Chris Thile and Brad Mehldau begin a duo tour of Europe in Ludwigshafen, Germany, tonight, followed by stops in Italy, Switzerland, Netherlands, Czech Republic, Austria, France, Spain, and Ireland, where the tour comes to a close at Dublin's National Concert Hall on November 9. "Strictly speaking, mandolinist Chris Thile is a bluegrass musician and pianist Brad Mehldau is a jazz musician," says the Boston Globe. "But genre categories disappeared when the two met [in concert]."

Chris Thile and Edgar Meyer have released a video of their performing "Big Top" from their new album, Bass & Mandolin. You can watch it here. The duo kicked off a North American tour this week in Vancouver. These "two giants of contemporary acoustic music ... managed to showcase exceptional chops while never falling into any of the tedious flash virtuosi so often are taken by," raves the Vancouver Sun. "It's a rare opportunity to be captivated by two such unusual instruments in a pairing. These two are truly special."

Bassist Edgar Meyer and mandolinist Chris Thile, whose second recording collaboration, Bass & Mandolin, was released last week on Nonesuch Records, kick off a month-long tour of North America with a performance at the Chan Shun Concert Hall in Vancouver tonight, followed by stops across the United States, from Seattle to Los Angeles, Austin to Boston, New York, Chicago, and many more. 

Bass & Mandolin, the second recording collaboration by bassist Edgar Meyer and mandolinist Chris Thile, is out now. The album features ten original compositions by the two artists, who have been performing together sporadically for more than a decade and made their recording debut as a duo with 2008’s Edgar Meyer & Chris Thile, which the Washington Post praised, saying “Thile and Meyer are most enthralling when they pass a melody back and forth, fingers flying.” The duo embarks on a month-long North American tour on September 16. 

The Brooklyn Academy of Music's wide-ranging series of concerts and events Nonesuch Records at BAM: Celebrating a Label Without Labels, celebrating the 50th anniversary of Nonesuch Records, kicks off Tuesday night with the first of three consecutive nights of concerts from Philip Glass and Steve Reich plus a separate solo set from Brad Mehldau and continues through September 28. The New York Times says the series "reflects the broad curiosity and high standard of a label that has had notable successes ... with no guiding criteria other than instinct and taste." In conjunction with these events, BAMcinématek presents Nonesuch Records on Film, a salute to the label’s rich catalogue of movie soundtracks.

Bass & Mandolin, the second recording collaboration by bassist Edgar Meyer and mandolinist Chris Thile, is due out next Tuesday, September 9. But you don't need to wait till then to hear it. The album is streaming in full this week as a "Check Ahead" feature from NPR member station WNYC's Soundcheck. "More than anything," says WNYC, "it's easy to hear how much fun these two have playing together." The duo recently performed the album track "Why Only One?" for The Bluegrass Situation; you can watch it here.

Bass & Mandolin, due out September 9 on Nonesuch Records, is the second duo recording from double bassist Edgar Meyer and mandolinist Chris Thile. In this article, these two virtuosic musicians talk with writer Michael Hill about the new album and how the personal and musical relationship between them has continued to mature and deepen in the five years since the pair released its self-titled Nonesuch debut.

Nonesuch releases the second recording collaboration by bassist Edgar Meyer and mandolinist Chris Thile—Bass & Mandolin—September 9, 2014. The album features ten original compositions by the two artists, who have been performing together sporadically for more than a decade and made their recording debut as a duo with 2008’s Edgar Meyer & Chris Thile, which the Washington Post praised, saying “Thile and Meyer are most enthralling when they pass a melody back and forth, fingers flying.” The duo embarks on a month-long North American tour on September 16. Bass & Mandolin is available to pre-order with an instant download of the album track “Tarnation.”

The 41st Anniversary Telluride Bluegrass Festival kicks off in Telluride, Colorado, this morning and continues through the weekend to coincide with the summer solstice, with performances from Chris Thile, who opens the festivities, Nickel Creek and Punch Brothers, as well as workshops from Sara Watkins and Sean Watkins, and Punch Brothers' Chris Eldridge and Noam Pikelny. As has become a Telluride tradition, Punch Brothers close out the weekend's proceedings with a late-night show in Sheridan Opera House Sunday night. The festival will stream live from KOTO.org.

In honor of the 50th anniversary of Nonesuch Records, the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) presents a wide-ranging series of concerts, September 9–28. Part of the 2014 Next Wave Festival, these diverse engagements—featuring 23 evenings of music—underscore the longstanding relationship between Nonesuch artists and BAM. Performs include Philip Glass, Steve Reich, Timo Andres, Brad Mehldau, Chris Thile, Dawn Upshaw, Alarm Will Sound performing works by John Adams, Youssou N'Dour, Rhiannon Giddens, Devendra Banhart, Stephin Merritt, Iron and Wine, Kronos Quartet, Natalie Merchant, Sam Amidon, Olivia Chaney, Laurie Anderson, Rokia Traoré, Toumani & Sidiki Diabaté, Caetano Veloso, and Robert Plant.

Stanford Live has announced its 2014–15 season, and featured among the performers taking the stage at Bing Concert Hall are a number of artists familiar to readers of the Nonesuch Journal: Chris Thile & Edgar Meyer, Toumani Diabaté & Sidiki Diabaté, Emmylou Harris, Kronos Quartet, and Brad Mehldau Trio, as well as the world premiere of a new piece by John Adams and a celebration of the work of Stephen Sondheim.

Chris Thile kicks off a month-long US solo tour with two performances in Arizona this weekend, followed by stops in Santa Barbara, San Francisco, Davis, Santa Monica, Nashville, and Dallas. Thile then joins fellow mandolinist Mike Marshall for three Pacific Northwest duo shows before he and his fellow Punch Brothers tour together in March. Tickets for several recently announced Nickel Creek concerts this spring are on sale now.