The 2015 Big Ears Festival takes place in Knoxville, Tennessee, this weekend including performances from artists-in-residence Kronos Quartet, Laurie Anderson, Rhiannon Giddens, Sam Amidon, and Tyondai Braxton. Big Ears is held in venues throughout downtown Knoxville. Click here for a schedule of the Nonesuch artists' events at this weekend's festival. 

There's still about a month to go before 2014 comes to a close, and already the music magazines have begun to weigh in on the year's best music. Rolling Stone, American Songwriter, Uncut, Mojo, and Q have all published their lists of the Best Albums of the Year, and included among them are a number of Nonesuch releases: the latest from The Black Keys and Sam Amidon; the label debut albums from Robert Plant and Conor Oberst; and a special reissue from Emmylou Harris.

Sam Amidon recently stopped by NPR with Bill Frisell and Shahzad Ismaily to give a Tiny Desk Concert. They perform two songs from Amidon's latest album, Lily-O, on which both perform and which Tiny Desk Concert host Bob Boilen calls "gorgeous"—"Blue Mountains" and "Pat Do This, Pat Do That"—as well as the song "Short Life" from his 2013 Nonesuch Records debut album, Bright Sunny South. Watch the Tiny Desk Concert here. Amidon opens for Wilco at the Riviera Theatre in Chicago this Saturday, then leads his own shows in Chicago, Ann Arbor, and Toronto.

The initial line-up for the 2015 Big Ears Festival has been announced, and featured among the performers are several Nonesuch Records artists: Laurie Anderson, Rhiannon Giddens, Sam Amidon, and Kronos Quartet, the festival's artists-in-residence for 2015. Big Ears will be held in downtown Knoxville, Tennessee, March 27–29, 2015, at the historic Tennessee and Bijou Theatres, the intimate Square Room, the Knoxville Museum of Art and more. Weekend passes go on sale Friday, November 14, at 12pm ET.

Sam Amidon's new album, Lily-O, was featured on NPR's All Things Considered last night. "Amidon reinvents American folk songs," says host Robert Siegel; the new album "showcases his ability to transform music." NPR reviewer Banning Eyre says: "Every little unexpected twist shimmers with originality ... His highly personal approach opens a window on the American past and lets us feel it like nothing else around." Listen to the NPR review here. The Morton Report's Bill Bentley says Amidon's vocals "reverberate directly inside the soul." He is "stepping forward with a creative curve that no one else is really doing."

Sam Amidon's new album of reimagined folk songs, Lily-O, was released on CD and digitally last month and is now available on vinyl. The album was produced by Valgeir Sigurðsson and features guitarist Bill Frisell, along with Amidon’s other frequent collaborators, bassist Shahzad Ismaily and drummer Chris Vatalaro. The New York Times calls the album "hauntingly beautiful." Amidon kicks off a European tour on November 14 and performs at the EFG London Jazz Festival with Frisell and Ismaily on November 16.

Sam Amidon is the guest on today's episode of NPR's World Cafe. He is joined by guitarist Bill Frisell, who is featured on Amidon's new album, Lily-O, to perform four songs from the album: "Walkin' Boss," "Blue Mountains," "Your Lone Journey," and a web-exclusive take on "Groundhog Variations." The two also talk with World Cafe host David Dye about recording of the new album in Iceland and more. You can watch their performance of "Walkin' Boss" below and hear the complete session at npr.org.

Sam Amidon's new album of reimagined folk songs, Lily-O, was released last week to critical acclaim. Now, the New York Times' Nate Chinen adds his praise, calling it "hauntingly beautiful." He cites the take on Rosa Lee Watson's "Your Lone Journey" as the song that "brings out the album’s most moving performance. Mr. Amidon sings in a muted voice, trusting the lyrics to make their own impression. The song arrives near the album’s close, so its heavenward glance doubles as a seamless transition." Amidon kicks off a fall tour of US and Europe this Saturday, October 11. 

Lily-O, a new album of reimagined folk songs by Sam Amidon is out now (with vinyl to come October 28).The album was produced by Valgeir Sigurðsson and features jazz guitarist Bill Frisell, bassist Shahzad Ismaily, and drummer Chris Vatalaro. "As well as being master craftsmen," says fRoots, these musicians "create atmosphere—cinematic, mesmeric and groove-rich." The Guardian gives the album four stars, calling it "a compellingly quiet, intense affair ... subtle and intriguing." The Independent, in its four-star reivew, says Amidon's "ability to imbue traditional songs with an ahistorical immediacy has never been better realized than on Lily-O." Esquire UK calls it "magical." MusicOMH gives four-and-a-half stars to this "gorgeous" album.  

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.

Sam Amidon, whose new album of reimagined folks songs, Lily-O, is due September 30, will tour the US and Europe this fall in support of the new release. Jazz guitarist Bill Frisell and bassist Shahzad Ismaily, both of whom are on the new album, will join Amidon on select dates. Amidon also performs with Kronos Quartet and other label mates as part of Nonesuch Records at BAM later this month.

Lily-O, a new album of reimagined folk songs by Vermont-born singer / fiddler / banjoist / guitarist Sam Amidon will be released September 30 by Nonesuch Records (with vinyl to come October 28).The album was produced by Valgeir Sigurðsson (Björk, Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Feist) and features the innovative jazz guitarist and composer Bill Frisell, along with Amidon’s other frequent collaborators, bassist Shahzad Ismaily and drummer Chris Vatalaro. Amidon tours in Europe this summer and performs as part of BAM's celebration of Nonesuch’s 50th anniversary. Pre-orders of Lily-O are available now in the Nonesuch Store with an instant download of the album track "Walkin’ Boss,” which premiered on Stereogum.