The 72nd DownBeat Critics Poll results are in, and among the winners are Darcy James Argue, Arranger; Mary Halvorson, Guitar; Cécile McLorin Salvant, Female Vocalist; and Ambrose Akinmusire, Trumpet—all of whose albums are among the Jazz Albums of the Year—and Rhiannon Giddens, Beyond Artist and Beyond Album of the Year.

Laurie Anderson will give the world premiere of ARK: United States Part 5, a new live stage work, at Aviva Studios in Manchester, England, November 12–24, 2024. "For a long time I’ve wanted to make a new large-scale work about the United States—a collection of songs and stories about what has shaped this country in the 21st century," she says. "I plan to tell these stories moving through myth, journalism, fable, and TikTok, conjuring alternate realities and stories from my own life. Part ruminations, part long-form poems, ARK will also be a kind of 3D movie."

"Since I was a kid, I was in love with the sky, the beauty of it, the freedom of it, like I could just float up forever," Laurie Anderson tells BBC Radio 4's Front Row presenter Tom Sutcliffe in a conversation about her upcoming album, Amelia, due August 30. "I remember as a kid doing that, running into the dark ... the ecstasy. Your arms are out like a plane, and you close your eyes and you run." You can hear their conversation here.

The Staves performed at Glastonbury Festival last weekend and gave a special acoustic session for the BBC, performing "You Held It All," from their new album, All Now. You can watch it here.

"'Ghost' explores the weariness and anxiety of being a fully feeling human who is forced to live in our modern world and its tech-saturated chaos,” Ringdown, the Portland-based cinematic pop duo of creator-musicians Danni Lee Parpan and Caroline Shaw, says of its second Nonesuch single, out now. “This is especially isolating in the world of internet dating, where the spotty texting tempo and normalized behavior of ‘ghosting’ someone can feel crushing. We used the clunky pedal sounds from a vintage piano as a heartbeat throughout the song. To us, this represents the yearning for connection beyond technology.”

"It's like an engine for the world. And when we don't have that—we can't not have that ... It's like we're compelled to do it," Cécile McLorin Salvant says of the arts on the series How Art Changed Me from NYC PBS station WNET's ALL ARTS. "For me, singing and music has been a way to really be direct and say what I mean and what I feel." You can see what else she has to say here.

Laurie Anderson stopped by for the Nonesuch Selects video series, in which artists visit the Nonesuch office, pick some of their favorite albums from the music library, and share a few words on their choices. She chose recordings by Randy Newman, Steve Reich, Conor Oberst, Philip Glass, Bill Frisell, John Adams, and Rhys Chatham.

Congratulations to k.d. lang, whom the Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) has named the 2024 artist inductee to the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame; she will be honored in an induction ceremony during Country Music Week 2024 in Edmonton, AB, September 11–14. "I am beyond thrilled, and frankly pleasantly surprised to be honored in this way," lang says. "My love for the prairies, the people, and our culture underscore every ounce of my inspiration. Not without its complexities, I might add. Such is life. I am so stoked to be coming to Edmonton to bask in this celebration … with deepest gratitude."

The 92nd Street Y in New York City (92NY) has announced its 2024–25 Tisch Music Season, including performances by Caroline Shaw and Sō Percussion, Jeremy Denk, Julia Bullock, Richard Goode, Brad Mehldau, Gabriel Kahane, and Days of Wine and Roses star Kelli O'Hara.

Congratulations to composer and band leader Darcy James Argue, who has been named the Frankfurt Radio Big Band's new Composer in Residence. "Taking on this legacy is a massive responsibility, one I accept with the very deepest gratitude. Over the past 16 years, Jim McNeely has honed this group into a world-class big band, filled with amazing players that take great personal pride in the ensemble, and who always put the music first. I love this band and the people in it, and I’m very excited to be embarking on a new adventure with them!"

Multi-instrumentalist, producer, and composer Yussef Dayes, who is currently on tour in the US, stopped by KEXP in Seattle back in November following the release of his debut solo album, Black Classical Music, to perform three songs from the album—"Raisins Under the Sun," "Turquoise Galaxy," and "Chasing the Drum"—and talk with host Larry Mizell, Jr. about his work, what Mizell calls "some of the most exciting music I've heard in years." You can watch it here.

The original cast recording of the Tony Award–winning Broadway show Illinoise: A New Musical, previously released digitally, is now available on CD, with the 2-LP vinyl set due August 30. The new work features music and lyrics by Sufjan Stevens based on his album Illinois, a book by Justin Peck and Jackie Sibblies Drury, and direction and choreography by Peck, with new arrangements by Timo Andres and music supervision and direction by Nathan Koci. The New York Times exclaims: "The vocalists do not seem to sing so much as pour emotion into our ears."