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 Magnetic Fields, now touring the US, have announced that they will be bringing the 50 Song Memoir tour to the UK and Ireland this summer. The tour, which begins with two nights at the Edinburgh International Festival on August 25 and 26, will make stops at the National Concert Hall in Dublin, Colston Hall in Bristol, Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, and the Brighton Dome, culminating at Barbican Hall in London on September 9 and 10. Along with their June appearance at Primavera Sound Festival in Barcelona, these are the only European tour dates that the band has planned this year.

Tyondai Braxton will lead a five-city tour of the United Kingdom starting next week on a double bill with Brooklyn-based trio Dawn of Midi. The tour begins with a special set before Daniel Lanois at Koko in London as part of the Convergence Festival on Wednesday, March 22. Braxton and Dawn of Midi then head to Leeds, Brighton, Reading, and Manchester for their own shows.

The Magnetic Fields have unveiled the video for "'85 Why I Am Not a Teenager," a song on their new album, 50 Song Memoir. The song is one of fifty on the five-disc set that chronicles the fifty years of songwriter Stephin Merritt's life with one song per year. Watch it here. The video was directed by Alexander Petrowsky, who created the animation along with Ryan Powell, the video's editor. It was produced by Alex Basco Koch and José Zayas for Flying Fish Productions. The video was originally created for the Magnetic Fields' 50 Song Memoir concert tour directed by Zayas, which begins in full swing tonight. 

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.

The Magnetic Fields have unveiled the video for "'71 I Think I'll Make Another World," from the new album 50 Song Memoir. The song is one of fifty on the five-disc set that chronicles the fifty years of songwriter Stephin Merritt's life with one song per year. You can watch it here. The video was created by Alex Basco Koch, Roger Miller, and José Zayas and features illustrations by Roger Miller. It was produced by Ghost Corporeal. It was originally created for the Magnetic Fields 50 Song Memoir concert tour directed by Zayas, which picks up on Wednesday.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, Devendra Banhart's European spring tour featuring music from his new album, Ape in Pink Marble, will move to the summer. Additionally, the venue of his Paris headline concert will change from La Cigale to Le Bataclan. All tickets remain valid. Click here for the updated information. For further details, please contact the point of purchase for the concert tickets.

Ry Cooder will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award at this year’s BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. He will also take the stage for a rare UK performance. The Awards ceremony will be broadcast live from Royal Albert Hall in London on BBC Radio 2 starting at 7:30 PM on April 5, and can be watched live online at bbc.co.uk/radio2. Highlights from the event will also be broadcast in an hour-long special on BBC Four the following Sunday, April 9.

The Staves, currently touring North America, have announced six headline shows in cities across the UK and Ireland this spring, following previously announced appearances at Forbidden Fruit Festival in Dublin and Bushstock in London. The tour, which begins in Manchester on May 31, will make stops at venues in Belfast, Galway, Limerick, Glasgow, and Brighton. The tour follows the release of the digital double A Side Tired As Fuck / Train Tracks last month. 

The Magnetic Fields’ 50 Song Memoir, chronicling the 50 years of songwriter Stephin Merritt’s life with one song per year, is out now. It's "quite an achievement," says NPR Music. "Some of its wordplay is truly remarkable ... More importantly, Memoir is a tour-de-farce of melody and arrangement." Pitchfork calls it "an immersive, incisive listen," with "his catalog 50 songs richer as a result." It's "a highly entertaining summary of pop culture of the past half-century," says the Wall Street Journal. "50 Song Memoir is a treat." Exclaim! exclaims: "Stephin Merritt is a genius." The video for the album track "'68 A Cat Called Dionysus" premiered today and can be seen here.

Conor Oberst's new album, Salutations, due out next Friday, March 17, is streaming in full till then as an NPR First Listen. Salutations, a companion piece to 2016's lauded Ruminations, comprises full-band versions of the ten songs from that solo album plus seven additional songs. Reflecting on the two recordings of the songs on Ruminations and Salutations, NPR says "it turns out both approaches serve these songs well. This remains some of Oberst's most personal and reflective material, written in a harsh winter after a health scare, so it was worth letting the songs breathe for a few months before revisiting them. They still sound full of life, and still feel ragged at times, but they shine in new and different ways."

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.