The twenty-seven disc box set Steve Reich Collected Works, out next Friday, March 14, on Nonesuch, includes a chronology of the composer's life and work—his forty years on the label and six decades of compositions heard in the collection, from It’s Gonna Rain (1965) to his two latest works, Traveler’s Prayer (2020) and Jacob’s Ladder (2023). A new video brings that chronology to life; you can watch it here.

Rhiannon Giddens and Justin Robinson have unveiled “Marching Jaybird,” an instrumental track from their forthcoming album of North Carolina fiddle and banjo music, What Did the Blackbird Say to the Crow, due April 18. Revisiting this tune recorded by Etta Baker, one of their musical heroes and a key inspiration for making this new album, and recording it at Baker’s Morganton, NC, home "was a magical moment for Justin and me," Giddens says. "Walking into her house, which is frozen in time, looking just like it did when she was alive, very much reminded us of women in our families; sitting in her living room and recording this piece learned from her playing was pretty profound." You can watch the video here. Giddens has also announced a number of new tour dates, including the Hollywood Bowl, and shared more details about her Biscuits & Banjos festival, which takes place in Durham, NC, April 25–27.

Wood shop proprietor and Wilco friend and fan Nick Offerman has cracked open the new nine-LP, four-CD deluxe edition of the band's GRAMMY-winning 2004 album A Ghost Is Born to take a look inside. You can watch the unboxing video here.

Hurray for the Riff Raff, just before the one-year anniversary of their acclaimed album The Past Is Still Alive, has shared their first new single and music video of 2025, “Pyramid Scheme.” The song embodies that record’s spirit of resilience and rebellion, with lyrical nods to Billy the Kid, Calamity Jane, Darby Crash, and Frida Kahlo. You can watch the video, animated by Jayla Kai Smith, here. Hurray for the Riff Raff has also announced dozens of spring/summer US tour dates.

Composer/performer David Longstreth, whose new album with his band Dirty Projectors and the chamber orchestra s t a r g a z e, Song of the Earth, is out April 4, 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 David Byrne, Jonny Greenwood, Bulgarian State Television Female Choir, Caetano Veloso, Tyondai Braxton, Scritti Politti, and João Gilberto, and from the Nonesuch Explorer Series.

Guitarist/composer Yasmin Williams stopped by the NPR offices in Washington, DC, to perform a Tiny Desk Concert of songs from her new album, Acadia, and more. "Williams is a fingerstyle guitarist who taps, slaps and slides up and down the fretboard of her instrument with a commanding sense of scenery that flickers between the strings," says NPR's Lars Gotrich. "Storytellers build worlds; at the Tiny Desk, Williams invites us into hers." You can watch it here.

Rhiannon Giddens reunites with her former Carolina Chocolate Drops bandmate Justin Robinson on What Did the Blackbird Say to the Crow, due April 18. Produced by Giddens and Joseph "joebass" DeJarnette, the album features Giddens on banjo and Robinson on fiddle, playing eighteen of their favorite North Carolina tunes. Many were learned from their late mentor, legendary North Carolina Piedmont musician Joe Thompson; one is from another musical hero, the late Etta Baker. Giddens and Robinson recorded outdoors at Thompson’s and Baker’s North Carolina homes, as well as the former plantation Mill Prong House, accompanied by the sounds of nature, including two different broods of cicadas, which had not emerged simultaneously since 1803, creating a true once-in-a-lifetime soundscape. A video of “Hook and Line,” a traditional tune from Joe Thompson’s repertoire and filmed at his home in Mebane, NC, may be seen here. The duo, along with four other string musicians, embarks on Rhiannon Giddens & The Old-Time Revue Tour April 25.

Composer/guitarist Yasmin Williams performed "Nectar," from her new album, Acadia, for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert's Late Show Me Music online performance video series. You can watch it here. Williams kicks off a US tour in Ann Arbor this Friday.

Hurray for the Riff Raff, aka Alynda Segarra, was on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live! to perform "Snake Plant (The Past Is Still Alive)," from their 2024 album, The Past Is Still Alive. You can watch it here.

Portuguese fado singer Carminho stopped by the NPR offices in Washington, DC, to perform a Tiny Desk Concert of songs from her albums Portuguesa and Maria and her EP Carmimho at Electrical Audio. "The world of Portuguese fado is full of emotion that is on display within seconds of this performance by vocalist Carminho," says NPR's Felix Contreras. You can watch it here.

Composer/trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, whose new album, honey from a winter stone, is out next week, 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 Joni Mitchell, Paul Jacobs (performing Schoenberg), Jonny Greenwood, Mary Halvorson, Cécile McLorin Salvant, Steve Reich, and Joshua Redman, Brad Mehldau, Christian McBride, and Brian Blade.

Yasmin Williams stopped by Acoustic Guitar to perform songs from her new album, Acadia, and more and to discuss the album. You can watch the session here. "Yasmin Williams is known for extending the boundaries of solo fingerstyle guitar, with progressive techniques and original compositions that blossom out of traditional folk and roots touchstones," writes Acoustic Guitar's Joey Lusterman. "On her latest record, Acadia, she expands her distinctive sound world even further." Williams kicks off a US tour later this month.