Cécile McLorin Salvant, who begins her Carnegie Hall Perspectives series this Saturday, 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 Philip Glass, Jeff Parker, Caroline Shaw & Attacca Quartet, Early Music Consort of London, Björk, Caetano Veloso, Steve Reich, Dawn Upshaw, Adam Guettel, Gipsy Kings, and monks from Khampagar Monastery.

Hurray for the Riff Raff (aka Alynda Segarra), who performs at the Corona Capital Festival in Mexico City this Sunday, announces new tour dates across the US South, supporting Bright Eyes, beginning February 26, 2025, in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and continuing through March 22 in St. Louis, with shows in Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Oklahoma. Segarra toured with the band in 2022; Conor Oberst can be heard on "The World Is Dangerous," from Hurray for the Riff Raff's album The Past Is Still Alive.

Congratulations to all of the Nonesuch nominees for the 67th Grammy Awards: The Black Keys for Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Song for "Beautiful People (Stay High)," from Ohio Players; Ambrose Akinmusire's Owl Song for Best Jazz Instrumental Album; John Adams's Girls of the Golden West for Best Opera Recording and Best Engineered Album, Classical; Timo Andres's The Blind Banister for Best Engineered Album, Classical; and Caroline Shaw and Sō Percussion's Rectangles and Circumstance for Best Chamber Music / Small Ensemble Performance.

"Music is a powerful tool. In an instant, it can change your mood, your perspective, or your life," Stacey Abrams says on her Crooked Media podcast, Assembly Required, introducing her conversation with Rhiannon Giddens. "No matter the motivation, music is an outlet, a force that builds us up or keeps us steady. It holds the capacity to move millions and to resonate with each individual, and every lyric, every note, every beat has the potential to share a message." You can watch and hear their conversation here. Giddens's new album with Silkroad Ensemble, American Railroad, is out next week; their fall tour begins tonight.

"Hurray for the Riff Raff is the perfect music for this moment," Anna Sale says of the guest on her Slate podcast, Death, Sex & Money. "In it, you hear the sweep of American history and propulsive motion, coming together in joy and protest and marking losses in family and community, and Alynda Segarra's voice—clear and melodic with a sly punk edge." You can hear their conversation, about Segarra's life and music, here.

The Black Keys have released a new song, “I’m With The Band,” written with and featuring Beck, from the upcoming Ohio Players (Trophy Edition). It's the third song from that expanded version of the band's latest album on which Beck sings and which he co-wrote with The Black Keys, including the original Ohio Players tracks “Paper Crown,” featuring Juicy J, and “Beautiful People (Stay High).” The Black Keys have added new tour dates at festival in Monterrey, Mexico, and Tempe, AZ, in early 2025.

The original score for Ken Burns’s new two-part documentary, LEONARDO da VINCI, with new compositions by Caroline Shaw, is out now; the documentary airs on November 18 and 19 at 8pm ET on PBS. The album features performances by the composer’s longtime collaborators Attacca Quartet, Sō Percussion, and Roomful of Teeth as well as John Patitucci. Shaw wrote and recorded new music for LEONARDO da VINCI, marking the first time a Ken Burns film has featured an entirely original score. Also out today is a music video for the album track "The Mona Lisa," which can be seen here.

Just in time for spooky season, The Black Keys released a new song, "Stay in Your Grave," featuring Alice Cooper, from Ohio Players (Trophy Edition), the upcoming expanded version of their latest album, and a video for it directed by Corey Bost and Ali Gomez. The video features a newly shot live performance by Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney in macabre attire intercut with classic horror movie footage.

The Staves have released an acoustic cover of The Beatles' "She's Leaving Home" ahead of their return to the US to tour in November. "This song is one we’ve known forever and have loved, partly because of its vivid storytelling but also the incredible string arrangement," the Staves' Jessica and Camilla Staveley say. "We realized that there are actually no harmonies on this song, only the two voices of Lennon and McCartney singing—it felt like a sign." You can watch the video here.

Composer/guitarist Yasmin Williams has announced a US winter headline tour behind her critically acclaimed new album, Acadia. The dates begin with four shows in California in December, before picking back up on the East Coast in February with shows in Baltimore, NYC, Northampton, Philadelphia, and more. Williams also plays Pitchfork Music Festival in London in November and Brandi Carlile's Girls Just Wanna Weekend in Mexico in January. 

Composer and bandleader Darcy James Argue, who was named Arranger of the Year in the DownBeat Critics Poll, 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. He chose recordings by Bill Frisell, Don Byron, Julius Hemphill, Kronos Quartet, and Randy Newman.

Rhiannon Giddens has announced the launch of her first-ever festival, Biscuits & Banjos, a celebration of Black music, art, and culture to take place April 25–27, 2025, in downtown Durham, in her home state of North Carolina. The event commemorates the 20th anniversary of the Black Banjo Gathering, which launched Giddens' career and led to the formation of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, who will reunite to headline the festival. A portion of both ticket sales and merchandise income will go to Hurricane Helene relief efforts.