"Right from the start, the very first notes sound almost like a pickaxe going against rock and then against that the singing has a certain quality that I think has that same simplicity of affect," composer John Adams says of his 2017 opera, Girls of the Golden West, in a new Boosey & Hawkes video marking the work's recently released first recording. "All of that comes together in this opera in a way that I think only opera can actually address, because it addresses you on an intellectual level, but it also fundamentally touches you on an emotional level." You can see what else he had to say here.

The cast of the current four-time Tony Award-nominated Broadway show Illinoise: A New Musical was on CBS's The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to perform "Jacksonville" from the show and the just-released original cast recording. The choreography and tap dance choreography are by the show's director, choreographer, and co-author Justin Peck, with tap dance improvisations by Byron Tittle; music and lyrics are by Sufjan Stevens based on his album Illinois. You can watch the performance here.

Caroline Shaw 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. She chose recordings by Rhiannon Giddens, Dawn Upshaw, Gabriel Kahane, Mountain Man, Steve Reich, and Chris Thile.

"When you speak to her, you can feel her excitement about the possibilities in music, the enthusiasm for the way music tells stories and how it connects us," NPR's World Cafe host Raina Douris says of her guest, Nathalie Joachim. They talk about her new album, Ki moun ou ye—which SPIN just named one of The Best Albums of 2024 (So Far)—and more, and Joachim performs four songs from it. You can watch it here.

"That's the mark of good work: if an audience can know nothing about it and just enter into the space and take it in and have an experience that moves them," director-choreographer Justin Peck tells CBS Sunday Morning's Kelefa Sanneh in a feature on the Broadway show Illinoise: A New Musical. Sanneh talks with Peck, the show's director, choreographer, and book co-writer; playwright Jackie Sibblies Drury, who co-wrote the book; and Shara Nova (aka My Brightest Diamond), who performs on the original Sufjan Stevens album Illinois on which the show is based and the just-released original cast album. You can watch the piece here.

The Black Keys were on BBC Two's Later... with Jools Holland to perform two songs from their new album, Ohio Players: "Beautiful People (Stay High)" and "On the Game." They were joined by special guest Noel Gallagher for the latter song, which bandmates Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney co-wrote with Gallagher. You can watch both performances here.

The Staves stopped by The Independent's Music Box studio in London to perform two songs from their new album, All Now, live for Independent TV: the title track and "I'll Never Leave You Alone." You can watch both here.

The original cast recording of the current Tony-nominated Broadway show Illinoise: A New Musical is now available to stream and download via Nonesuch Records, with the CD due June 21 and vinyl August 30. The new work features music and lyrics by Sufjan Stevens based on his album Illinois, a book by Justin Peck and Jackie Sibblies Drury, and direction and choreography by Peck, with new arrangements by Timo Andres and music supervision and direction by Nathan Koci. The New York Times exclaims: “The vocalists do not seem to sing so much as pour emotion into our ears.” The Illinoise cast and on-stage band perform a song from the musical on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Tuesday, June 4.

"For every music lover, I think there are two basic forms of pleasure: the huge satisfaction of something you love done just perfectly, and then the thrill of hearing something altogether shockingly new. When an artist does both things at once, your head comes open a little bit, which is what happened when I first heard Cécile McLorin Salvant," David Remnick, the editor of The New Yorker, says of his guest on The New Yorker Radio Hour. "She's a jazz singer for sure, someone on the level of Sarah Vaughan or Ella Fitzgerald, but her repertoire and her approach to performing are totally her own." Salvant spoke with Remnick and performed three songs with pianist Sullivan Fortner: the Funny Girl favorite "Don't Rain on My Parade," the late 16th-century John Dowland song “Can She Excuse My Wrongs," and her own “Moon Song,” from her 2022 Nonesuch debut album, Ghost Song. You can hear it all (including a shoutout to Rhiannon Giddens) here.

Caroline Shaw, Sō Percussion, and Ringdown stopped by WNYC to perform on an episode of New Sounds focused on the music of Sō's Jason Treuting. They give live performances of three songs from the upcoming album Rectangles and Circumstance: Shaw and Sō on "Sing On," joined by Ringdown (Shaw and Danni Lee) on "Slow Motion" and "The Parting Glass." You can watch all three and hear the full episode here.

Brad Mehldau continues a sold-out Trios residency at Village Vanguard in NYC through the weekend. Sam Amidon is at Fire in the Mountain Fest in the UK. The Magnetic Fields performs 69 Love Songs in Atlanta. Natalie Merchant concludes her California tour at Walt Disney Concert Hall in LA, where Cécile McLorin Salvant performs as well before heading to Phoenix. Sarah Kirkland Snider’s Mass for the Endangered is performed in Costa Mesa, CA. Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway hit three of the Four Corners states—Arizona, Utah, and Colorado. Yasmin Williams is in Charlottesville and Norfolk, VA.

Caroline Shaw and Sō Percussion have released "Slow Motion," a new track from their upcoming album, Rectangles and Circumstance, due June 14. The track features Ringdown, the cinematic pop duo of Shaw and Danni Lee, who co-wrote the song with Sō. You can watch the video, made by Robert Edridge-Waks and the artists, here.