The New Yorker has announced the program for the 2014 New Yorker Festival, taking place October 10–12, in New York City, which includes four artists familiar to readers of the Nonesuch Journal: Randy Newman in conversation with Susan Morrison, Jeremy Denk giving a talk on Comedy and Convention from Mozart to Seinfeld, Laurie Anderson with Alex Ross, and Stephen Sondheim with Adam Gopnik.

As the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s celebration of Nonesuch Records’ 50th anniversary, Nonesuch Records at BAM, began with a series of unforgettable concerts from Philip Glass, Steve Reich, Timo Andres, Nico Muhly, Brad Mehldau, and Chris Thile earlier this week, NPR’s All Things Considered took a look back at the label’s history and its evolution over the decades, talking with Nonesuch President Bob Hurwitz (who celebrates his own 30th anniversary with the company this year), founder Jac Holzman, and artists Thile, Randy Newman, and Jeremy Denk. "Sometimes good things come in small packages," says NPR. Nonesuch Records at BAM continues through September 28.

Robert Plant, whose new album, lullaby and... The Ceaseless Roar, was release yesterday on Nonesuch/Warner Bros. Records, has unveiled the official music video for the first single off the album, "Rainbow." The video received its world premiere yesterday via The Colbert Report, and can now be seen here.

Natalie Merchant’s kicks off a late-summer and fall tour featuring music from her new, self-title album with a performance at the Pabst Theatre in Milwaukee tonight, followed by stops Chicago, New York, Boston, Seattle, Kansas City, DC, and more through December. While on tour, Merchant joins fellow Nonesuch artists Kronos Quartet, Rhiannon Giddens, Sam Amidon, and Olivia Chaney for a special set at the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House as part of the Nonesuch at BAM celebration of the label's 50th anniversary. 

Robert Plant's new album, lullaby and... The Ceaseless Roar, is out now. The album's release was featured in the New York Times list of 100 "events that have us especially excited" this season. The LA Times says he's created "a compellingly eclectic landscape." The Boston Globe calls it "a kaleidoscope that shows he still has much to say." American Songwriter says he "remains as creative, curious and truly artistic as ever, perhaps more so. And this stunning entry into his already impressive catalog shows he refuses to rest on his laurels." The Christian Science Monitor finds that "these are golden days" for Plant. The album earns four stars from the Times, Independent, Financial Times, and Guardian. The Irish Herald says this "brilliant" album is "a cause for celebration" and among the "most entertaining and sonically thrilling collections of the year."

Bass & Mandolin, the second recording collaboration by bassist Edgar Meyer and mandolinist Chris Thile, is out now. The album features ten original compositions by the two artists, who have been performing together sporadically for more than a decade and made their recording debut as a duo with 2008’s Edgar Meyer & Chris Thile, which the Washington Post praised, saying “Thile and Meyer are most enthralling when they pass a melody back and forth, fingers flying.” The duo embarks on a month-long North American tour on September 16. 

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.

Carolina Chocolate Drops, during a summer tour stop in Colorado, sat down, or rather rode up the mountain for a Gondola Session in Aspen, performing "Trouble in Your Mind," off its 2010 Grammy Award-winning Nonesuch debut album, Genuine Negro Jig, plus "Pretty Little Girl with the Blue Dress On." Watch them here. The band closes out the summer and kicks off its fall touring season with a special performance: at the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House on September 18 for the Nonesuch Records at BAM celebration of the label's 50th anniversary. Chocolate Drop Rhiannon Giddens joins label mates Kronos Quartet, Natalie Merchant, Sam Amidon, and Olivia Chaney for another concert in the series on September 20.

Conor Oberst has unveiled the third video from his new album Upside Down Mountain. You can watch the enigmatic short for "Common Knowledge," a companion piece to the album's first video, "Zigzagging Toward the Light," here. The video's release comes just a few days before he embarks on the second leg of a coast-to-coast US tour, beginning September 14 in Salt Lake City. Oberst will release two previously unheard songs, “Standing on the Outside Looking In” and “Sugar Street” for this year's Black Friday Record Store Day on November 28. 

The Black Keys kick off the North American leg of their Turn Blue world tour with two stops in their home state of Ohio this weekend, with shows in Columbus tonight and Cleveland on Saturday. For the tour, longtime Black Keys creative director Michael Carney has created his first-ever screen printed posters for the band. Special guests during the extensive tour include Cage The Elephant, Jake Bugg, and St. Vincent.

Bass & Mandolin, the second recording collaboration by bassist Edgar Meyer and mandolinist Chris Thile, is due out next Tuesday, September 9. But you don't need to wait till then to hear it. The album is streaming in full this week as a "Check Ahead" feature from NPR member station WNYC's Soundcheck. "More than anything," says WNYC, "it's easy to hear how much fun these two have playing together." The duo recently performed the album track "Why Only One?" for The Bluegrass Situation; you can watch it here.

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.