Freedom Highway, Rhiannon Giddens' follow-up to her highly praised solo debut album, Tomorrow Is My Turn, will be released by Nonesuch Records on February 24, 2017. The record includes nine original songs she wrote or co-wrote, along with a traditional tune and two civil rights–era songs, "Birmingham Sunday" and Staple Singers' "Freedom Highway." Giddens co-produced the album with multi-instrumentalist Dirk Powell in his Louisiana studio, with the bulk of recording done in wooden rooms built prior to the Civil War, over an intense eight-day period. The result is an album that is rawer and more personal than its predecessor. Nonesuch Store pre-orders include an instant download of the title track and a limited-edition print signed by Giddens.

Today is the day after Thanksgiving in the US and that means, among other things, Record Store Day Black Friday, offering unique recordings from some of your favorite artists, including a new, limited-edition, black 7" vinyl by Conor Oberst, available at independent record shops. The vinyl features a new full-band recording of "Tachycardia," a song on Oberst's new solo album, Ruminations, paired with "Afterthought," an unreleased track from the Ruminations recording sessions. To pick up a copy while supplies last, head to a record store near you.

The Magnetic Fields' 50 Song Memoir, chronicling the 50 years of songwriter Stephin Merritt's life with one song per year, is due March 10, 2017, on Nonesuch. Merritt sings vocals on all 50 songs and plays more than 100 instruments, from ukulele to piano to drum machine to abacus. Unlike his previous work, the lyrics are nonfiction—a mix of autobiography (bedbugs, Buddhism, buggery) and documentary (hippies, Hollywood, hyperacusis). Available in five-LP and five-CD editions including an extensive interview by Daniel Handler and facsimile handwritten lyrics by Merritt, and as a standalone bound book with a full-album download card. Pre-order to download one song from each decade now. For a limited time, Nonesuch Store pre-orders also come with an exclusive autographed print.

Nonesuch Records releases the three-CD box set The Randy Newman Songbook on December 16, 2016, following its recent release on vinyl. Nonesuch's Randy Newman Songbook series—comprising solo recordings of songs from throughout Newman's five-decade career—previously included two volumes, released on CD in 2003 and 2011. Sixteen additional songs from a newly released third volume, along with five bonus tracks ("Feels Like Home," "A Wedding in Cherokee County," "Family Album: Homage to Alfred, Emil and Lionel Newman," "A Few Words in Defense of Our Country," and "I'm Dreaming"), join those first two volumes to create this new complete Songbook box set. Mitchell Froom produced The Randy Newman Songbook, Vol. 1 (which has been remastered for this box set) and was joined on Vol. 2 and Vol. 3 by Newman's lifelong friend and colleague Lenny Waronker. Pre-order to download "Guilty" now.

Nonesuch labelmates mandolinist/singer Chris Thile and pianist Brad Mehldau played a two-night stand at NYC's Bowery Ballroom at the end of 2015 before going into the studio to record Chris Thile & Brad Mehldau, a mix of covers and original songs due January 27, 2017, on two CDs / LPs. The vinyl edition includes a bonus performance of Fiona Apple's "Fast As You Can." Pre-orders include an instant download of the album track "Scarlet Town," written by David Rawlings and Gillian Welch. You can watch a live performance of the song here.

Confessions, a collaboration between the acclaimed American composer Nico Muhly and the Faroese singer/songwriter Teitur, is now available on vinyl on Nonesuch in the US and Canada, following its recent digital and CD release; the vinyl is due worldwide on December 2. The lyrics, inspired by or culled from video and commentary the pair found on YouTube, are simple, matter-of-fact, fragmentary, funny, and strange, yet they attain a dignity paired with the gorgeous and expressive music.

The Metropolitan Opera's performance of Alban Berg's Lulu is now available on Blu-ray and DVD together in one package from Nonesuch Records. The Met's new production, directed by acclaimed South African visual artist William Kentridge, premiered in 2015 and starred Marlis Petersen in her final performances as Lulu, a role she has made "hers and almost hers alone" (Opera News) in ten different productions over eighteen years. The New York Times called it "a stunning and searing production." The production will be presented at English National Opera in November.

A new, limited-edition, black 7" vinyl by Conor Oberst will be released on Nonesuch Records on November 25, 2016, exclusively as a part of Record Store Day's Black Friday event at independent record shops. The vinyl features a new full-band recording of "Tachycardia," a song on his just-released solo album Ruminations, paired with "Afterthought," an unreleased track from the Ruminations recording sessions. The disc is being pressed at Record Industry in the Netherlands.

Confessions, a collaboration between the acclaimed American composer Nico Muhly and the Faroese singer/songwriter Teitur, is out now; the vinyl is due November 4. The two musicians began work on the project when Muhly was composer-in-residence at Muziekgebouw Eindhoven in the Netherlands. The songs' lyrics were inspired by or culled from video and commentary the pair found on YouTube. Confessions was recorded with Holland Baroque. Muhly and Teitur perform the album with New York Baroque Incorporated at (le) Poisson Rouge in NYC tonight.

Conor Oberst's new solo album, Ruminations, is out now. He will perform the record in its entirety for an audience of contest winners at New York City's Housing Works Bookstore Cafe tonight. The performance will be simultaneously webcast via NPR Music's Facebook page. Oberst will be the musical guest on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live! on October 24. He resumes his tour in his hometown of Omaha on November 3, followed by stops in Nashville, Toronto, New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles; the European tour begins in January.

"Here's a song dedicated to a great world leader," Randy Newman says of his new song. "I hope all of you like it. I know he will." You can hear it here.

John Adams's dramatic symphony Scheherazade.2 is out now. His "cinematic music goes a long way in unfolding a potent drama, masterfully illuminated by conductor David Robertson and the St. Louis Symphony," says NPR. "The fierceness and vulnerability [violinist] Leila Josefowicz expresses contributes to an award-caliber performance." Scheherazade.2 "sets a whole new standard for narrative and theatrical vibrancy," exclaims the San Francisco Chronicle.