Composer Steve Reich talks about creating his iconic 1965 tape piece It's Gonna Rain in a new video from his publisher Boosey & Hawkes. That year, Reich recorded Pentecostal preacher Brother Walter preaching on Noah and the Flood in San Francisco, then aligned two Wollensak tape recorders that gradually fell out of sync, eventually creating contrapuntal lines from the recording. Reich's first major phasing work, it would become a landmark piece.

Rhiannon Giddens was on the Today show on NBC to perform the title track to her new album, You're the One, out this Friday, and the new album track "Too Little, Too Late, Too Bad," which was released today. "I listened to a bunch of Aretha Franklin, and then turned to fellow Aretha-nut Dirk Powell and said, ‘Let’s write a song she might have sung!,'" Giddens says of the new song. You can watch the Today performances and listen to the new album track here.

Natalie Merchant recently gave an intimate performance at The Sheen Center for Thought & Culture in NYC for WFUV’s FUV Live. She spoke with host Alisa Ali and was joined by her longtime guitarist Erik Della Penna to perform several songs from throughout her career. You can now watch her perform "Sister Tilly," from her new album, Keep Your Courage, as well as “Carnival” and “Break Your Heart” from the set here and listen to the complete session at wfuv.org. Merchant resumes her Keep Your Courage tour on the US West Coast, Europe, and the UK in the autumn.

David Byrne & Fatboy Slim’s acclaimed 2010 album Here Lies Love is now available on vinyl for the first time, to coincide with the 2023 Broadway production. This double-disc song cycle about the rise and fall of the Philippines’ notorious Imelda Marcos and the People Power Revolution was conceived by David Byrne; composed by Byrne and Fatboy Slim; and performed by a dream cast drawn from the worlds of indie rock, alt country, R&B, and pop, including Florence Welch, Cyndi Lauper, Steve Earle, Sharon Jones, Natalie Merchant, Tori Amos, Kate Pierson, St. Vincent, My Brightest Diamond, Nellie McKay, Martha Wainwright, Róisín Murphy, Santigold, and Byrne himself. “Ingenious,” said the New York Times. “Insidiously infective songs.”

Composer John Adams talks about his acclaimed opera Doctor Atomic and the aria “Batter My Heart” in a new video from Boosey & Hawkes. The opera, with a libretto by Peter Sellars drawn from original sources—including, for this aria, the John Donne sonnet—tells the story of Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer and the first atomic bomb explosion in New Mexico in July 1945. The video features scenes from the Dutch National Opera production starring Gerald Finley, who originated the role of Oppenheimer in 2005 and can be heard on the Nonesuch first recording of Doctor Atomic, with the composer leading the BBC Singers and the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and Julia Bullock as Kitty Oppenheimer. You can hear “Batter My Heart” from the recording here as well.

Darcy James Argue's Secret Society has released “Last Waltz for Levon,” a new song from their upcoming album, Dynamic Maximum Tension, due September 8. The track, which you can hear here, is dedicated to drummer and vocalist Levon Helm of The Band. Argue’s treatment, featuring solos by trombonist Mike Fahie and bassist Matt Clohesy, is also inspired by the horn arrangements written by legendary songwriter and producer Allen Toussaint for The Band’s classic live album Rock of Ages. Argue and Secret Society celebrate the release of Dynamic Maximum Tension with a four-night run at NYC’s Jazz Gallery, September 13–16.

David Byrne is the subject of a Financial Times Magazine feature and spoke with writer Lilah Raptopoulos on the FT Weekend podcast. They talk about some of the “million-and-a-half things” for which he is known, including Talking Heads and the just-opened Broadway production of Here Lies Love, the original 2010 double-disc song cycle album of which gets its first vinyl release this Friday. You can hear their conversation here.

Portuguese fado singer Carminho performed before Pope Francis and attendees of the World Youth Day Prayer Vigil at Campo da Graça in Lisbon’s Parque Tejo on Saturday night. She sang “Estrela,” from her 2019 album, Maria. You can watch the performance here.

Molly Tuttle and Golden Highway have announced a US East Coast "Next Rodeo" tour for November, with stops in Brooklyn, Burlington, Albany, Portland, Boston, DC, and more. These follow their recently announced West Coast "Road to El Dorado" run in October, with stops at Portland, Seattle, Boise, Salt Lake City, and Denver, and more.

Vagabon (aka Lætitia Tamko) will tour Europe as special guest of Arlo Parks in September, with shows in Dublin, Manchester, Amsterdam, Brussels, Berlin, Paris, and London. Tickets for all but the Dublin, Manchester, and Paris shows have already sold out. Vagabon returns to North America to lead a headline tour in October before heading back to Europe to tour with Weyes Blood, then back to the North America for the next leg of her headline tour in December. 

Molly Tuttle is on The Bluegrass Situation's Basic Folk podcast hosted by Cindy Howes and Lizzie No. Tuttle, The Bluegrass Situation Artist of the Month, returns to the show to talk about City of Gold, her new album with her band Golden Highway. “She’s writing bluegrass songs that are fun and insightful at the same time,” says Howes. “Molly Tuttle is a great hang, an inspiration for us all and has made a fabulous new album, City of Gold.” You can hear their conversation here.

Rhiannon Giddens has released “Yet to Be,” a new single from her forthcoming album, You’re the One, due August 18. “Yet to Be” features Jason Isbell and tells the story of a Black woman and an Irish man falling in love in America. You can watch the video here.