA - DIVKA
Charif Megarbane & Ali - Habibi Funk Records
Maz O'Connor - Restless Head Records
Seán Keegan with Macdara Ó Faoláin - Adhyâropa Records
Holly Clarke - Holly Clarke
Lalo Zanelli - Buda Musique
WÖR & Kongero - Nordic Notes
Les Fils Canouche - SARL VLAD PRODUCTIONS
(tagged in a comment since FB does not let me tag so many accounts in posts any more…)
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The program airs on two NPR stations this week, starting Thursday, May 14th, 2026:
> Thursdays - 8 pm (Central Time US) on KAMU Public Broadcasting at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas
> Sundays - 6 pm (Central) on my home station Public Radio Tulsa in Oklahoma
Go to the Listen page on our website for live-stream links to the station websites and the archived audio stream for each show on PRX:
https://rhythmatlas.com/listen/