Sam Amidon makes his Nonesuch Records debut with today's release of his new album, Bright Sunny South. The album receives four stars from the Guardian, Mojo, Q, Blurt, and musicOMH, which notes "his wonderfully rich, expressive voice." Drowned in Sound calls it his "most emotionally and tonally complex LP to date ... Amidon has taken a huge step forward as a folk artist, creating arrangements which preserve his musicianship, while deepening the maturity of his interpretive skills." Scripps Howard Newsire says the "transcendent" opening track "sets the tone."

Sam Amidon is set to make his Nonesuch Records debut with the release of his album Bright Sunny South on May 14. But you don't need to wait till then to hear it. The album is streaming in full all this week exclusively at Pitchfork as part of its Advance multimedia early-listen experience. Amidon will perform songs from the new album at NYC's (Le) Poisson Rouge on May 16, followed by a European tour of headline shows and festival sets, and returning to the States to tour in June.

Sam Amidon is featured in the latest episode of the Guardian's Music Weekly podcast, discussing the often unexpected inspirations behind his forthcoming album, Bright Sunny South, which host Maddy Costa says she's "been listening to ... slightly obsessively for the past month." Amidon explains: "For me, folk music is not really so much connected to certain instruments. It's more just a quality a melody could have, or a quality a lyric could have. You can find that anywhere." He closes the interview with a performance of the Bright Sunny South track "As I Roved Out."

Sam Amidon, who launches a three-city tour of Australia at the Adelaide Festival tonight, is set to make his Nonesuch Records debut with the release of his new album, Bright Sunny South, on May 14. The album is now available to pre-order in the Nonesuch Store with an instant download of two tracks from the album—Amidon's take on Tim McGraw's "My Old Friend" (which you can hear below) and the traditional tune "He's Taken My Feet"—and a download of the complete album available starting release day.

Nonesuch Records releases Sam Amidon’s label debut, Bright Sunny South, on May 14. Produced by Amidon with his childhood friend and longtime collaborator Thomas Bartlett (a.k.a. Doveman) and legendary English engineer Jerry Boys (Buena Vista Social Club, Vashti Bunyan, R.E.M.) and recorded in London, the record features a band made up of Bartlett and multi-instrumentalists Shahzad Ismaily and Chris Vatalaro. Jazz trumpeter Kenny Wheeler also makes a cameo. Amidon himself not only sings but also plays banjo, fiddle, acoustic guitar, and piano on the album. Listen to the album track "My Old Friend" here.