The Old Fiddler's Convention in Galax, Va., features mostly amateur musicians playing Bluegrass and Old Time music. At age 89, it's the oldest continuous competition of its kind in the U.S.

It's Friday, and that means many of you are beginning your seven-week wait for the new Taylor Swift album. But there's more to life than show business — let today's truly spectacular new music offerings soundtrack your anticipatory haze.

Just published this week: A portrait of the lucrative drug-treatment industry; a memoir of a female firefighter; debut fiction from an Emmy-winning TV writer; and a brand new Karin Slaughter thriller.

The world is doomed, but at least we've got the Mekons. The British punk band rumbles through its down-but-not-defeated songs with rowdy defiance.

WUWF's Joe V. looks back on The Chieftains 5. The album is 50 this year.

NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with Big Freedia about her new album, "Pressing Onward," and how her childhood singing in the church led her to this moment, fusing gospel with her signature bounce music.

An oral history of the atomic bomb detonations 80 years ago leads this week's list of publishing highlights, which also includes a handful of novels by authors including Louis Sachar and Jason Mott.

The women of Gee's Bend have garnered national fame for their quilt making. Two of its artists will speak at the Sarasota Art Museum on Saturday.

The music is raw and her delivery brash, but Sasha Keable's effortless power and range sets the British Colombian R&B singer-songwriter apart.

World Photography Day is celebrated on Aug. 19 to celebrate the storytelling behind photos. This year, NPR wants to hear the story behind your favorite picture you've taken.