The Black Keys have secured the No. 1 Current Rock Album and No. 1 Current Alternative Album in US sales following the release of their twelfth studio album, Ohio Players, last week. The album also is the highest debut of the week on Billboard’s Top Rock Albums Chart and Top Alternative Albums Chart, debuting at #5 on both charts. Additionally, the album has reached #4 on Overall Current Album sales and reached #26 on the Billboard 200. Internationally, Ohio Players is the band’s sixth consecutive top 20 album in the UK, as well as top 20 in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Netherlands, New Zealand, and Switzerland, among others. 

Congratulations to Kronos Quartet, whose acclaimed 1992 Nonesuch album Pieces of Africa has been named one of twenty-five recordings to be inducted into the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress for 2024. "It planted a seed for our work," Kronos founder and violinist David Harrington says of the album. "It's flowered so beautifully."

Kronos Quartet has announced its ninth-annual Kronos Festival, to take place at SFJAZZ Center, June 20–23, 2024. The festival marks the ensemble’s milestone 50th Anniversary year and the farewell performances of John Sherba and Hank Dutt, members of Kronos Quartet for more than 45 years. It will feature a slate of world and Bay Area premieres commissioned as part of the KRONOS Five Decades season; several guest artists; and the final performance of A Thousand Thoughts, a live documentary chronicling the quartet’s career, written and directed by Sam Green and Joe Bini.

Hurray for the Riff Raff (aka Alynda Segarra) returned to CBS Saturday Morning to perform a Saturday Sessions set of three songs from their new album, The Past Is Still Alive: "Alibi," "Hawkmoon," and "Buffalo." You can watch all three performances here.

Congratulations to Rhiannon Giddens, who will deliver the keynote address at Oberlin College and Conservatory’s Class of 2024 Commencement ceremony on Monday, May 27, which will be livestreamed. Giddens, who studied opera at the Conservatory and graduated in 2000, will be awarded an Honorary Doctor of Music degree. "A consummate musician, equally noteworthy for her accomplishments as a performer, composer, scholar, lyricist, and more, Rhiannon Giddens stands as one of the most important creative and artistic voices of our time," Dean of the Conservatory William Quillen says. 

In celebration of Nonesuch Records' 60th anniversary, the label has partnered with photographer Michael Wilson—who has exquisitely captured dozens of Nonesuch artists over the past quarter-century—to produce Michael Wilson / 25 Years: A Nonesuch Collection, an extremely limited quantity of 100 box sets containing newly created prints from his Nonesuch archive, due September 13. Designed by the Grammy-winning team at SMOG Design, each box will comprise twenty 12" x 12" prints, numbered and signed by the photographer. Artists featured are Allen Toussaint, Ambrose Akinmusire, Audra McDonald, Bill Frisell, The Black Keys, Brad Mehldau, David Byrne, Dr. John, Emmylou Harris, Frederic Rzewski, Jeremy Denk, Kronos Quartet, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, Manuel Galbán and Ry Cooder, Philip Glass, Randy Newman, Rhiannon Giddens, Stephin Merritt and Lemony Snicket, Steve Reich, and Timo Andres, who wrote a note for the box.

The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney are on the latest episode of SPIN's Sonic Impact podcast to discuss the story of the band and their music, on the release of their twelfth studio album, Ohio Players. "Despite reaching the heights of rock stardom," says the show, "the iconic rock duo from Ohio have stayed true to their raw roots, while at the same time expanding their sonic palette ..." You can hear their conversation here.

“A lot on this record is about how grief is not a punishment, it’s an act of love and it’s just another expression of love,” Hurray for the Riff Raff (aka Alynda Segarra) says of their new album, The Past Is Still Alive, on the inaugural episode of KEXP's new podcast A Deeper Listen. Host Emily Fox says: "The album's melodies are catchy, and the lyrics are so beautifully crafted. They drew me in and made time stop for a moment." You can hear their conversation here.

Sam Amidon stopped by for the Nonesuch Selects video series, in which artists visit the Nonesuch office, pick some of their favorite albums from the music library, and share a few words on their choices. He chose music by Shye Ben Tzur, Jonny Greenwood, and the Rajasthan Express; Astor Piazzolla; Kronos Quartet featuring Amidon, Olivia Chaney, Rhiannon Giddens, Natalie Merchant; Sam Gendel; Word of Mouth Chorus; and Bill Frisell.

"Comfort can come in the form of drawing attention to something that other people feel alone in seeing," Natalie Merchant tells Guy Raz on the latest episode of his podcast The Great Creators. "'Am I the only person who's noticing this?' Well, that's pretty isolating. But the comfort can come in someone saying, 'I see it too, and I'm frightened about it too.'" You can hear their conversation, about her life and career, including her new album, Keep Your Courage, here.

Rectangles and Circumstance, an album of ten songs co-written and performed by Caroline Shaw and Sō Percussion, is due June 14. Shaw and Sō's Eric Cha-Beach and Adam Sliwinski "sourced a group of nineteenth-century poems that shaped its expressive mode [and] ended up using verses by Christina Rosetti, Emily Brontë, Emily Dickinson, Gertrude Stein, and William Blake," says Sliwinski. "The lyrics on this album by members of the band contain wordplay that explores the same profound feelings explored by Blake and Dickinson.” Shaw and Sō co-produced the album with Grammy-winning engineer Jonathan Low (The National, Taylor Swift).

The Black Keys have announced a 2024 North American headline tour in support of their new album, Ohio Players, out this Friday. The 31-date run kicks off in Tulsa on September 17 and travels across the country to cities including Austin, New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, with two dates in the band’s home state of Ohio. The Head & The Heart will be joining the tour as direct support for select shows.