Composer and bandleader Darcy James Argue, who was named Arranger of the Year in the DownBeat Critics Poll, 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 recordings by Bill Frisell, Don Byron, Julius Hemphill, Kronos Quartet, and Randy Newman.

Rhiannon Giddens has announced the launch of her first-ever festival, Biscuits & Banjos, a celebration of Black music, art, and culture to take place April 25–27, 2025, in downtown Durham, in her home state of North Carolina. The event commemorates the 20th anniversary of the Black Banjo Gathering, which launched Giddens' career and led to the formation of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, who will reunite to headline the festival. A portion of both ticket sales and merchandise income will go to Hurricane Helene relief efforts.

Jeremy Denk's album Ives Denk is out now. Released in celebration of the 150th anniversary of Ives' birth this Saturday, it features the composer's four violin sonatas, performed with violinist Stefan Jackiw, as well as remastered versions of his Sonatas No. 1 and 2 for piano, from Denk's debut recording, Jeremy Denk Plays Ives. "Mr. Denk's playing exuded affinity for Ives and vivid imagination," the New York Times says. "Mr. Jackiw, deftly balancing fervor and elegance, beautiful tone and earthy colorings, proved a comparably inspired Ivesian." Denk writes of Ives' music in the Times: "Its animating idea is generous: A restless search to find more in America than we thought, or even hoped, to find ... His best advice—advice we could all use—is to open your ears."

Jeremy Denk celebrates his new album, Ives Denk, and Ives's 150th birthday in Maine. Timo Andres performs Philip Glass in Stamford. Hurray for the Riff Raff is in Chicago. The Magnetic Fields perform 69 Love Songs in DC. Mariza is at Walt Disney Concert Hall in LA. Makaya McCraven is in Brooklyn, Princeton, and DC. Brad Mehldau is in Brussels. Mandy Patinkin and his wife Kathryn Grody chat in Texas. Cécile McLorin Salvant sings in Leipzig and Stockholm. Caroline Shaw, Sō Percussion, and Ringdown are in Wisconsin and Minnesota. Vagabon heads to El Paso. Yasmin Williams plays the Greek in LA.

Rhiannon Giddens spoke with NPR's Morning Edition about the area in and around the town of Swannanoa, in her home state of North Carolina, as it recovers from the devastation brought by Hurricane Helene. She also talks about an earlier tragedy in the region—a 19th-century train tunnel collapse—that inspired the old work song "Swannanoa Tunnel," which she recorded with Silkroad Ensemble. "Why were we given the ability to sing and touch people?" Giddens asks. "And this is why: when you think about the destruction, there are no words, so a song can tap into something that then releases energy—now I can cry. That's what it's for, helping us all with the emotions that are bigger than we know what to do with."

Chris Thile and his fellow Punch Brothers host a new musical variety show, The Energy Curfew Music Hour, out now via Audible and available wherever you get your podcasts. Created by Thile and Claire Coffee, the series' eight episodes feature musical guests like Kacey Musgraves, Jason Isbell, Jon Batiste, Norah Jones, James Taylor, Lake Street Dive, Gaby Moreno, yMusic, and others, recorded live at Audible’s Minetta Lane Theatre in NYC.

Portuguese fado singer Carminho's new EP Carminho at Electrical Audio, out now, was recorded in collaboration with the late Steve Albini at his iconic Electrical Audio studio in Chicago in October 2023. “Anyone who worked with Steve Albini knows of his humble authenticity and dedication towards perfecting raw sound," Carminho says. "He made the recordings sound as if we were performing in a fado house in Lisbon." A music video for “Deixei a minha casa” featuring Albini and Carminho together in the studio can be seen here. Carminho tours the US in November.

Jeremy Denk plays solo in St. Paul. Hurray for the Riff Raff concludes Australia tour. Gabriel Kahane’s Book of Travelers / Magnificent Bird conclude in NYC. Makaya McCraven is in Santa Cruz. Brad Mehldau plays Istanbul, Athens. Gustavo Santaolalla celebrates Ronroco in London. Caroline Shaw is in Amsterdam. Chris Thile joins Colorado Symphony in Denver. Davóne Tines joins A Far Cry in Boston. Vagabon tours Texas with Crumb. Yasmin Williams plays Pacific Northwest with Michael Kiwanuka, Brittany Howard.

Pianist Jeremy Denk, whose new album, Ives Denk, is due October 18, 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 recordings by Jan DeGaetani, Gilbert Kalish, John Adams, Kronos Quartet, Richard Goode, Brad Mehldau, Caroline Shaw, Dawn Upshaw, and So Percussion, featuring music by Ives, Crumb, Schoenberg, Brahms, and more, and the Inside Llewyn Davis soundtrack and Jonny Greenwood's There Will Be Blood score.

Hurray for the Riff Raff (aka Alynda Segarra) has released an official music video for their song “Buffalo.” One of many highlights from The Past Is Still Alive—one of The Best Albums of the 2020s So Far, per Pitchfork—“Buffalo” is a love song about survival, patience, miracles, and memories of real people and places that Segarra experienced during trips to New Mexico. In the video, directed by Jeff Perlman, Segarra takes over the Field Museum in their brand new home of Chicago, roams alongside a herd of wild buffalo, and shines a light on extinct and endangered species. Hurray for the Riff Raff also performed the song on The Kelly Clarkson Show. You can watch both here.

The Way Out of Easy, the first album from guitarist Jeff Parker and his long-running ETA IVtet—saxophonist Josh Johnson, bassist Anna Butterss, drummer Jay Bellerose—since their 2022 debut Mondays at the Enfield Tennis Academy, which Pitchfork named one of the Best Albums of the 2020s So Far, is due November 22 on International Anthem / Nonesuch Records. Like that album, The Way Out of Easy comprises recordings from LA venue ETA, where Parker and the ensemble held a weekly residency for seven years. During that time, the ETA IVtet evolved from a band that played mostly standards into a group known for its transcendent, long-form journeys into innovative, groove-oriented improvised music. All four tracks on The Way Out of Easy come from a single night in 2023, providing an unfiltered view of the ensemble, fully in their element. You can watch a video for the seventeen-minute album track "Late Autumn," made by Mikel Patrick Avery, here.

"For some five decades, artist and musician Laurie Anderson has been redefining cultural boundaries," says PBS NewsHour host Amna Nawaz. "In a new album, she's now exploring the story of an earlier woman who reached for the heights." Anderson spoke about that album, Amelia, and more with NewsHour senior arts correspondent Jeffrey Brown. "The stories you tell yourself about who you are and what you want, those are stories to help you live," she says. "If you don't have those suddenly, it's terrifying. I mean, you will keep living ... but it's the story that keeps you going." You can watch their conversation here.