Lily-O, a new album of reimagined folk songs by Vermont-born singer / fiddler / banjoist / guitarist Sam Amidon will be released September 30 by Nonesuch Records (with vinyl to come October 28).The album was produced by Valgeir Sigurðsson (Björk, Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Feist) and features the innovative jazz guitarist and composer Bill Frisell, along with Amidon’s other frequent collaborators, bassist Shahzad Ismaily and drummer Chris Vatalaro. Amidon tours in Europe this summer and performs as part of BAM's celebration of Nonesuch’s 50th anniversary. Pre-orders of Lily-O are available now in the Nonesuch Store with an instant download of the album track "Walkin’ Boss,” which premiered on Stereogum.

Nonesuch releases the second recording collaboration by bassist Edgar Meyer and mandolinist Chris Thile—Bass & Mandolin—September 9, 2014. 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. Bass & Mandolin is available to pre-order with an instant download of the album track “Tarnation.”

Nickel Creek—Chris Thile, Sara Watkins, and Sean Watkins—will tape a performance for Austin City Limits on Monday, August 25, at ACL Live at The Moody Theater, in Austin. The trio returns with its first new music in nine years and for its third appearance on the PBS series Austin City Limits. Chris Thile also visited the show with Punch Brothers; Sara Watkins recently appeared on the show with the Decemberists. For free passes to the show, starting about a week before the taping, visit acltv.com. 

John Adams's new recording of City Noir and his Saxophone Concerto features "superb" performances by the St. Louis Symphony led by David Robertson and "first-class soloist" saxophonist Timothy McAllister, says the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. McAllister's "performance, well-supported by Robertson, is amazing." The Post-Dispatch concludes that "both pieces get terrific performances; the recording itself got top-notch engineering." McAllister and the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra give the West Coast Premiere of the Saxophone Concerto at the Cabrillo Music Festival on Saturday, August 9. 

Kronos Quartet has announced its 2014–15 concert season, including a month-long tour of European summer festivals that culminates in a residency at Kraków's Sacrum Profanum. Kronos returns to the US in late September for the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM)'s celebration of Nonesuch Records' 50th anniversary, Nonesuch Records at BAM, featuring a concert of folk music with Natalie Merchant, Rhiannon Giddens, Sam Amidon, and Olivia Chaney, and five nights with Laurie Anderson performing her Landfall. Another season highlight is the multimedia program Beyond Zero: 1914–1918, which Kronos will perform throughout the US.

Pat Metheny Unity Group has announced a tour of Asia and Australia for this October, featuring music from its debut album, Kin (←→). The tour begins in Seoul, South Korea, on October 5, then heads to Japan for stops in Osaka, Nagoya, Kobe, and three nights in Tokyo; followed by Australia, with stops in Brisbane, Melbourne, Canberra, and the Sydney Opera House; and comes to a close in Singapore on October 27. Metheny talks about the tour on ABC Jazz's Talking Jazz this Friday. The Unity Group is currently in the midst of a US tour with special guest Bruce Hornsby.

Conor Oberst, who, backed by LA band Dawes, performs at SummerStage in NYC's Central Park under a beautiful mid-summer sky tonight, played in the similarly picturesque outdoor surroundings of the Newport Folk Festival over the weekend. NPR Music recorded the set, which is now streaming in full. "Conor Oberst has settled into his 30s as a wise and wizened elder statesman," says NPR. "He's come to channel his youthful intensity into real showmanship, especially onstage, while continuing to mine powerful emotions and a sort of fearless poignancy in his songwriting." His new album, "the very fine Upside Down Mountain ... finds him pairing inward-looking observations with outward-facing arrangements that project genuine soul and panache."

Conor Oberst was the musical guest on Late Show with David Letterman last night, joined by LA band Dawes and more to perform "Hundreds of Ways," off his new album, Upside Down Mountain. You can watch it here. Oberst, backed by Dawes as special guests, is currently touring the globe, including a performance at SummerStage in New York City's Central Park tonight.

Nickel Creek performed at the famed Newport Folk Festival over the weekend, and NPR Music was there to capture the set, which is now streaming in full. The band's new album, A Dotted Line, "naturally reflects its members' creatively ambitious recent pursuits," says NPR's Stephen Thompson. "As with everything the band does, it blends playful lightness with remarkable musical chops." The band heads to the West Coast for the next leg of its tour starting this weekend.

Robert Plant has teamed up with Genero TV to give fans the unique opportunity to produce the music video for "Rainbow," the lead track off his forthcoming album, lullaby and... The Ceaseless Roar. The competition gives filmmakers a chance to receive $3,000 and have their video used as the music video for "Rainbow." Robert Plant and the Sensational Space Shifters will be appearing for the first time at the iTunes Festival at London's Roundhouse on September 8. 

Natalie Merchant’s summer US tour dates, which were postponed due to illness, have been rescheduled for the fall, as noted here. Tickets purchased for the original July dates will be honored at the newly rescheduled dates.

The Royal Conservatory's Koerner Hall in Toronto has announced its 2014–15 concert season, the organization's sixth anniversary season, which will feature performances from several artists familiar to readers of the Nonesuch Journal: Jeremy Denk, Richard Goode, and Natalie Merchant, making their Koerner Hall debuts, and a return visit from Gidon Kremer. Tickets are on sale now.