Rhiannon Giddens is on Speaking Soundly, a podcast in which host and MET Opera Principal Trumpet David Krauss talks with fellow performers about their creative process and lives as artists. “In addition to being expert in the music, you’re steeping in the history behind the music,” Krauss says. “And then you compose a song to capture that history and use it as a lens to focus in on what’s really happening in our society today. That’s a lot.” You can hear their conversation here.

Molly Tuttle was on NPR's All Things Considered as part of its series on first-time Grammy Award nominees. Tuttle is nominated for two Grammy Awards: Best New Artist and, with her band Golden Highway, Best Bluegrass Album for their debut album, Crooked Tree. She talks with host Ailsa Chang from the famed Station Inn in Nashville and performs the title track to the album. You can hear it here.

Thomas Adès’ Dante—a ballet score in three acts based on Dante Alighieri’s La Divina Commedia—was recorded by the Los Angeles Philharmonic and its Music & Artistic Director Gustavo Dudamel in concert at Disney Hall for the premiere recording, due April 21 on Nonesuch Records. Dante was first performed at the Royal Opera House as part of Wayne McGregor’s The Dante Project for the Royal Ballet, with the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House and with designs by visual artist Tacita Dean. “In any new shortlist of great ballet scores by Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky, Bartók, Ravel, Prokofiev, Britten, and Bernstein, Dante must newly be included for its musical invention alone,” exclaims the Los Angeles Times. “There is not a second in its 88 minutes that doesn’t delight. All of it is unexpected and wanted.” The collectable limited vinyl two-LP edition includes artwork by Dean and photography from the Royal Ballet’s performance.

Makaya McCraven was on NPR's World Cafe to talk with host Raina Douris about his new album, In These Times, and share two tracks from it—the title track and "The Calling"—performed live at his 2020 debut concert at Chicago's Symphony Center. You can hear their conversation and the performances here.

Yo-Yo Ma has partnered with Knoxville-based arts nonprofit Big Ears for the multi-faceted concert “Our Common Nature: An Appalachian Celebration,” with musical guests Rhiannon Giddens, Chris Thile, and Edgar Meyer, on Friday, May 26, at World’s Fair Park in Knoxville, TN. In addition, Thile and Giddens will each perform a concert, May 25 and May 27, respectively, at Knoxville's Bijou Theatre. Conceived and curated by Ma, the World’s Fair Park celebration will include musicians, storytellers, and poets from throughout the Appalachian region, and will be the culmination of a week-long series of cultural experiences and conversations that lift the myriad voices of Appalachia—Indigenous, European, Latinx, Black, and beyond.

Rachael & Vilray are on The Vinyl District’s Radar podcast to discuss their new album, I Love a Love Song!. “There is an intrinsic grandeur to the Great American Songbook that we can all appreciate,” says host Evan Toth. “However, the Great American Songbook must always be accepting new entries and if we had to suggest some additions from our time, from this year, Rachael and Vilray should be at the top of our list.” You can hear their conversation here.

Best New Artist Grammy Award nominee Molly Tuttle and her band Golden Highway—fiddler Bronwyn Keith-Hynes, mandolinist Dominick Leslie, bassist Shelby Means, and banjo player Kyle Tuttle—have released their take on last year’s Best New Artist winner Olivia Rodrigo’s hit “good 4 u” and a new recording of “Dooley’s Farm,” a song from their debut album, Crooked Tree, a Best Bluegrass Album Grammy nominee, for the Spotify Singles series. You can hear them here, exclusively on Spotify.

Cécile McLorin Salvant’s new album, Mélusine, is due March 24 on Nonesuch; vinyl is due May 19. Mélusine is a mix of five originals and interpretations of nine songs, dating as far back as the 12th century, mostly sung in French along with Occitan, English, and Haitian Kreyòl. They tell the folk tale of Mélusine, a woman who turns into a half-snake each Saturday after a childhood curse by her mother. The track “D’un feu secret,” Michel Lambert’s 1660 air de cour, is available today, along with an animated video by Amanda Bonaiuto that may be seen here.

“To try to define Mary Halvorson solely by the term ‘guitarist’ is to do both her and her art a disservice, as she’s unlike any other guitarist currently playing today,” says Matt Byars, co-host of NPR’s Essential Tremors. “Halvorson’s work is vibrant and alive, agile and electric, fluid and inventive, all of which are particularly in evidence on her latest release.” She talks with Byars and his co-host Lee Gardner about songs by Jimi Hendrix, Yusef Lateef, and Robert Wyatt that helped shape who she is. You can hear why on the episode, a collaboration with Big Ears Festival, where Halvorson will perform this spring, here.

Natalie Merchant, whose new album, Keep Your Courage, is due April 14, performs the title track to her 2001 album Motherland in a new Blackberry Sessions video. She was joined by guitarist Erik Della Penna in making the video while at Blackberry Farm in Tennessee in November as part of its annual Americana Music Association weekend. You can watch it here. Merchant will tour the US tour this spring, going into the fall. European dates will be announced shortly.

Congratulations to David Byrne, who has been nominated for an Academy Award, with Ryan Lott (of Son Lux) and Mitski, for Original Song, for "This Is a Life," from the Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert film Everything Everywhere All at Once. You can hear it here. The film has received eleven Academy Award nominations, including Son Lux for Music (Original Score), another track from which features Randy Newman. The 95th Academy Awards will be held in Hollywood, airing live on ABC, on Sunday, March 12.

NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross aired an encore broadcast of Rachael & Vilray's 2020 interview on the show today to mark the release of the duo's new album, I Love a Love Song!. They spoke with producer Sam Briger and performed music from their 2019 self-titled debut album. You can hear the episode here.