This Memorial Day long weekend, John Adams conducts his Antony and Cleopatra, starring Julia Bullock, at the Met in NYC (broadcast live on BBC Radio 3), while his Doctor Atomic Symphony gets its Korean premiere in Seoul. Ambrose Akinmusire tour Portugal and Spain. Hurray for the Riff Raff plays sold-out show in Seattle. Natalie Merchant joins Sara Bareilles and Rachael Yamagata for a sold-out show to benefit Ulster Immigrant Defense Network in Kingston, NY.

"Her new album is a true love letter to her North Carolina roots," Jenn White, host of NPR's 1A, says of her guest Rhiannon Giddens and her new album, What Did the Blackbird Say to the Crow, with Justin Robinson, who also joins the conversation and performs with Giddens on the show. Giddens was also on BBC Radio 4's Front Row to discuss the album. You can hear both here.

Guitarist and composer Mary Halvorson has released "Amaranthine," a new track from About Ghosts, her upcoming album with her sextet Amaryllis—Patricia Brennan (vibraphone), Nick Dunston (bass), Tomas Fujiwara (drums), Jacob Garchik (trombone), Adam O’Farrill (trumpet)—due June 13. You can hear it here. "Of all the music on this album, 'Amaranthine' is the first piece I wrote," Halvorson says. "In a sense, it feels to me like the most representative of the band’s sound." About Ghosts was produced and mixed by Deerhoof's John Dieterich. Halvorson and Amaryllis will tour the US in September.

Emmylou Harris performs at the GRAMMY Hall of Fame Gala; her album Wrecking Ball is being inducted into the GRAMMY Hall of Fame. Timo Andres joins Calder Quartet in NYC. Ambrose Akinmusire joins Alonzo King LINES Ballet in San Francisco. Jeremy Denk is with Hawaii Symphony Orchestra in Honolulu. Rhiannon Giddens and Justin Robinson take The Old-Time Revue to Ontario. Hurray for the Riff Raff tours California. Makaya McCraven is in Chicago. Brad Mehldau, Christian McBride, Marcus Gilmore tour China. Punch Brothers are in Virginia and Tennessee. Sarah Kirkland Snider’s Mass for the Endangered is performed in New Jersey. Molly Tuttle plays at Royal Albert Hall for Eric Church’s festival. Vagabon is in Salt Lake City.

Scottie McNiece, a co-founder of International Anthem, the Chicago-born record label with which Nonesuch has partnered since 2019, stopped by for the Nonesuch Selects video series, in which folks visit the Nonesuch office, pick some of their favorite albums from the music library, and share a few words on their choices. He chose recordings by Ry Cooder & Manuel Galbán, Sam Gendel, Ben LaMar Gay, Caroline Shaw & Attacca Quartet, Chris Thile, Tyondai Braxton, Tristan Perich, Jeremy Denk, and Morton Subotnick, and from the Nonesuch Explorer Series.

"Congratulations on Song of the Earth—remarkable record," Kreative Kontrol host Vish Khanna says of his guest David Longstreth's new album. "The scope and ambition of it is something to behold." Longstreth talks with Khanna about the new album, performed with his band Dirty Projectors and the chamber ensemble s t a r g a z e. You can hear their conversation here.

John Adams's new opera Antony and Cleopatra, which opens at the Metropolitan Opera in NYC tonight, was featured on NPR's Weekend Edition Saturday. NPR's Jeff Lunden spoke with stars Julia Bullock and Gerald Finley, director Elkhanah Pulitzer, and the composer, who concludes: "Part of composing is creating an alchemy between the colors and the gestures of the orchestra and the beauty of the voice. And, of course, in this case, I've got Shakespeare's language, which is incomparably wonderful." You can hear it here.

David Longstreth is on the podcast Beginnings with Andy Beckerman to discuss his early life and influences, following the recent release of his Song of the Earth, performed by Longstreth with his band Dirty Projectors and the chamber ensemble s t a r g a z e. "It's fantastic!" Beckerman says of the album. You can hear their conversation here.

Lady on the Bike—the debut album from cinematic electro-pop duo Ringdown, featuring Danni Lee Parpan and Pulitzer and Grammy winner Caroline Shaw—is out now. The album celebrates the feeling of possibility in myriad forms: the possibility of love; the possibility of creating connection and community in a world trying to pull those things apart; the possibility of making music in new ways. The songs were collaboratively written and recorded by the duo. New Body Electric members Leah Vautar and Aaron K Peterson perform on and help produce several songs; Sō Percussion is featured on a new version of Ringdown’s previously released single “Ghost.” Take a look inside in a vinyl unboxing video here.

Sō Percussion continues its BAM Fisher residency in Brooklyn with Caroline Shaw and Ringdown. Ambrose Akinmusire joins Alonzo King LINES Ballet in San Francisco. Jeremy Denk is in Düsseldorf. Rhiannon Giddens and Justin Robinson take The Old-Time Revue to Chicago and DC. Gabriel Kahane hosts an evening with Oregon Symphony members in Portland. Brad Mehldau, Christian McBride, and Marcus Gilmore tour Tokyo. Mandy Patinkin is in Kalamazoo. Chris Thile joins Asheville Symphony Orchestra.

An album comprising the first recordings of Steve Reich’s two latest works—Jacob’s Ladder (2023) and Traveler’s Prayer (2020)—is due July 11 on Nonesuch. Jacob's Ladder, performed by the New York Philharmonic, conducted by Jaap van Zweden, and Synergy Vocals, was made during its October 2023 world premiere at Lincoln Center's David Geffen Hall. “Lovely and refreshing," says the New York Classical Review. "Superb." Traveler's Prayer, performed by Colin Currie Group and Synergy Vocals, was made at Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall in 2023. "The tone of its score, from first note to last, is sustained sublimity," says the Los Angeles Times. The two pieces were first released earlier this year digitally and as part of the 27-disc box set Steve Reich Collected Works.

Guitarist Jeff Parker and ETA IVtet—saxophonist Josh Johnson, bassist Anna Butterss, and drummer Jay Bellerose—stopped by NPR to perform a Tiny Desk Concert. "Music can transport you, even or especially when the destination's unknown," writes NPR's Lars Gotrich. "For 22 minutes, this is what Jeff Parker's Tiny Desk with the ETA IVtet can offer: a space for your mind to meditate on what the music speaks, set to a gossamer groove." You can watch it here.