Folk Songs, a new album joining Kronos Quartet with Nonesuch Records labelmates Sam Amidon, Olivia Chaney, Rhiannon Giddens, and Natalie Merchant is out now. The artists on the album first came together to perform these songs, most of which are traditional with contemporary arrangements, when Nonesuch celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2014 with festivals at the Barbican Centre and Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM). The group later recorded the songs with Doug Petty as the album's producer. You can take a quick look at the project in an album trailer here.

Rhiannon Giddens was a guest on the Tavis Smiley show on PBS. She spoke with Smiley about the inspiration behind her new album, Freedom Highway, and gives a solo performance of "Julie," one of nine original songs she wrote or co-wrote for the album. "What I wanted was a way to tell those stories, but I’m a musician and they wanted to become songs," Giddens tells Smiley. "I didn't have a choice really." Watch the segment here.

Kronos Quartet and Rhiannon Giddens have shared their recording of her "Lullaby," arranged by Punch Brothers' Gabe Witcher, from the new album Folk Songs, due June 9. You can hear it here. On the album, Kronos joins forces with labelmates Giddens, Sam Amidon, Olivia Chaney, and Natalie Merchant to perform mostly traditional tunes with contemporary arrangements. "Lullaby" is available to download now with pre-orders of Folk Songs, along with the previously released track "The Butcher's Boy," featuring Merchant.

Rhiannon Giddens was on NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross today. She discusses her new album, Freedom Highway, and performs "At the Purchaser's Option" and "Julie," two of nine original songs she wrote or co-wrote for the album, which also includes a traditional tune and two civil rights–era songs. You can hear the episode here. Giddens performs at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall in NYC and World Café Live in Philadelphia this weekend; the tour resumes in June and continues through the summer.

Congratulations to Rhiannon Giddens, whose new album, Freedom Highway, has been nominated for Album of the Year, top honors at the 2017 Americana Honors & Awards, announced earlier today by the Americana Music Association. The Americana Honors & Awards show returns to the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville on September 13, 2017.

Rhiannon Giddens will tour the UK and Ireland this autumn, bringing music from her new album, Freedom Highway, to London, Bristol, Birmingham, Milton Keynes, Pocklington, Manchester, Dublin, Glasgow, and Gateshead.

Rhiannon Giddens begins an extensive US tour, with music from her new album, Freedom Highway, at the Stagecoach festival in California on Friday. She takes the tour across the Southwest, down to New Orleans and Atlanta, up to her home state of North Carolina and to DC, Boston, Philadelphia, and NYC's Lincoln Center. The tour resumes in June and continues through the summer, with headlining shows across the South and Midwest and festivals like Spoleto, Newport Folk, Newport Jazz, and ROMP.

When Nonesuch Records celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2014, with festivals at the Barbican in London and the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), Kronos Quartet joined forces with labelmates Sam Amidon, Olivia Chaney, Rhiannon Giddens, and Natalie Merchant to perform a concert entitled Folk Songs. The group later recorded the songs, most of which are traditional with contemporary arrangements, with Doug Petty as producer. Folk Songs will be released June 9, 2017, and is available to pre-order with an instant download of the track "The Butcher's Boy," featuring Merchant.

Rhiannon Giddens has shared a new video for "Following the North Star," an instrumental track she wrote for her new album, Freedom Highway. She wrote or co-wrote nine of the songs on the album, which also includes a traditional tune and two civil rights-era songs. The video was made by Harvey K. Robinson at The Cypress House in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, the studio of multi-instrumentalist Dirk Powell, who co-produced Freedom Highway with Giddens there. You can watch it here.

The line-up for the Funhouse Fest in Williamsburg, Virginia, has been announced, and among the featured performers are three Nonesuch artists: Lake Street Dive, who perform on Saturday, June 24; Rhiannon Giddens, who takes thes stage on Sunday, June 25; and The Staves, who perform their own set on Saturday and are joined by the chamber ensemble yMusic on Sunday. Funhouse Fest is curated by Bruce Hornsby and takes place on the lawn of the Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg, as part of the Virginia Arts Festival.

Rhiannon Giddens has shared a video for "Come Love Come," a song she wrote for her new album, Freedom Highway. The video was made by Harvey K. Robinson at The Cypress House in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, the studio of multi-instrumentalist Dirk Powell, who co-produced Freedom Highway with Giddens there. Watch it here.

Rhiannon Giddens has shared a behind-the-scenes video offering a brief look at the making of her acclaimed new album, Freedom Highway. She co-produced the album with multi-instrumentalist Dirk Powell in his Breaux Bridge, LA, studio, with the bulk of recording done in wooden rooms built prior to the Civil War. "It's so personal," Giddens says in the video. "But it's not just personal in the way that these are my stories. It's personal in that ... it's a huge chunk of my soul." Watch the video, directed by Harvey K. Robinson, here.