Berklee Now

a yellow electric guitar with bows on it on a red fabric background — Image by Kelly Davidson

Berklee Wrapped 2024: Our Top News and Stories

Take a look at some of our best stories of the year, including announcing our next president, hosting André 3000, and learning from the alumni shaping Latin music's future.

A bearded person dressed as Santa wearing headphones and either grooving to the music or very annoyed by it — Image courtesy of Cottonbro Studio/Pexel

Too Many Jingle Bells on the Brain? Try Earworm Eraser

’Tis the season for incessant holiday music. If you need an escape, give this scientifically engineered audio track a try, or listen to our playlist of nontraditional winter tunes.

Jim Lucchese Talks About Being an 'Artists' Advocate' and How He'll Approach Berklee Presidency

Lucchese, whose career as an entrepreneur and lawyer has focused on helping musicians, becomes Berklee’s fifth president in January.

A still of the band Toto in the recording studio from Yacht Rock: A Dockumentary — Toto in the recording studio from *Yacht Rock: A Dockumentary*.

Photograph by Jim Hagopian/HBO

The Best Music Documentaries on Every Streaming Platform

Explore groundbreaking music documentaries streaming across Netflix, HBO Max, Disney+, and more. From intimate artist portraits to legendary concert films, discover the stories behind your favorite artists and iconic moments.

Photo of Arooj Aftab — Arooj Aftab

Image courtesy of the artist

Arooj Aftab Shines on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

In her US television debut, the Grammy winner performed “Raat Ki Rani,” backed by a band that included fellow alumni Maeve Gilchrist and Engin Kaan Gunaydin.

Adrianne Lenker performs on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert with her band Big Thief — Adrianne Lenker performing on *The Late Show with Stephen Colbert*.

Image by Scott Kowalchyk/CBS

NPR’s Best Songs of 2024 List Highlights Berklee Alumni

Arooj Aftab, Adrianne Lenker, Tiny Habits, and more made the cut on NPR’s roundup of this year’s top tracks.

Tabla virtuoso Zakir Hussain shared thoughts on Indian music, tabla technique, and improvisation at a recent master class.

Image by Mike Spencer

Zakir Hussain on Embodying Your Music

We remember the late Indian composer and tabla virtuoso through some of the thoughts he shared on improvisation and a musician's relationship to their instrument during his visit to campus.

A young Michael McDonald sitting on stage at a piano with his band in the background — Michael McDonald, one of yacht rock's icons.

Image by Soul Train/Getty/Courtesy HBO

What Is Yacht Rock? Plus 20 Songs for Smooth Sailing on Rocky Waters

Read about how the soft-rock genre has weathered the test of time, and listen to a playlist of some of the best yacht rock songs, from Christopher Cross and Toto to Steely Dan and Thundercat.