Vagabon (aka Laetitia Tamko) is a guest on the new Talkhouse podcast series Listening. On the show, curated by Elia Einhorn, artists are invited to share their perspective on how they listen to the world and how that informs the music they make. They also create a new composition for the episode and discuss the creative process behind it. In this episode, Tamko shares, says Einhorn, “the sounds she cherishes from growing up in Cameroon and how weaving together motion and our stream of consciousness can open us up to big ideas.” You can hear their conversation and the composition she wrote for the show here. Vagabon will perform at Venus Fest in Toronto and with Jason Isbell at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville in October.

The Magnetic Fields’ Stephin Merritt is on the new Talkhouse podcast series Listening. On the show, curated by Elia Einhorn, artists are invited to share their perspective on how they listen to the world and how that informs the music they make. They also create a new composition for the episode and discuss the creative process behind it. “Witty, guarded, cynical, loving, heartsick, and tender—this is Stephin Merritt, or at least what we hear in the songs he pens for his acclaimed band The Magnetic Fields,” says Einhorn. You can hear their conversation and the song Merritt wrote for the show here. The Magnetic Fields kick off the next leg of their UK and European tour on August 31.

Rhiannon Giddens is on Southern Living's Biscuits & Jam podcast. She talks with Southern Living Editor-in-Chief Sid Evans about her childhood in North Carolina, learning from her mentor Joe Thompson, making music with Carolina Chocolate Drops and in her own solo work, her new opera, Omar, and more, not least her efforts to bake the perfect biscuit. “I feel like I represent what the South is, which is a mixture of things,” Giddens says. “And I think that’s where our strength is.” You can hear their conversation here.

Rhiannon Giddens was on CBS Sunday Morning to discuss Omar, the opera she wrote with Michael Abels, based on the life and autobiography of enslaved Muslim scholar Omar Ibn Said, who was forcefully brought to Charleston, SC from Africa in 1807. “We need to know their stories,” says Giddens, “and then we know more about who we are now.” You can watch their conversation here.

After spending nearly 30 years showcasing their music across the globe, Wilco will make its Iceland debut April 6–8, 2023, at Reykjavík’s Eldborg Hall at Harpa. Tickets go on sale August 16. A new, previously unreleased track from the upcoming Yankee Hotel Foxtrot super deluxe and deluxe editions—a live, in-the-studio version of “Ashes of American Flags” from a 2001 session on WXRT Radio’s Sound Opinions—is out today.

Natalie Merchant was a guest on the Sheroes podcast hosted by Carmel Holt. They spoke at the Newport Folk Festival in July, where Merchant took part in a number of special collaborative performances. They discuss her career, some of what she’s been focused on for the past few years, and what’s ahead. They also spoke for Mixtape Memoir on Sonos, looking back at Merchant’s life through songs. You can hear both here.

Rhiannon Giddens was on PBS NewsHour to talk with Jeffrey Brown about her new role as artistic director of Silkroad, with whom she just concluded her first tour. "I love getting thrown something that I have never done before, but that I think I have the goods to do, but I have to figure out how to do it,” Giddens tells Brown. “And so I always say yes first and figure it out later.” You can watch Giddens’s conversation with Brown, who calls her "a boundless bridger of musical worlds and styles," here.

The original video for k.d. lang’s Top 40 hit song “Constant Craving,” from the double-Platinum-selling 1992 album Ingénue, has been re-mastered from the original film materials in 4K HD by Craigman Digital featuring audio from the 2017 Ingénue: 25th Anniversary Edition remaster. The song earned lang the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance in 1993. The video was directed by Mark Romanek. "I'm so happy the video has been updated and hope fans can enjoy it more now that it's high res!" You can watch it here.

Punch Brothers, Watchhouse, and Sarah Jarosz join forces for the second American Acoustic US tour starting tonight, with dates in Seattle, Portland, Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, New Haven, and more. Chris Thile says: “It took five years, but I’m elated to announce the second traveling edition of American Acoustic for this summer. Joining my fellow Punch Brothers and me in front of a pair of large condenser microphones will be our dear friends, Watchhouse and Sarah Jarosz, for a collaborative evening of music that traverses our respective catalogues and celebrates being together.” They've released a preview of what's to come with a cover of Sufjan Stevens' "Mystery of Love" performed live from Telluride; you can watch it here.

Congratulations to Molly Tuttle, who, already a four-time International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Award–winner, is nominated in five categories for the 2022 IBMAs: Entertainer of the Year, Album of the Year (Crooked Tree), Female Vocalist of the Year, Guitar Player of the Year, and Instrumental Group of the Year (Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway). Golden Highway's own Bronwyn Keith-Hynes is up for Fiddle Player of the Year. The ceremony will be held in Raleigh on September 29.

Molly Tuttle and her band Golden Highway have released a new live performance video for her song "San Francisco Blues," from their new album, Crooked Tree. The video was filmed during their sold-out record release show at Nashville’s legendary Station Inn this past spring. You can watch it here.

The Newport Folk Festival features performances from Rhiannon Giddens, Hurray for the Riff Raff, Natalie Merchant, Taj Mahal, and two-thirds of Mountain Man ... Laurie Anderson performs at the Hirschhorn in DC ... The Black Keys are in NY, NJ ... Kronos Quartet are at Rancho Nicasio in California ... Brad Mehldau, Ian Bostridge perform at Verbier Festival ... Rachael & Vilray are in upstate NY ... Cécile McLorin Salvant plays festivals in Switzerland and France ... Molly Tuttle is in Oregon ...