"Taurobolium," the closing track to Devendra's Banhart's recently released Nonesuch Records debut album, Mala, has inspired animator and director Galen Pehrson to create a new, animated short film titled Mondo Taurobolium. The film's lead characters, Mondo and Gale, are portrayed by Banhart and Rose McGowan, respectively. Mondo Taurobolium premiered on Nowness, which also features an interview with the director about the process for creating the animated piece. Watch it here.

On the acclaimed Mermaid Avenue albums, Billy Bragg and Wilco put music to lyrics by folk legend Woody Guthrie for which he had not written music or made recordings. Nonesuch Records has now reissued the first two volumes on vinyl and release, for the first time on vinyl, a third volume comprising 17 previously unreleased recordings made during the original sessions, which was first released in the 2012 three-CD-plus-DVD set Mermaid Avenue: The Complete Sessions. Each volume is pressed on 2-LP, 180-gram vinyl at Pallas MFG in Diepholz, Germany. 

In December 2007, the Nonesuch Store opened at nonesuch.com with just a couple of new releases. Now, six years later, the store has grown to include hundreds of new and classic Nonesuch albums. To celebrate this sixth anniversary, all currently available CDs, LPs, and DVDs on the site (pre-orders excluded) are now 34% off the standard retail price. That's an extra savings of about 20% off the everyday prices listed on hundreds of CDs, dozens of recordings on vinyl, and some unforgettable DVDs.

Last year, for the first time since 1980, guitarist Pat Metheny recorded with a band that highlighted tenor saxophone. Unity Band, which went on to win Metheny his 20th Grammy Award, featured Chris Potter on sax and bass clarinet, longtime collaborator Antonio Sanchez on drums, and Ben Williams on bass. Now, Metheny has added another musician, multi-instrumentalist Giulio Carmassi, and christened the ensemble Pat Metheny Unity Group. The Group’s first record, Kin (←→), will be released by Nonesuch on February 4, 2014, and is available to pre-order with an exclusive print autographed by Metheny. The Pat Metheny Unity Group will tour North America starting February 3 and Europe in the spring.

Nonesuch Records releases the debut album from the electric duo of Brad Mehldau and Mark Guiliana, Mehliana: Taming the Dragon, on February 25, 2014. The two have been performing for several years, including a brief US tour this fall, with Mehldau playing Fender Rhodes and synthesizers and Guiliana on drums and effects, as they are on the record. Mehliana comprises 12 original tunes—six written by the duo and six written by Mehldau—and was engineered and mixed by Greg Koller (Jon Brion, Kanye West). The vinyl edition of the album is due March 18. Nonesuch Store pre-orders include an instant download of the album track “Hungry Ghost.”

London-based singer/songwriter Olivia Chaney has signed a worldwide deal with Nonesuch Records. The deal coincides with the announcement of the 2014 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, for which Chaney has received two nominations—the Horizon Award for best emerging artist, and Best Original Song for “Swimming in the Longest River.” Chaney will release her debut album in 2014. Further details about the album and its release will be announced shortly, as will upcoming tour dates.

Emmylou Harris will be a familiar face and voice on PBS in the coming days, as she is among the artists featured on two programs showcasing Americana music airing this weekend: Nashville 2.0, exploring the vibrant Americana music scene, with interviews and performances from Harris, Carolina Chocolate Drops, and more; and Austin City Limits' special with highlights from the Americana Music Festival 2013, including performances from Harris with Rodney Crowell and Dr. John with Dan Auerbach. 

Bombino kicks off a 14-city North American tour, featuring music from his new album, Nomad, with a performance at the University of North Carolina in Asheville tonight. The tour includes stops in Nashville, Louisville, Chicago, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Toronto, Montreal, Cambridge, Providence, Philadelphia, and DC, culminating with a concert in Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall in NYC on December 6. Bombino then makes his way to the other end of the planet for a two-week tour of Australia; he returns to the States in the spring to perform at the Savannah Music Festival on a double bill with Fatoumata Diawara.

Ry Cooder's first live record in more than 35 years, Live in San Francisco, is featured in an article from The New Yorker's Alec Wilkinson titled "Ry Cooder, Live Again." Wilkinson traces Cooder's career through his studio recordings—"Cooder’s catalogue, reflecting his capacious intelligence, is the broadest and deepest in popular music"—to the new live album. "The solos open like rooms, one into another," writes Wilkinson. "Some of the rooms are still as night, and in others the audience shouts like congregants cheering a preacher."

During a recent visit to the Library of Congress, Randy Newman was given the opportunity to play George Gershwin’s piano. "Outdoors but Not the Red River Valley" was written on commission from pianist Gloria Cheng and is one in a five-part homage to Newman’s uncles, film composers Alfred, Emil & Lionel Newman. "My uncle Alfred wrote the music for a number of John Ford’s films," says Newman. "In every one of them, the great director wanted to use 'Red River Valley.' Al liked the tune, but not in every picture. I wrote this piece for my uncle, who was a really great composer." Watch his performance here.

Although Punch Brothers' three-night New Year's Eve run at NYC's Bowery Ballroom is sold out, the band has now added several tour dates in March, including stops along the East Coast, a few in the Midwest, and a pair of festivals: Savannah Music Festival and Suwannee Springfest. Pre-sale begins tomorrow, November 20; general on-sale begins Friday. Chris Thile will be keeping himself warm before then with solo shows in Australia, the Southwest US, and more, plus duo shows with Mike Marshall and Brad Mehldau.

David Byrne and the original cast of Here Lies Love will perform a one-time only special benefit concert in support of the people of the Philippines in the wake of Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan). The special show will take place at Terminal 5 in NYC on November 25. All proceeds will go to support Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) relief efforts in the Philippines. “The show is about the resiliency of the Philippine people—it couldn’t be more timely,” says Byrne. “Upon hearing about this tragedy the cast contacted me about doing a show to raise money for relief efforts. Most of our cast is Filipino, and all of us feel the same way. It’s personal for all of us."