Mandolin virtuoso Chris Thile and guitar maven Michael Daves launch a week-long duo tour of the US West Coast, featuring music from their 2011 album Sleep with One Eye Open, with a performance at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco tonight, followed by shows in LA, Portland, and Seattle; they reunite in July for the Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival in upstate New York. The duo makes for "a rip-roaring partnership," says the New York Times. "Bluegrass, in their hands, gets roughed up in the best possible way, with skill and fervor, and a touch of abandon." Thile and his fellow Punch Brothers perform at a number of bluegrass festivals starting later this month.

Chris Thile and Brad Mehldau kicked off a nine-city US duo tour with a sold-out performance at NYC’s Bowery Ballroom last night. "Chris Thile and Brad Mehldau come from different worlds but the same species, and whatever feels unlikely about their pairing is eclipsed by what feels perfectly natural," writes the New York Times' Nate Chinen. "At every turn, whatever the song, both musicians played with alert intelligence and deep sensitivity, only rarely entering competitive airspace," which then brought "an exhilarating rush." The tour continues with stops in Durham, College Park, Great Barrington, Boston, Knoxville, Indianapolis, Chicago, and Austin. 

Nonesuch Records labelmates mandolinist/singer Chris Thile and pianist Brad Mehldau embark on a nine-city duo tour, beginning at New York City’s Bowery Ballroom tonight and includes stops in Durham, College Park, Great Barrington, Boston, Knoxville, Indianapolis, Chicago, and Austin. Their repertoire includes classical transcriptions, pop covers, and original songs. 

Carnegie Hall has announced its 2013–14 season, and featured among the performers taking the esteemed hall's stages are a number of artists familiar to readers of the Nonesuch Journal, including Chris Thile, Bombino, Kronos Quartet, Natalie Merchant, and Richard Goode, as well as performances of works by John Adams, Steve Reich, Laurie Anderson, and more.

Congratulations to Chris Thile, who has been named a 2012 MacArthur Fellow. Thile was among the 23 new MacArthur Fellows, selected by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. The annual fellowship, often referred to as the "Genius" grant, offers an unrestricted award of $500,000 to individuals who, in the Foundation's words, "have shown extraordinary originality and dedication in their creative pursuits and a marked capacity for self-direction." Watch Thile discuss his work and the fellowship in a MacArthur Foundation video here.

Chris Thile is a guest on today's Here and Now, from NPR member station WBUR in Boston. Thile talks about his lifelong love of the mandolin, from the first time he saw the instrument, at the age of two, to some of the many projects in which that has manifest itself, including Punch Brothers. Listen to the interview here. Thile and guitarist Michael Daves perform a duo show at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville this Thursday; Punch Brothers are at ROMP: Bluegrass Roots & Branches Festival in Owensboro, Kentucky, on Friday.

Congratulations to Carolina Chocolate Drops and Punch Brothers, who have both been nominated for Duo/Group of the Year in the 2012 Americana Honors & Awards, presented by the Americana Music Association. Punch Brothers' own Chris Thile has also been nominated as Instrumentalist of the Year. The awards ceremony will take place at Nashville's historic Ryman Auditorium on September 12, as part of the Americana Music Festival.

This year's Newport Folk Festival in July includes sets from Punch Brothers and Sara Watkins. A new short documentary from sö pa productions and Ryan Mastro revisits last year's festival and looks into what makes Newport so special. The video features interviews and performances from artists at last year's festival, including Carolina Chocolate Drops, The Low Anthem, Chris Thile, Michael Daves, Wanda Jackson, and Emmylou Harris. "In the story of my life, folk music brought me to music," says Harris. Newport "was where these people that I just kind of worshiped gathered." Watch the documentary here.

Chris Thile joined the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra for the New York premiere of his Mandolin Concerto at Carnegie Hall on Saturday. The New York Times wonders if the mandolin is "about to have its moment as a classical solo instrument" and calls Thile "the instrument’s brightest star at the moment." Thile "knows how to surprise," says the Times' Allan Kozinn. "As fresh as the music sounded, it also had an appealing naturalness." The mandolin's solo line "is built on Mr. Thile’s more subtle brand of virtuosity—a blend of fluid melody, dazzling speed and a command of timbre ..."

Chris Thile—whose new album with Punch Brothers, Who's Feeling Young Now?, is due out in two weeks—is playing at Boston's House of Blues tonight with his fellow Goat Rodeo Sessions players: Yo-Yo Ma, Stuart Duncan, and Edgar Meyer. Fans across the US will have a chance to catch all of the string-virtuoso magic on the big screen as the concert is broadcast live to movie theaters in all 50 states. Thile will join his fellow Punch Brothers on their US tour in February.

Chris Thile and Michael Daves brought the music of their debut duo album, Sleep with One Eye Open, to the picturesque Allen Room overlooking New York's Central Park as part of Lincoln Center's American Songbook series. "They’ve been playing small club shows downtown, and they brought that informality to the Allen Room," says the New York Times, "punctuating dazzling virtuosity with bluegrass-aficionado banter and 'Fiddle Tune Request Time.'” Thile and Daves "sing and play the daylights" out of the tunes, says the Times, playing both with "breakneck" speed and "with restraint and delicacy."

Congratulations to all the Nonesuch artists who were nominated for the 54th Annual Grammy Awards: Ry Cooder and Emmylou Harris for Best Americana Album, Pat Metheny for Best New Age Album, Chris Thile & Michael Daves for Best Bluegrass Album, and World Circuit / Nonesuch Records artists AfroCubism for Best World Music Album. You can hear music from all the nominated albums on the new Nonesuch Radio channel "2011 Grammy Nominees."