David Byrne was on The Late Late Show with James Corden to discuss the new Spike Lee–directed HBO film of his American Utopia on Broadway and share some reasons to be cheerful he's found in a decidedly un-ghost-town-like New York City and on a trip to Staten Island in particular. You can watch the conversation here.

Vagabon has released a live performance video of her song "Water Me Down," from her 2019 self-titled album. It was filmed by Justin Carlson during the same session as her performance of the song for Rolling Stone's first Fridays for Unity event on October 16 to support the Future Now Fund and help get out the vote. You can watch the video here.

Pat Metheny has released a video for the title track to his critically acclaimed 2020 album, From This Place. The song features lyrics by Alison Riley, sung by Meshell Ndegeocello. Also performing on the track are drummer Antonio Sanchez, bassist Linda May Han Oh, pianist Gwilym Simcock, and the Hollywood Studio Symphony led by Joel McNeely. You can watch the video, made by Robert Edridge-Waks, here.

Sam Amidon’s self-titled album is out digitally and on CD today, with the vinyl due January 22. "A fine showcase for Amidon’s studio experimentation," says Rolling Stone; "incorporates elements of spacious, echoing ambient electronic music to complement Amidon’s warm vocals, reminiscent of Nick Drake and Arthur Russell." No Depression says "this LP, full of delicate noise and artful sophistication, deserves a pause in a harried time." A video of the album track "Cuckoo," recorded live in concert at Kings Place in London earlier this month, can be seen here.

The Staves have released a live video for "Good Woman," the title track to their upcoming album, due February 5 on Nonesuch in the US. The video was made in London's Sunbeam Studios, directed by Olivia Eames. The Staves say: "We’d like to thank our amazing band, Glyn, Marcus, Chris and Rob, and all the crew involved for making this shoot possible whilst observing social distancing rules and keeping all of us super safe."

Sam Amidon performed as part of Kansas Smitty's Virtual Jazz Bar in London. He joined clarinetist Giacomo Smith and band to perform a few songs from Amidon's new self-titled album, out this Friday. You can watch the session here. Amidon will celebrate the release of the new album with a livestream concert on Bandcamp this Thursday at 4pm EDT.

Kronos Quartet filmed a socially distanced performance of "Lux Aeterna," from composer Clint Mansell's score to Darren Arronofsky's Requiem for a Dream, to mark the film's 20th anniversary, at Stanford's Bing Concert Hall. You can watch it here. Nonesuch Records will reissue the soundtrack on vinyl December 4.

Rhiannon Giddens is the guest on the inaugural episode of NPR Music's Amplify with Lara Downes, a new bi-weekly series of intimate video conversations "with visionary Black musicians who are shaping the present and future of the art form," says NPR. "Rhiannon is my friend and soul sister, my fellow traveler on the path that leads to the deep center of American music," says Downes. "In this year of staying home and standing still, we reflect together on the long miles we've traveled so far and what we've found on our journeys, envisioning the wide open road ahead." You can watch it here.

Composer Tristan Perich has released a video featuring a selection from his piece Drift Multiply, for 50 violins and 50-channel 1-bit electronics. The video was assembled from footage of three October 2019 performances of the piece conducted by Douglas Perkins in the Netherlands: Onderzeebootloods in Rotterdam (with dance by Lucinda Childs), Muziekgebouw Eindhoven, and De Doelen in Rotterdam, where the forthcoming album of the piece was recorded. You can watch it here.

Rob Mazurek has released two new singles, “Galaxy 1000” and “The Careening Prism Within (Parable 43),” from his forthcoming Exploding Star Orchestra album, Dimensional Stardust, due November 20 on International Anthem / Nonesuch Records. Both songs come with accompanying videos directed by Mikel Patrick Avery, who presents the two new works as Part 2 and Part 3 of the First Kid in Space film series starring his daughter Olivia Avery-Velez; you can watch them both here. Part 1 accompanied the previously released track "A Wrinkle in Time Sets Concentric Circles Reeling."

Yola's debut performance on Austin City Limits premiered on PBS stations across the country this past weekend and can be seen here. Filmed before the pandemic, the session features Yola and her band performing songs from her 2019 Dan Auerbach–produced debut album, Walk Through Fire.

On his Nonesuch Records debut album, Over That Road I’m Bound, out today, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Joachim Cooder uses the plain-spoken songs of country-music progenitor and banjo player Uncle Dave Macon as a jumping off point, tinkering with the lyrics and reworking melodies for his chosen instrument: an electric mbira. Cooder culled songs from Macon’s vast catalog and recorded them with his band and special guests: Ry Cooder, Rayna Gellert, Juliette Commagere, Sam Gendel, Glenn Patscha, Amir Yaghmai, Dan Gellert, and Vieux Farka Touré. "Warm, uplifting, and quietly spectacular," says Uncut. "A buoyant and joyful long-player," says Mojo. A new video for the album track "Heartaching Blues" may be seen here.