Rhiannon Giddens has released "Waterbound," a second track from her upcoming album with Francesco Turrisi, They’re Calling Me Home, out April 9. The song is a traditional fiddle tune first recorded in the 1920s that includes the refrain, "Waterbound, and I can't get home, down to North Carolina," capturing a central theme of the new album: longing for the comfort of home and family in this time of prolonged isolation. The video, which you can watch here, was filmed in Ireland and includes footage from the recording session that took place in a small studio on a working farm outside Dublin. The song and video also feature Congolese guitarist Niwel Tsumbu. Giddens says, “‘Waterbound’ is a song I learned a long time ago and it brings me forcefully home to North Carolina when I sing it, and considering that I am, indeed waterbound, and have been for a long time, it's a rare moment when a folk song represents exactly my situation in time.”

Rhiannon Giddens’ new album, They're Calling Me Home, recorded with Italian multi-instrumentalist Francesco Turrisi, will be released April 9 (vinyl June 11) on Nonesuch Records; vinyl is due June 11. The album was recorded during the COVID-19 lockdown in Ireland. The two expats found themselves drawn to and comforted by the music of their native and adoptive countries of America, Italy, and Ireland, which they recorded at a spare studio on a working farm outside of Dublin. The result is a twelve-song album that speaks to the longing for the comfort of home as well as the metaphorical call "home" of death. Nonesuch Store pre-orders include a limited-edition, autographed print and an instant download of the song "Calling Me Home," the video for which can be seen here.

Chris Thile, Cécile McLorin Salvant, Rhiannon Giddens, Jeremy Denk, Mandy Patinkin, Gaby Moreno, and Nico Muhly will take part in NY PopsUp, a festival featuring hundreds of pop-up performances—many of which are free of charge and all open to the public—throughout New York City and State. Additionally, Thile and Salvant are on a council of artistic advisors partnering with curator Zack Winokur to program the series. NYPopsUp, which will run from Saturday, February 20, through Labor Day, will make stages out of existing landscapes, including iconic transit stations, parks, subway platforms, museums, skate parks, street corners, fire escapes, parking lots, storefronts, and upstate venues. The festival is being coordinated with state public health officials and will strictly adhere to Department of Health COVID-19 protocols.

While most of us can't go out to take in great live music, here are some events taking place online to enjoy while staying home this weekend: On Friday, Mariza sings the music of Amália Rodrigues for NYC's Town Hall from Portugal, Vagabon performs from a decked-out Boulevard Studios in LA, and Jeremy Denk performs Bach for Emory University's Schwartz Center. On Sunday, Chris Thile leads his master class, Caroline Shaw and Attacca Quartet perform for Miami's IlluminArts from NYC, and Rhiannon Giddens and Francesco Turrisi perform for Celtic Connections from Ireland.

Rhiannon Giddens spoke with North Carolina singer-songwriter and social activist Laurelyn Dossett for the Blue Ridge Music Center's new online series A Place in the Band: Women in Bluegrass & American Roots Music. In the ten-part series, a partnership with The Bluegrass Situation, Dossett speaks with women in the music business about people who have inspired them, issues they've encountered specific to women in the industry, and changes they've seen over the years. You can watch the conversation here.

While many of us can't go out to take in great live music, here are some events taking place online to enjoy while staying home this weekend: Jeremy Denk performs Schumann, Mazzoli, and Brahms for the University of Washington's Meany Center; Tigran Hamasyan performs from The Call Within for EFG London Jazz Festival online; Rhiannon Giddens and Francesco Turrisi perform from there is no Other for UC Santa Barbara; Punch Brothers perform the first of two consecutive Sunday night concerts from Blackbird Studio in Nashville; and k.d. lang can be heard on BBC Radio 2's In Concert 50.

Rhiannon Giddens has composed a new song, "Best Day / New Day," for NPR's Morning Edition Song Project, in which musicians create an original song about the COVID-19 era. Giddens and Francesco Turrisi talk with Morning Edition host David Greene about the song, life during the pandemic, and its context in world history. You can hear the conversation and the song here.

Yola, Rhiannon Giddens, and Laurie Anderson took part in Great Performances: Grammy Salute to Music Legends, an awards ceremony and tribute concert to present the Recording Academy's Special Merit Awards on PBS. Yola performs "Up Above My Head" by Sister Rosetta Tharpe, to whom Rhiannon Giddens presents a posthumous Lifetime Achievement Award. Laurie Anderson performs "Gee-Whiz," her collaboration with Philip Glass, and presents him with the Trustees Award. You can watch it all here.

Rhiannon Giddens is the guest on the inaugural episode of NPR Music's Amplify with Lara Downes, a new bi-weekly series of intimate video conversations "with visionary Black musicians who are shaping the present and future of the art form," says NPR. "Rhiannon is my friend and soul sister, my fellow traveler on the path that leads to the deep center of American music," says Downes. "In this year of staying home and standing still, we reflect together on the long miles we've traveled so far and what we've found on our journeys, envisioning the wide open road ahead." You can watch it here.

While most of us can't go out to take in great live music, here are some events taking place online to enjoy while staying home this weekend: Sam Amidon performs in concert from Kings Place in London on Saturday; Rhiannon Giddens, Emmylou Harris, and Yola can be see in the free online Hardly Strictly Bluegrass on Saturday; Joachim Cooder concludes his virtual in-store tour via Electric Fetus Instagram Live tonight; and Rob Mazurek performs Friday–Sunday from Marfa for his art show in Florence, Italy.

Rhiannon Giddens has teamed with composer Michael Abels (Get Out) and members of the Met Opera Chorus and Nashville Ballet for a new interpretation of her song "Cry No More," which she first wrote and released in the wake of the 2015 Charleston church shooting. Following the murder of Breonna Taylor, Giddens re-recorded the track to emphasize its timeliness with added fervor, as she makes a plea for unity against injustice. You can watch the new video here.

Thriving Roots, the Americana Music Association Foundation's new virtual conference, takes place starting Wednesday, September 16. The three-day event features 100 online sessions, including panels with Rhiannon Giddens, Emmylou Harris, Chris Thile, Yola, and Ry Cooder. On Thursday, there's Yola with Brandi Carlile and Chris Thile with Sarah Jarosz and John Leventhal; on Friday, it's Ry Cooder with Rosanne Cash, Emmylou Harris with Ken Burns, and Rhiannon Giddens with Taj Mahal and Ann Powers.