One of the nation's most notable music critics, Powers has been writing for The Record, NPR's blog about finding, making, buying, sharing and talking about music, since April 2011.
Powers served as chief pop music critic at the Los Angeles Times from 2006 until she joined NPR. Prior to the Los Angeles Times, she was senior critic at Blender and senior curator at Experience Music Project. From 1997 to 2001 Powers was a pop critic at The New York Times and before that worked as a senior editor at the Village Voice. Powers began her career working as an editor and columnist at San Francisco Weekly.
Her writing extends beyond blogs, magazines and newspapers. Powers co-wrote Tori Amos: Piece By Piece, with Amos, which was published in 2005. In 1999, Power's book Weird Like Us: My Bohemian America was published. She was the editor, with Evelyn McDonnell, of the 1995 book Rock She Wrote: Women Write About Rock, Rap, and Pop and the editor of Best Music Writing 2010.
After earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in creative writing from San Francisco State University, Powers went on to receive a Master of Arts degree in English from the University of California.
Ronnie Spector, lead singer of the 1960s girl group The Ronettes, has died at 78 after a bout with cancer. She recorded a string of pop hits including "Walking In The Rain" and "Be My Baby."
Music to pay attention to in 2022
A new year means a lot of new music. But what's worth checking out? A sneak preview of what you should be listening to in 2022.
The Fellowship of the Rockers
The new documentary Get Back, cut from 50-year-old footage of Beatles recording sessions by director Peter Jackson, offers a chance to look at one moment when the myth of the "band guy" took shape.
The Best New Artists & Breakthroughs of 2021
Raina Douris
Across genre, styles and borders, these artists were all about connecting in a disconnected world.
New docuseries gives fans unprecedented access to The Beatles
NPR Music critic Ann Powers reviews a new docuseries called "The Beatles: Get Back". It centers around hours of unseen footage of Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr.
On '30,' Adele walks among us
The star who commands a planetary position in the galaxy of pop chronicles divorce and soul-searching recovery on an album that thrillingly redefines her artistry by bringing her gently down to earth.
Erin Rae, 'Modern Woman'
Rae's new sonic approach suits this intimate anthem, a call for redefinition (or, as the lyrics say, an acceptance of what's always been true) that poetically makes its case.
John Prine's First Album Came Out The Same Year NPR Debuted Original Programming
NPR turns 50 this year, and we're marking it by looking back on some other things that happened in 1971. It was that year that songwriter John Prine released his debut album. Prine died in 2020.
Emmylou Harris And The Nash Ramblers, 'Mystery Train (Live)'
Emmylou Harris, queen of Nashville, and the Nash Ramblers, an all-star, bluegrass-leaning acoustic band, perform a breakneck live version of the Junior Parker and Elvis classic "Mystery Train."
Being A Teenager In The 1950s Was Hard. The Everly Brothers Understood
From the opening of their first hit, "Bye Bye Love," the Everly Brothers spoke directly to the deepest longings and anxieties of the generation that would come to define the rock and soul era.