Composer Donnacha Dennehy, whose piece Land of Winter, performed by Alarm Will Sound and conductor Alan Pierson, was released earlier this month on Nonesuch, shares some insight on the work, which explores the subtleties of Ireland’s seasons via twelve connected sections representing the months of the year, in a new essay. "It is the varying quality of light that truly demarcates the seasons," he says, "from the shorter days of grey or piercing light in the winter to the warmer but mercurial light of summer days that at solstice stretch almost to midnight. I like this play between light and time, and it is the major inspiration behind the piece."

Molly Tuttle was on the Country Music Association (CMA) Awards at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, joining Golden Highway fiddler Bronwyn Keith-Hynes, Dierks Bentley, and Sierra Hull to perform Tom Petty's "American Girl." You can watch it here.

The Way Out of Easy, the first album from guitarist Jeff Parker and his long-running ETA IVtet—saxophonist Josh Johnson, bassist Anna Butterss, drummer Jay Bellerose—since their 2022 debut Mondays at the Enfield Tennis Academy, which Pitchfork named one of the Best Albums of the 2020s So Far, is out now on International Anthem / Nonesuch Records. Like that album, The Way Out of Easy comprises recordings from LA venue ETA, where Parker and the ensemble held a weekly residency for seven years. During that time, the ETA IVtet evolved from a band that played mostly standards into a group known for its transcendent, long-form journeys into innovative, groove-oriented improvised music. All four tracks on The Way Out of Easy come from a single night in 2023, providing an unfiltered view of the ensemble, fully in their element. 

The Staves' new EP Happy New Year, out today, includes three acoustic versions of tracks from their new album, All Now—"I Don't Say It, But I Feel It," "After School," and "All Now"—and a cover of The Beatles' "She's Leaving Home." Also out now: an acoustic performance video for "After School," which the duo calls "a love song to our sister Emily inspired by the bands we were listening to in the '90s. Putting on the rose-tinted glasses and embracing nostalgia."

Composer and trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire’s honey from a winter stone is out January 31, 2025, on Nonesuch Records. The album, which Ambrose calls a “self-portrait,” features improvisational vocalist Kokayi, pianist Sam Harris, Chiquitamagic on synthesizer, drummer Justin Brown, and the Mivos Quartet. Akinmusire says, “In many respects this entire work is inspired by and is an homage to the work of the composer Julius Eastman and his organic music concept." The opening track, “muffled screams,” is out now.

Nonesuch releases a deluxe edition of Wilco’s 2004 Grammy Award–winning album A Ghost Is Born on February 7, 2025. The box set comprises either nine vinyl LPs and four CDs or nine CDs—including the original album, alternates, outtakes, and demos, charting the making of A Ghost Is Born—plus the complete 2004 concert recording from Boston’s Wang Center and the band’s “fundamentals” workshop sessions. It includes sixty-five previously unreleased music tracks as well as a forty-eight-page hardcover book with previously unpublished photos and a new liner note by Grammy-winning writer Bob Mehr. An alternate version of “Handshake Drugs,” recorded during the studio sessions at New York’s Sear Sound, twenty-one years ago this month, is out now. There will also be a new vinyl pressing of the original album in a two-disc package, and a two-CD expanded version of the original album with bonus track highlights from the full deluxe edition repertoire. The two-CD version will also be available on streaming services worldwide.

Laurie Anderson was on BBC Radio 4's Loose Ends to talk with host Clive Anderson about her new piece ARK: United States V, the premiere performances of which continue at Factory International's Aviva Studios in Manchester through Sunday, and more. You can hear the conversation here. The Quietus highlights ten key tracks from her catalog, from "O Superman"—"her most definitive track"—to "Flying at Night" from her new album, Amelia, "a poignant, moving reflection on what our heroes reveal about ourselves."

The Black Keys' Ohio Players (Trophy Edition), an expanded version of their latest album, which received two Grammy nominations last week, is out now. The new release features a two-LP set in a gatefold jacket complete with four new tracks, an alternate cover, and new album sequencing. The new tracks include collaborations with DannyLux, Alice Cooper, and Beck. The fourth new song, “Sin City,” co-written by Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney with Greg Kurstin and Beck, who also perform on the track, debuts today.

Donnacha Dennehy’s Land of Winter is out now. The piece, performed by the composer's longtime collaborators Alarm Will Sound and conductor Alan Pierson, explores the subtleties of Ireland’s seasons via twelve connected sections representing the months of the year. "It is the varying quality of light that truly demarcates the seasons," Dennehy says, "from the shorter days of grey or piercing light in the winter to the warmer but mercurial light of summer days that at solstice stretch almost to midnight. I like this play between light and time, and it is the major inspiration behind the piece." You can watch a video for “July" here.

American Railroad, the new album from the Silkroad Ensemble with Rhiannon Giddens, is out now. It is the culmination of four years of research, collaboration, and music-making, having brought Silkroad artists all across the US to uncover and uplift stories of those who built the transcontinental railroad and connecting railways across North America. "The result is a tapestry of stories, traditions, and music that have shaped our multifaceted cultural identity, and that must be heard and recognized," Giddens says. Also out now are a performance video of the track "Mahk Jchi" and the first episode of the American Railroad podcast series. The US fall tour continues to November 23.

"The most relentlessly curious person I've ever come across, and that kind of wonder, that kind of joy, that kind of excitement about learning, we can use a lot of now," Ken Burns says of Leonardo da Vinci, the subject of his latest film, on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Burns was on The Today Show as well, talking with host Hoda Kotb about the film. You can watch both conversations here and listen to Burns and his fellow directors Sarah Burns and David McMahon on Design Matters with Debbie Millman.

Brad Mehldau, Christian McBride, and Marcus Gilmore will tour the US in April—with concerts in California, Texas, Indiana, Michigan, and Massachusetts—then head to Hong Kong and Japan for five shows in May. Prior to that, Mehldau will play several solo sets across Europe, including those with music from his new album Après Fauré, in Madrid, Barcelona, London, Lyon, Paris, Grenoble, Bordeaux, Rome, and Vienna.