The World Cafe

As one of the most thoughtful singer-songwriters around, Josh Ritter isn't one to write angry, over-the-top, knee-jerk breakup songs — even though his new album, The Beast in Its Tracks, was written entirely in response to his own recent divorce. Gentility and empathy are wired into Ritter's songwriting, so his idea of a breakup anthem is the gorgeous and glorious "Joy to You Baby," in which he closes the book on a relationship by wishing everyone well, himself included.

Richard Thompson started playing in "The British Byrds," Fairport Convention, when he was only 17.

Dutch multi-instrumentalist and producer Jacco Gardner's debut album, Cabinet of Curiosities, offers a fresh take on the baroque pop sound of the 1960s.

In 2010, Lights made Ellie Goulding a star. The British singer-songwriter's debut topped the U.K. albums chart that year, and became a stateside hit over the course of the next 18 months. Goulding has performed at the White House, the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and the Nobel Peace Prize concert.

In this segment of Latin Roots from World Cafe, Grammy-winning Latin music producer Aaron Levinson and host David Dye ourney through the world of merengue music, starting with its roots in the Dominican Republic.

Largely influenced by the dictator Rafael Trujillo to celebrate his political agenda, merengue is a form of fast-paced, rhythmic music. Utilizing diatonic accordions, tamboras and the güira, traditional merengue bands have induced listeners around the world to move with the sounds of the tropical beat.

After a nine-year hiatus, the venerable rock band Camper Van Beethoven has returned with its eighth studio album, La Costa Perdida. Thematically, the record revolves around midlife nostalgia and the group's California roots.

Erin McKeown's new album, Manifestra, is a self-released, fan-funded vehicle for some of her personal and political folk-rock songs. She collaborated with MSNBC's Rachel Maddow for "Baghdad to the Bayou" — Maddow wrote the words, which McKeown then fashioned into a song — while "In God We Trust," "The Politician" and "The Jailer" find the singer speaking out about the death penalty, foreign policy and income inequality.

 NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — There will be a British invasion of the main stage at

Paul McCartney and Mumford & Sons are among the headliners for the 2013 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Manchester, Tenn.

The four-day festival, held on a rural 700-acre farm, always features an eclectic roster, but the June 13-16 event is even more varied than usual.

When she was 21, Sera Cahoone moved from Denver to Seattle to support artists like Carissa's Wierd, Band of Horses and Patrick Park. By 2006, she was focusing on her own solo work and releasing her self-titled debut album.

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Say what you will about some of the biggest songs of the 1980s — go ahead and badmouth electric pianos, and by all means bemoan the prevailing production quality — but the decade continues to cast a long shadow over popular music. Given its enduring popularity on dance floors and on radios, not to mention the rise of '80s-emulating singers like Gotye, you could do far worse than look to that decade for tips on connecting with audiences.

Formed in 2008, Pickwick members Galen Disston, Michael and Garrett Parker, Cassady Lillstrom, Alex Westcoat, and Kory Kruckenberg forged a path toward neo-soul and in 2011 released a compilation of music from three of their EPs. The result was Myths, released one single at a time on 7" vinyl, which put the band on the map and became one of the most popular albums of the year in Seattle.

As the European editor of Rolling Stone, Jonathan Cott spent his time interviewing legendary musicians like Mick Jagger and Pete Townshend. But in 1968, he finally got the opportunity to meet his hero, John Lennon. Cott was nervous.

"He said, 'There's nothing to be nervous about,'" Cott recalls. "'It's going to be OK, and we're doing it together, and that's what really matters.'"

L.A.'s soulful four-man band will play a few songs for us during the Global Village a day after their show opening up for The Who at The Schottenstein Center!

Bat for Lashes, a.k.a. British singer and multi-instrumentalist Natasha Khan, has recorded three albums, and the first two received nominations for the Mercury Prize. Her most recent record, The Haunted Man, came out in October and has already been a considerable success, both commercially and with critics.

Aaron Neville revitalized his favorite doo-wop tracks from the 1950s and '60s for his new album, My True Story. Working with producers Don Was and Keith Richards, Neville and his band give the singer's childhood favorites a soulful life of their own.

At 72, Neville has embarked on a national tour to promote My True Story. Here, he plays a few tracks from the record and talks with host David Dye about his education in doo-wop.

Tune in for a live session with Benjamin Francis Leftwich during the Global Village! 

From his 1970s breakthrough as a founding member of the Mahavishnu Orchestra to his influential role as a leading drummer in the style of jazz and jazz-fusion, Billy Cobham remains a powerful musical explorer. Born in Panama, raised in New York and residing in Switzerland, he translates his multicultural experience into a blend of jazz, rock and funk.

Known as the queen of rockabilly, Wanda Jackson is widely considered the first woman to record a rock 'n' roll song: 1958's "Let's Have a Party." A singer-songwriter, pianist and guitarist, Jackson became a pioneer for her mix of country and rockabilly music. This approach served her well in the mid-1960s, as rockabilly began to decline in popularity.