Chris Thile has won the 2014 Outstanding Alumni in Fine Arts Award from Murray State University, his alma mater. “He is a model of artistry, creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship,” said Dr. Pamela Wurgler, chair of Murray State's Department of Music. “Everyone wants to hear him perform; they want to hear his compositions too. He is an inspiring model for our students.” Thile’s parents accepted the award on his behalf at the school's A Taste of the Arts Dinner and Auction, which showcases performances by Murray State students and supports scholarships in art, music, and theatre. 

Emmylou Harris will be honored in The Life & Songs of Emmylou Harris: An All-Star Concert Celebration at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, DC, on January 10, 2015. The concert event taping will feature performances by Harris, Rodney Crowell, Iron & Wine, Shawn Colvin, Sara Watkins, Kris Kristofferson, Sheryl Crow, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Mavis Staples, Martina McBride, John Hiatt, Lucinda Williams, Trampled By Turtles, Steve Earle, Patty Griffin, Shovels & Rope, Joan Baez, and Milk Carton Kids. Harris will take the stage to perform with a number of special guests throughout the night. Ticket pre-sales begin today and go on sale to the general public on Friday, November 7.

Congratulations to Brad Mehldau and Mark Guiliana, whose album, Mehliana: Taming the Dragon, has won the Edison Award for Best International Jazz Album. It is the debut album from the electric duo, featuring Mehldau on Fender Rhodes and synthesizers and Guiliana on drums and effects. The Dutch awards will be presented in a gala ceremony at the Muziekgebouw Frits Philips in Eindhoven on November 27. The album has also been nominated for Best Recorded Performance in Modern Drummer's Reader's Poll.

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."

Nonesuch Records will release the label debut from pianist Tigran Hamasyan, Mockroot, in early 2015. Hamasyan is currently on tour in Europe, with shows in France, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, and Switzerland, amongst others. Further details about the forthcoming album and its release will be announced shortly. Although trained as a classical and jazz musician, Tigran Hamasyan draws on a wide range of influences, including Armenian folk music, rock, beatbox, poetry, and more. 

Lianne La Havas joined Prince on Saturday Night Live this past weekend to perform “Clouds,” from his new album, Art Official Age, recently released on Warner Bros. Records. La Havas, who released her debut album, Is Your Love Big Enough?, on Nonesuch in 2012, contributed vocals to the track on Prince's album and to open his special eight-minute set on the show Saturday night on NBC. Fans in the US can watch the set again here.

Songlines has announced its list of the Best Albums of 2014, and featured in that top ten are three albums familiar to readers of the Nonesuch Journal: Robert Plant's label debut album, lullaby and... The Ceaseless Roar; Kronos Quartet's A Thousand Thoughts, which led Songlines to call the group "one of the musical marvels of our ages"; and Toumani and Sidiki Diabaté's Toumani & Sidiki, about which the magazine says: "Every note in this rich tapestry of strings is exquisitely calibrated in the pursuit of perfection." 

The Black Keys, who are currently touring North America on their Turn Blue world tour, recently sat down to discuss life on the road in a new video. The video offers a look on stage and behind the scenes as band mates Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney talk about the evolution of their touring life, from humble beginnings to now, when the important things remain the same, despite the change in venues. See what they have to say here. The tour heads to Vancouver Thursday  before headed back to the US West Coast. What's more the band is giving away an autographed U-Turn turntable, their complete album discography on vinyl, and more.

Composers Steve Reich and Stephen Sondheim will be featured in Lincoln Center's 2015 American Songbook series. They will take part in an evening of conversation, moderated by WNYC's John Schaefer, in The Appel Room, on January 31, marking the first the time the two will have appeared together on stage. The evening also includes performances of several of their seminal works . Tickets go on sale on Monday, November 17.

In 2005, Nonesuch released The McGarrigle Christmas Hour, an album in which sisters Kate & Anna McGarrigle, their family—including Kate's children, Rufus & Martha Wainwright—and honorary family members, like Emmylou Harris, celebrated the holidays in song. That same year saw the start of a holiday tradition of live Christmas shows starring family and friends. The music-making continues this December with Rufus and Martha Wainwright’s Noël Nights in NYC, with Harris, Cibo Matto, Justin Vivian Bond, Loudon Wainwright, and more, and Montreal. Proceeds go to The Kate McGarrigle Foundation for sarcoma research.

Wilco was the musical guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon last night, performing "A Magazine Called Sunset" plus a web-exclusive take on "Cars Can't Escape," both of which are featured on their forthcoming box set of rare studio and live recordings, Alpha Mike Foxtrot. Also on The Tonight Show, Wilco's Tweedy joins Ewan McGregor, Jimmy Fallon, and Charles Barkley for a game of charades. You can watch that and the two performances here. Wilco begins a sold-out, three-night run at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester tonight; in early December, the band will play six, sold-out shows at Chicago’s Riviera Theatre.

The results of the 79th Annual DownBeat Readers Poll have been announced, and topping the list for Jazz Album of the Year is Pat Metheny Unity Group's debut album, Kin (←→). The Pat Metheny Unity Group was also voted top Jazz Group, Metheny is top of the Guitar category, and band member Chris Potter is the winner of the Tenor Saxophone category. “This year’s poll is especially satisfying,” said Frank Alkyer, DownBeat’s publisher, who lauds the winners for continuing "to make ambitious, beautiful artistic statements." The Pat Metheny Unity Group resumes its North American tour November 11.