Tom Skinner has released “The Journey,” the latest single from his forthcoming new album, Voices of Bishara, out November 4, as well as a live performance video of the track, featuring himself on drums and percussion, Tom Herbert on acoustic bass, Kareem Dayes on cello, Chelsea Carmichael and Robert Stillman on tenor saxophone, and Paul Camo on samples. You can hear the new song and watch the video, filmed last month at St. Luke’s Church in West Holloway, London, here.

"A lot of the music I write, I write at the piano first," Makaya McCraven tells WBUR's Here & Now in a chat with producer Chris Bentley about his new album, In These Times. "But then also sometimes I am writing in more technological ways, where I might be sampling myself or something that happened. And then it's like, 'how do I put this all together? How do I make it cohesive?' And then that becomes a hurdle, and the hurdle becomes a space for me to become creative." You can hear their conversation here. McCraven is now touring the US, with shows in Colorado, Oregon, California, Washington, and New Mexico through October.

The Blue Hour, a song cycle collaboration among composers Rachel Grimes, Angélica Negrón, Shara Nova, Caroline Shaw, and Sarah Kirkland Snider, is out now on New Amsterdam / Nonesuch Records. The piece was commissioned and performed by the chamber orchestra A Far Cry, who are joined by singer Shara Nova. Set to excerpts from Carolyn Forché’s epic poem On Earth, the music follows one woman’s journey through the liminal space between life and death via thousands of hallucinatory and non-linear images. You can take a quick look inside the album here.

Rhiannon Giddens is joined by Allison Russell in conversation in Hartford then kicks off her Carnegie Hall Perspectives series in Weill Recital Hall with Francesco Turrisi. John Adams is performed by NY Phil in David Geffen Hall and by Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. The Black Keys are in Houston. Jeremy Denk plays Brahms with Fairfax Symphony Orchestra. Gabriel Kahane joins St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. Kronos Quartet is in Oakland. Mariza sings at SFJAZZ. Makaya McCraven kicks off his tour in Vancouver. Punch Brothers play festivals in Georgia and Florida. Cécile McLorin Salvant is in France and Belgium. Vagabon is in Toronto and joins Jason Isbell at the Ryman in Nashville.

Singer, songwriter, and guitar player Molly Tuttle has unveiled a new live performance video for "Dooley's Farm," a song she co-wrote with Ketch Secor for Crooked Tree, the debut album with her band, Golden Highway. The video was filmed during their sold-out release show at Nashville’s legendary Station Inn this past spring, celebrating the acclaimed new album. Tuttle and the band were joined by Jerry Douglas, who co-produced the album with her. You can watch it here.

"Finally bringing this recording to your ears, after so many years ... is a tremendous exhale and a collective accomplishment made possible by many small and many giant acts of generosity," Shara Nova writes in a new essay about the creation of The Blue Hour, a song cycle collaboration among composers Rachel Grimes, Angélica Negrón, Caroline Shaw, Sarah Kirkland Snider, and Nova, who performs the piece with the commissioning chamber orchestra A Far Cry on the album out this Friday.

Rhiannon Giddens’s book debut, Build a House, is out today on Candlewick Press. The picture book was inspired by, and features the lyrics of, a song she wrote and recorded with Yo-Yo Ma to commemorate Juneteenth in 2020. A newly recorded version of “Build a House” with Ma and Francesco Turrisi is also out today on Nonesuch; you can watch the video here. Giddens will read the book and perform at the Brooklyn Children’s Museum October 13 and The Grammy Museum in LA October 22. Her Carnegie Hall Perspectives concerts begin October 15; her opera Omar with Michael Abels debuts at LA Opera October 22.

Hurray for the Riff Raff will join Bright Eyes as special guest on six shows of their North American fall tour. After having toured together earlier this year, they reunite in November for shows in Illinois, Michigan, Toronto, Montreal, Providence, and at Kings Theatre in Brooklyn. Hurray for the Riff Raff also performs at Moonstone Fest in Birmingham this month and NPR Music’s 15th anniversary celebration at the 9:30 Club in DC in November.

David Byrne spoke with Radiolab co-host Latif Nasser and neuroscientist Thalia Wheatley at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts just before the opening of Theater of the Mind, the new immersive experience he created in Denver with collaborator Mala Gaonkar. They discuss one of the show’s central themes: perception. You can hear their conversation here.

Rachael & Vilray—Lake Street Dive singer/songwriter Rachael Price and the guitarist/singer/songwriter Vilray—return with “Just Me This Year,” written by Vilray, about the pleasures of spending the winter holidays alone after a welcome romantic breakup. Vilray says: “For those who happen to be going it alone this time of year, we’re here to help you embrace the freedom!” The duo's next album will come in 2023; details soon. They will perform at the storied Carlyle Hotel in NYC over the Thanksgiving weekend, on Friday and Saturday, November 25 and 26.

Cécile McLorin Salvant’s concert at Salle Poirel in Nancy, France, for the Nancy Jazz Pulsations festival was broadcast live via ARTE. She was joined by guitarist Marvin Sewell, bassist Paul Sikivie, and percussionist Keita Ogawa—all of whom perform on her Nonesuch debut album, Ghost Song—and pianist Glenn Zaleski. You can watch the set here. Salvant was on BBC Radio 4's Kate Bush: The Power of Stranger Things hosted by Ann Powers. She talks about "Wuthering Heights" and why she chose to record it on Ghost Song. 

The Staves' debut album, Dead & Born & Grown, turns ten November 12, and to mark the occasion, Nonesuch Records will release the album on 180-gram recycled colored vinyl in the US December 2. This follows its UK release on October 15, the UK’s National Album Day, for which the band will be ambassadors. Produced with Glyn and Ethan Johns (The Beatles, The Rolling Stones), Dead & Born & Grown was met with great critical acclaim and set the Staveley-Taylor sisters on the way to becoming one of the UK’s most celebrated indie exports. The recycled vinyl is made from 100% PVC recycled material, using waste material and clippings from previous record pressings, resulting in a unique color combination for each LP.