“What I find most compelling about her is her musical adventurousness, her willingness to voyage across centuries and make the music of different times, cultures, and mindscapes uniquely her own,” Brian Levine says of Cécile McLorin Salvant, his guest on The Gould Standard, a podcast from the Glenn Gould Foundation about the arts, culture, and contemporary society. “Cécile’s questing spirit is fully on display in her newest album, Mélusine, and its predecessor, Ghost Song.” You can watch their conversation—the first of two parts, with the second forthcoming—here.

“Her music shows off her passion for storytelling and finding the connections between vaudeville, blues, jazz, baroque, and folkloric music. And her latest album, Mélusine, showcases all of that,” Jess Gillam says of Cécile McLorin Salvant, her guest on BBC Radio 3’s This Classical Life. “Her live shows are absolutely electric, full of drama, invention, and commitment to the music.” Salvant shares some of her favorite music—by Puccini, Gabriel Bataille, Camarón de la Isla, and Wanda Jackson—as does Gillam, whose own selections include (past This Classical Life guest) Caroline Shaw’s Plan & Elevation: V. The Beech Tree, from Orange, Shaw’s Grammy-winning album with Attacca Quartet. You can hear the episode here.

Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway have released an animated video for “Down Home Dispensary,” from their Grammy-nominated new album, City of Gold, made by Mechanism Digital Inc. Tuttle says: "Too much politickin’ and not enough tokin’? Check out our animated 'Down Home Dispensary' video!" You can do just that here.

The Staves have announced their first North American tour since 2017, in celebration of their new album, All Now, due March 22. The tour begins April 7 in Washington, DC, with shows in New York City, Cambridge, Toronto, Chicago, Minneapolis, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.

“The multi-instrumentalist, producer, and singer-songwriter Lætitia Tamko even surprised herself when many of the songs she wrote in the wake of the loss of her best friend and closest collaborator were rhythmic electropop gems,” Sheroes host Carmel Holt says of her guest, aka Vagabon. “A feeling of celebrating life and giving herself the gift of solace and fun in the music she was creating came together on a new collection of songs for her third full-length album, Sorry I Haven’t Called.” You can hear their conversation here.

As the US celebrates Thanksgiving, there’s great live music being made around the world: Julia Bullock joins Philharmonia Orchestra in the UK to perform Knoxville: Summer of 1915 at Bedford Corn Exchange and George Gershwin and Langston Hughes songs at Southbank Centre in London. Yussef Dayes performs Black Classical Music in Chicago, Atlanta, Charlotte, and Nashville. Tigran Hamasyan performs StandArt to conclude three-night residency in Yerevan, Armenia. Gabriel Kahane joins Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and his father, conductor/pianist Jeffrey Kahane. The Magnetic Fields conclude European tour in Athens and Austria. Cécile McLorin Salvant tours France and Spain.

“This week’s guest is a trailblazer, a musical activist, a multi-disciplinary, multi-genre artist who has truly carved her own path of both honoring and celebrating lineage and creating a new one for generations to come,” Carmel Holt says of the guest on the third-anniversary episode of her show Sheroes. “Now nearly two decades into her career, Rhiannon Giddens has become one of the most awe-inspiring and influential artists of our time.” Holt talks with Giddens—who was also the radio show’s first guest three years ago—about her Grammy-nominated new album, You’re the One, and more. You can hear their conversation here.

“In many ways, John Adams is the quintessential California composer,” Nadia Sirota writes in the introduction to Adams’ audio interview with the California Festival, a statewide initiative showcasing contemporary classical music, including live performances at venues across the state over the past three weeks. Adams, a resident of Northern California since moving there from New England in 1971, talks about his early days in the area and the inspiration behind some of his most influential early works, like Christian Zeal and Activity, Phrygian Gates, Shaker Loops, and Harmonielehre. You can hear what he has to say here.

Natalie Merchant was on Radio Popolare in Milan to discuss her new album, Keep Your Courage, and more and perform the title track to her 2001 album, Motherland, live in the studio. The session comes ahead of the close of Merchant's European tour and her first shows in Italy in over 20 years, in Milan and Chiara this weekend. You can hear the conversation and performance here. Merchant will return to Italy to host a new workshop at Fondazione Prada’s Accademia dei bambini in Milan on January 28.

“Rhiannon Giddens added to her impressive list of accomplishments earlier this year when the Grammy winner and MacArthur ‘Genius’ Grant recipient won the 2023 Pulitzer Prize in Music as co-composer of the opera Omar,” Kallao says of his guest on NPR’s World Cafe. “The highly decorated singer-songwriter, instrumentalist, composer, and author is relentlessly busy, so we are thrilled to talk to her about her new album, You’re the One.” You can hear their conversation and a live performance of songs from the Grammy-nominated new album and from earlier albums Freedom Highway and Tomorrow Is My Turn here.

Yussef Dayes tours Boston, Philadelphia, and NYC. The Royal Ballet performs Wayne McGregor and Thomas Adès's The Dante Project. Ambrose Akinmusire tours Sweden with Norrbotten Big Band. Laurie Anderson is in Italy and Luxembourg. Timo Andres and Nico Muhly perform Philip Glass at David Geffen Hall in NYC. The Black Keys are in Mexico City for Corona Capital Festival. Sam Gendel is in Amsterdam. Rhiannon Giddens  performs in Berkeley and Sonoma. Tigran Hamasyan is at Spoleto Jazz Fest in Italy. The Magnetic Fields are in Stockholm and Helsinki. Brad Mehldau Trio tours Chicago, Boston, and College Park. Natalie Merchant is in Italy. Mandy Patinkin concludes London residency. Cécile McLorin Salvant is at Bozar in Brussels. Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway  are in Boston, Long Island, and Pennsylvania, where Yasmin Williams is as well as Rhode Island.

The Staves’ new album, All Now, produced by John Congleton (Sharon Van Etten, Angel Olsen), is due March 22, marking their debut album as the duo of Jessica and Camilla Staveley-Taylor, after their sister Emily’s departure. “There was a delayed reaction to trauma and these big changes out of your control,” Jess says of the period after the February 2021 release of their album Good Woman, as the band—like everyone—was forced to sit with their thoughts. Struggling after two years of deep solitude and pain, The Staves did what they know how to do best: they got back to writing with the idea of going back to basics and focusing almost solely on each other and their guitars as a starting point.