The World’s music features this week: Planet Drum at 25, ETHEL and Esma Redžepova

Each week on The World, we feature a unique selection of music, and every week we put together the highlights for you here.

Here's the latest, curated by host Marco Werman and director April Peavey. (If you're looking for all the music you heard on the show, go here.)

Mickey Hart's Planet Drum turns 25

The concept was simple: pull together virtuoso percussionists from five continents and see what happens. The project became known as Planet Drum and was led by the Grateful Dead's drummer Mickey Hart. — Marco

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Remembering Esma Redžepova, the Romany queen of song

We remember Esma Redžepova, the singer from Macedonia, who died at the age of 73. She was known as the Queen of Romany, or Gypsy music. Her extravagant outfits, big gold earrings and powerful voice were a fixture on world stages for almost five decades. Here's more Redžepova. — The World staff

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New strings

This week, we featured music from a string quartet, which usually carries these classic sounds: violins, violas and cellos, and not much else.

Unless that string quartet happens to be called ETHEL.

The World's Shondiin Silversmith put together this feature on the New York-based string ensemble that's shaking up the sound of Native American tradition. — April

A Rolling Stones classic remade

A British Christmas charity single in memory of the murdered Member of Parliament Jo Cox was released Friday. Money raised from the song will be donated to the foundation set up in the name of the Labor MP who was killed by a white supremacist in June. Artists like David Gray and KT Tunstall perform a version of the Rolling Stones' song "You Can't Always Get What You Want." — Marco

'A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall'

Finally on this week's Global Hit podcast, we connect the dots between a Bob Dylan song, singer Patti Smith and the current crisis in Aleppo, Syria. — Marco

And in other news

Vinyl just beat out ditigal downloads in the UK. And the demand is keeping record plants humming around the clock. Hear Marco's conversation with Alan Scholefield, co-owner of Honest Jon's, a record shop on Portobello Road in London. — April