Congratulations to Hurray for the Riff Raff, recipient of the International Folk Music Awards 2024 People’s Voice Award, presented to "an individual who unabashedly embraces social and political commentary in their creative work and public careers," and to Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway, nominees for Album of the Year for City of Gold. The Awards ceremony will take place at the Folk Alliance International Conference in Kansas City, MO, on February 21.

"I don't know how often it is that the support act ends up with a five-star review, but the guitarist Molly Tuttle got one from the Guardian the other day for a performance introducing her own musical hero Tommy Emmanuel at the Cadogan Hall," BBC Radio 4 Front Row's Tom Sutcliffe says of his guest. Tuttle, currently touring the UK with Emmanuel, talks with Sutcliffe about bluegrass and performs from her new album, City of Gold, which is up for this year's Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album, and Crooked Tree, which won the award last year. You can hear the episode here.

"I tend to really focus on the beauty that still exists," Haitian-American singer and composer Nathalie Joachim tells BBC World Service's Newshour about her new album, Ki moun ou ye. "While it's very easy to disregard the story of Haitian people as one of struggle and heartbreak and poverty, there are also so many incredible people living in Haiti who also care very deeply about each other, care very deeply about the country, care very deeply for their communities and for themselves." You can hear the episode here.

The Black Keys have released a new single, "Beautiful People (Stay High)," and announced their twelfth studio album, Ohio Players, due April 5. Ohio Players—a title inspired by the legendary Dayton, Ohio, funk band of the same name—features several collaborations between band mates Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney with various friends and colleagues, like Dan “The Automator” Nakamura, Beck, Noel Gallagher, Greg Kurstin, and others. “We had this epiphany: ‘We can call our friends to help us make music,’" Carney says. Auerbach adds, “No matter who we work with, it never feels like we're sacrificing who we are. It only feels like it adds some special flavor ... But when it came time to finish the album, it was just Pat and me.”

This long weekend, NYC hosts performances by Ambrose Akinmusire and Mary Halvorson, part of NYC Winter Jazzfest, and Darcy James Argue's Secret Society. The Black Keys take their new single to Anaheim for ALTer EGO. Julia Bullock brings songs by Barber, Bob Dylan, and more to Baltimore. Jeremy Denk performs Fauré in the Canary Islands. Emmylou Harris performs at Opry at the Ryman with Rodney Crowell and others. Cécile McLorin Salvant sings nearby, at Vanderbilt. Kronos Quartet celebrates its 50th with two concerts at Cité de la musique in Paris. Molly Tuttle tours UK with Tommy Emmanuel.

The Yussef Dayes Experience: Live From Malibu, featuring music from Dayes' critically acclaimed debut solo album, Black Classical Music, and more, is due on vinyl and digitally January 26. Dayes is joined by his longtime collaborators Rocco Palladino, Venna, Elijah Fox, and Alexander Bourt on Live From Malibu, which was originally released as a live-performance video filmed in the Malibu mountains last year; you can watch that here.

The Staves will join Nickel Creek as special guests on tour of the US Midwest and South in February. The two-week tour kicks off in Iowa City on February 6, with stops in Wisconsin, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, North Carolina, and Florida. As the Nickel Creek's tour continues, The Staves begin their own US headline tour on April 7, following the March 22 release of their album, All Now.

Congratulations to Laurie Anderson, who has been named one of the Recording Academy’s 2024 Lifetime Achievement Awards honorees. The award will be presented to Anderson and her fellow honorees—Gladys Knight, the Clark Sisters, N.W.A., and, posthumously, Donna Summer and Tammy Wynette—at the Special Merit Awards Ceremony in Los Angeles during GRAMMY Week, on February 3. "The Academy is honored to pay tribute to this year’s Special Merit Award recipients—a remarkable group of creators and industry professionals whose impact resonates with generations worldwide," said Harvey Mason jr., CEO of the Recording Academy. "Their contributions to music span genres, backgrounds, and crafts, reflecting the rich diversity that fuels our creative community."

The second album from Grammy-nominated Haitian-American singer and composer Nathalie Joachim, Ki moun ou ye, is due February 16 on Nonesuch / New Amsterdam Records. On the album, Joachim takes listeners through an intimate collection of music that ponders its title’s question: “Who are you?” Inspired by the remote Caribbean farmland that her family continues to call home after seven generations and performed in both English and Haitian Creole, the work examines the richness of one’s voice—an instrument that brings with it DNA, ancestry, and identity—in a vibrant tapestry of Joachim’s voice, and intricately sampled vocal textures underscored by an acoustic instrumental ensemble. Ki moun ou ye draws upon the voice’s historic and ongoing role as a tool for survival, healing, preservation of self, fellowship, and an affirmation of freedom.

"Rhiannon Giddens is currently carving out her own impressive legacy," Christiane Amanpour says on PBS's Amanpour and Company. "She's the singer, songwriter, banjo player, fiddler, and actress who keeps adding strings to her bow." Giddens is on the show to talk with Walter Isaacson about her Grammy-nominated new album, You're the One, and what Amanpour calls "her unstoppable career." You can watch their conversation here.

Ambrose Akinmusire's Nonesuch debut album, Owl Song, featuring guitarist Bill Frisell and drummer Herlin Riley, has received critical acclaim since its release in December, including being named among the year's best by the New York Times, Jazzwise, and the Irish Times, which says: "Akinmusire is a generational talent ... From the first notes of the opening title track you know you are in a place of great beauty." DownBeat says: "A quiet rush of gorgeous sound where space, tone and beauty come together in one of the most impactful albums of 2023 ... This is one of the most interesting recordings to come along in a very long time by one of the most interesting artists of our time." The Wall Street Journal says: "It sounds like a tiny, joyous celebration ... Gorgeous details abound." The Financial Times calls him "the standout trumpeter of his generation" and says: "The one-off ensemble becomes a heavenly match." Record Collector says: "Akinmusire opens a fresh chapter in his career with the quietly magnificent Owl Song, arguably his most accomplished recording yet."

As 2023 draws to a close, and the Nonesuch Journal takes a bit of a hiatus till the start of what we hope will be a happy, healthy new year, it's time to take a look back and remember all of the great and diverse music made by Nonesuch artists over the past year. Many Nonesuch artists and their recent Nonesuch releases have made year's best lists and are up for Grammy Awards. So here, in words and music and in chronological order, is a look back at the year in Nonesuch music, in gratitude.