Heavy Rotation: Public Radio's Favorite Songs Of 2020 (So Far)

All around the country, NPR member stations are not only a vital source of news but music, arts and culture, too. We are grateful that music stations never stopped providing their unique blend of programming for listeners during this ongoing pandemic. They also provided critical support for their local music economies.

We usually ask our stations to pick songs that are in heavy rotation on their broadcast logs for this series. But given that we're halfway through 2020, we wanted to know our station's favorite songs of the year so far.

All songs from this month's Heavy Rotation are available to stream on the Spotify playlist at the bottom of this page.

Angelica Garcia, "It Don't Hinder Me"

On Angelica Garcia's album Cha Cha Palace, Garcia channels her Latina roots and declares to the world that nothing is going to stop her. The album came out just before the pandemic took a foothold and put a stop to summer tours. The track "It Don't Hinder Me" encapsulates the tone of her entire album, with hooks that capture her fierce energy and pull you in and let you know — unapologetically — who she is. She dropped the song back in 2019 as a precursor to what was coming in 2020 and now it can serve as an anthem for all of us. --Ian Stewart, VPM's World Music Show

Deborah Jordan, "Be There (Call My Name)"

Singer and songwriter Deborah Jordan has long been a fixture in the progressive soul music community, with a long list of album masterworks that has seen her evolve her sound and refine her groove. Her latest release, , is a collection of beautifully rendered soul stunners that suggest that this may be her magnum opus. The high musical craftmanship is evident in "Be There (Call My Name)," a hypnotically melodic piece that incorporates warm