Nonesuch Records releases saxophonist Joshua Redman’s Walking Shadows on May 7, 2013. The album, comprising 12 ballads, is Redman’s first recording to include an orchestral ensemble, which plays on many of the tracks. It was produced by Redman’s friend and frequent collaborator Brad Mehldau. The record's core ensemble is a quartet featuring Mehldau, Larry Grenadier, and Brian Blade. Walking Shadows includes original tunes from both Redman and Mehldau along with works by a wide range of composers like John Mayer and Pino Palladino, Kern and Hammerstein, and Lennon and McCartney. Walking Shadows is now available to pre-order in the Nonesuch Store with an instant download of the Redman-penned track “Final Hour."

Sam Amidon, who launches a three-city tour of Australia at the Adelaide Festival tonight, is set to make his Nonesuch Records debut with the release of his new album, Bright Sunny South, on May 14. The album is now available to pre-order in the Nonesuch Store with an instant download of two tracks from the album—Amidon's take on Tim McGraw's "My Old Friend" (which you can hear below) and the traditional tune "He's Taken My Feet"—and a download of the complete album available starting release day.

Devendra Banhart's Nonesuch Records debut album, Mala, is due out next week. But you don’t need to wait till then to hear it. The album is streaming in full all this week as an NPR First Listen; it is still available to pre-order in the Nonesuch Store with a limited-edition, autographed print. Banhart, who is featured in a new Pitchfork interview, will tour Europe this summer, including three UK dates: in Brighton, Manchester, and London. He will perform at the Open'er Festival in Poland and at Le Trianon in Paris. Additional dates are still to be announced in Italy, Germany, Spain, Portugal, and Holland.  

Record Store Day, the annual celebration of the unique culture surrounding over 1,000 independently owned record stores in the US and hundreds internationally, is set to take place on Saturday, April 20, and included among the special limited-edition releases on that day are vinyl recordings from The Black Keys, Bombino, Iron and Wine, and Punch Brothers.

Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell's album Old Yellow Moon, their first official collaboration since Crowell joined Harris' Hot Band in 1975, is out now (in Europe March 4). Harris and Crowell marked the occasion with a performance on the Late Show with David Letterman last night. The album earns four stars from Mojo and Q, which calls it "some of the best work of their careers." Country Music People gives this "magnificent album" a perfect five stars. Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell launch a tour together in March.

Iron and Wine's Nonesuch Records debut album, Ghost on Ghost, is due out in the United States on April 16, 2013, and is now available to pre-order on CD and vinyl at ironandwine.com and in the Nonesuch Store. Pre-orders include a limited-edition print of a handwritten lyric sheet for the song "Grace for Saints and Ramblers" (a select number of which will be autographed), an instant download of the same song, and a download of the complete album starting April 16. Listen to "Grace for Saints and Ramblers" here.

Nonesuch Records releases Sam Amidon’s label debut, Bright Sunny South, on May 14. Produced by Amidon with his childhood friend and longtime collaborator Thomas Bartlett (a.k.a. Doveman) and legendary English engineer Jerry Boys (Buena Vista Social Club, Vashti Bunyan, R.E.M.) and recorded in London, the record features a band made up of Bartlett and multi-instrumentalists Shahzad Ismaily and Chris Vatalaro. Jazz trumpeter Kenny Wheeler also makes a cameo. Amidon himself not only sings but also plays banjo, fiddle, acoustic guitar, and piano on the album. Listen to the album track "My Old Friend" here.

Nataly Dawn makes her Nonesuch debut with today's release of her solo album How I Knew Her. She has also unveiled a video for the title track, which you can watch here. The album comprises 12 autobiographical, introspective songs by Dawn, one half of Pomplamoose, and was produced by her longtime partner Jack Conte. "While she retains a lot of the whimsy and charm of Pomplamoose," says NPR's All Things Considered, "the music here reveals a whole different side of Nataly Dawn that Pomplamoose fans might not have known was there ... It's funny, and it's challenging. It's poignant, spiritual." Listen to her recent performance on Portland's KINK FM here.

Pat Metheny, who won his 20th Grammy Award this week for Unity Band, releases his latest album, The Orchestrion Project, today. Recorded at a church in Brooklyn, the album showcases the full evolution of the Orchestrion as documented at the end of a sprawling world tour. The two-disc set features all five tunes from Metheny's Orchestrion—“a soaring five-movement suite featuring some of the most intricate music he's ever created" (Boston Globe)—plus eight additional Metheny compositions, which he plays on his phalanx of remarkable, custom-made instruments via solenoid switches and pneumatics. Q and Mojo give the album four stars, as does the Observer which calls it "fresh, elegant and surprising."

Nonesuch Records will release Nomad, from the Tuareg guitarist, singer, and songwriter Omara “Bombino” Moctar, on April 2. At the invitation of The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach, the Niger-born artist and his band traveled to Nashville for the recording, helmed by Auerbach at his studio, Easy Eye Sound. A pre-order of Nomad on CD and vinyl is available now in the Nonesuch Store and includes an instant download of the album track “Azamane Tiliade.” (Watch a trailer with the track here.) Bombino will embark on a US tour this May, and will perform at a number of major North American festivals this summer.

Iron and Wine makes its Nonesuch Records debut with Ghost on Ghost in the US on April 16, 2013 (April 15 on 4AD in Europe, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand). Ghost on Ghost is the fifth release from singer-songwriter Sam Beam, using the pen name Iron and Wine. The album was produced by Beam’s longtime associate Brian Deck and follows 2011’s Kiss Each Other Clean, which debuted at #2 on the Billboard chart to critical acclaim. Iron and Wine will support the new release with tour dates throughout 2013, to be announced soon. A special pre-order at ironandwine.com also will be announced soon.

Rokia Traoré’s Beautiful Africa will be released on April 9, 2013, by Nonesuch Records in Europe and Canada, with a US release to follow. The record was produced by English musician John Parish (PJ Harvey, Eels, Sparklehorse) and recorded at Toybox Studios in Bristol, UK. Its lyrics are sung in the Malian–born Traoré’s native languages of French and Bambara, as well as some English. The Guardian premiered the title track this morning, calling it "brilliant." Traoré was the first artist to be announced for the 2013 Glastonbury festival line-up; additional festival and tour dates will be announced shortly.