The World Cafe

Brian Sella and Mathew Uychich of the New Jersey band The Front Bottoms have been playing together for years.

Jonathan Wilson is practically overflowing with music, if his debut album Gentle Spirit is any indication. The album runs 78 minutes, with several songs spanning more than six minutes. That's a lot of material for a debut, but Wilson is no newbie — he's worked with the likes of Elvis Costello, Robbie Robertson and Jackson Browne.

Polica's sound is crisp, minimalist and mesmerizing. Singer Channy Leaneagh plays her voice like an instrument, using AutoTune both in the studio and at live shows to manipulate her vocals. Against the sliding violins, saxophone solos, relaxed bass and dueling drums of Polica, it's hard to believe that before this, Leaneagh sang folk music for six years in her previous band, Roma di Luna.

Girls' 2011 album Father, Son, Holy Ghost strikes a careful balance between creating music that sounds classic and writing something that's already been done. Ever since Girls' debut, Album, the band has been writing and recording music that's familiar, urgent and refreshingly simple.

JC Brooks and his band The Uptown Sound have made a name for themselves by bringing back the essentials of 1970s soul. Blending rock and R&B from the early '70s — with nods to the underground punk and hip-hop movements of the same period — the group is known for its classically retro sound. Guitarist Billy Bungeroth, drummer Kevin Marks, keyboardist Andy Rosenstein and bassist Ben Taylor provide the nitty-gritty groundwork for JC Brooks, a singer with funk flowing through his veins.

The celebrated alt-country group Centro-Matic hails from Denton, Texas. What began as a side project for singer-songwriter and guitarist Will Johnson in the 1990s soon grew into a full-fledged band. With 20 albums in just 14 years, Centro-Matic has built a solid reputation for playful yet masterful, country-infused rock. With Matt Pence, Scott Danborn and Mark Hedman supporting Johnson's quick wit and pop influences, Centro-Matic's catalog exudes both boundless energy and emotional restraint.

Chris Taylor may not be a household name, but you've probably encountered some of his work. Taylor was the bassist, producer and backing vocalist of Grizzly Bear on Yellow House and Veckatimest, in addition to running his own record label, Terrible Records.

Sons of Fathers' self-titled debut is unmistakably Texan: Bold, powerful and twangy, there's nothing small about it. David Whitbeck and Paul Cauthen met through mutual friends, but started to play together when they realized that they wrote music at the same park on the Blanco River. That was the first of many coincidences. Within days, they'd written "an incredible number of songs," Cauthen says. "We just fall into sockets of harmony naturally."

R&B icon Betty Wright signed her first local label deal when she was only 11, and by the time she was 17, she'd released her first hit single, 1971's "Clean Up Woman," which also crossed over to the pop charts. With a four-octave vocal range, an impressive grasp of the connection between gospel and R&B, and a sensual style, Wright continues to weave an impressive legacy. Her songs have been sampled by many hip-hop, rock and R&B musicians, including Mary J.

Grammy-winning producer and record-label owner Aaron Levinson is in the studio to introduce us to a corner of Latin roots music called cumbia. Affiliated with a number of professional recording academies and societies, this internationally known musician also owns a recording studio in Ardmore, and has consistently received recognition for his work with Latin music. In the studio today, Levinson and host David Dye talk about the origin and evolution of cumbia, including its late resurgence in popularity in New York.

Alabama Shakes, a soulful rock 'n' roll quartet, is riding a well-deserved wave to fame. Since the release of its self-titled debut in 2011, the band has entranced listeners with its diverse and energetic songs. Alabama Shakes' style is marked by lead singer Brittany Howard's powerful voice and the group's irresistible energy. Together, they enthusiastically blend rock with soul, country, blues and roots.

Grace Woodroofe is only 21, but her warm and wise music marks her as an old soul. Born in Australia, the blues-folk singer was discovered by actor Heath Ledger when she was 16. The self-taught guitarist and singer subsequently relocated to California to record and develop her sound.

Czech musician Markéta Irglová has spent much of her life becoming a darling of the folk and indie-rock scenes. At 13, she began collaborating with Glen Hansard and his band The Frames.

When the genre-defying Melissa McClelland married Juno nominee Luke Doucet, it seemed inevitable that the Canadian power couple would collaborate soon. After all, they'd had overlapping but stylistically diverse careers. McClelland was featured in Degrassi and won Best Americana Song at the 6th Annual Independent Music Awards, and her collaboration with Jesse Cook for his track "It Ain't Me Babe" spent three weeks at No. 1 on Billboard's world-music charts.

Throughout the month of October, we celebrated the 20th anniversary of World Cafe by revisiting some of the best and most memorable interviews of the past 20 years.

On today's jam-packed session, host David Dye takes us on a journey through the singer-songwriter movement of the 1990s, with artists who were at the forefront of the World Cafe program in its infancy.

Blending melodic, powerful, guitar-driven indie rock with hook-filled pop and Coldplay-style balladry, Scottish band Snow Patrol has become an international sensation with heavy touring, chart-topping albums and beautiful singles. In 2003, Final Straw vaulted the group onto the international music scene.

The informal nature of The Little Willies speaks to its members' chemistry and love of country-music classics; after all, their moniker is a tribute to country-music legend Willie Nelson.

Eric Bachmann can't seem to stay away from music. The talented singer-songwriter first attracted mainstream and underground attention in the '90s with Archers of Loaf before introducing a new project called Crooked Fingers in 2000.

Ani DiFranco called on a diverse lineup of guests, including Pete Seeger and Anais Mitchell, for her first new record in three years. Over the course of 21 studio albums in a 21-year career, DiFranco's folk-rock music has broached topics from politics to love, but has never strayed from being, as she would say, "righteous." In every sense of the word

Novalima began in 2001 when four Peruvian friends, all living in different parts of the world, took to the Internet to exchange ideas. Pulling from rock, pop, salsa, reggae, dance and electronic music, they formed a collective that would soon become known worldwide for its inventive form of Afro-Peruvian roots music. Novalima released its self-titled debut in 2002, and its 2005 follow-up won the Independent Music Award for best album in world fusion.