Nonesuch Records President Bob Hurwitz has announced his intention to gradually step away from the day-to-day running of the label. Under his transition plan, Hurwitz, who has been head of the iconic label for the past 31 years, will remain President through the end of 2016. He will become Chairman Emeritus in January 2017. This move will allow Hurwitz to continue working at the label in an A&R capacity, including as Executive Producer on ten to twelve albums a year, while also being able to devote more time on a variety of ongoing interests, among which are teaching, writing, and archival projects. Hurwitz’s successor as President will be announced shortly.

This summer, Rhiannon Giddens was joined by Joe Henry on guitar, Tony Garnier on bass, Diego Schissi on piano, and Gustaf Llunggren on pedal steel on stage at the Aarhus Festival in Denmark. They performed "She's Got You," which Giddens also performs on her solo debut album, Tomorrow Is My Turn. "I love this version for the dynamics," she says, "and the way we are all listening to each other with every fiber of our being." Giddens is currently touring the US.

The original Buena Vista Social Club album, produced by Ry Cooder and released in 1997, became a worldwide cultural phenomenon and helped to introduce Cuba’s rich musical heritage and pre-revolutionary past to the world. Now, almost two decades later, World Circuit Records reissues the album on vinyl as a double-LP on October 30, distributed in North America by Nonesuch Records. For this vinyl reissue, the studio recordings have been cut from the original analogue half-inch tapes and mastered by Bernie Grundman (engineer of the original release), and pressed on 180-gram heavyweight vinyl.

The Arcs made their television debut on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Friday, joined by Mariachi Flor de Toloache to perform "Outta My Mind," the first single off Yours, Dreamily, their debut album. "With the music video's psychedelic light show emanating in the background," says Rolling Stone, "the Arcs delivered a riveting take on the track, including a killer Auerbach guitar solo." Watch it here. The band, who played a sold-out show at NYC's Bowery Ballroom Saturday night streamed live on Yahoo, tours Europe in November and North America in December.

London-based singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Olivia Chaney joins The Decemberists as their special guest for several shows in the US this week. The shows begin at the Iroquois Amphitheater in Louisville tonight, followed by stops in Indianapolis, Madison, Dallas, and Austin, for an ACL Festival Late Night Show, on Saturday. Chaney rounds out her US tour with a solo show at McCabe's in Santa Monica on Sunday.

The Arcs make TV debut on Colbert; their sold-out NYC show streams live on Yahoo ... Laurie Anderson is on PBS's American Masters … Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club takes "Adios" tour to Canada … Ry Cooder hits Southwest with Sharon White, Ricky Skaggs … Jeremy Denk plays Bach in Britain … Rhiannon Giddens is in Durham and DC … Emmylou Harris, Rodney Crowell's US tour winds westward … Lianne La Havas plays NYC … Brad Mehldau heads to Germany … Natalie Merchant joins Bard Conservatory Orchestra … Pat Metheny plays Blue Note Jazz Festival in Japan … Punch Brothers play festival sets … and more …

Rhiannon Giddens, currently touring the US, recently participated in the NPR Music panel discussion Songs We Love: Americana Fest Edition. The event was led by NPR music critic Ann Powers, who assembled what she called her "dream team"— Giddens, Patty Griffin, Shakey Graves—for a conversation and performances of some of their favorite songs. Giddens is "one of the great song interpreters of our time," says Powers. "She has an exquisite voice. But just as important is her sensibility, her sense of history, her innate feminism, womanism, and a brilliant originality." You can hear it all here.

Following its October 8 opening at the New York Film Festival, Paul Thomas Anderson's new film, Junun, will have its exclusive worldwide premiere on MUBI on October 9. Anderson joined Jonny Greenwood and Israeli composer Shye Ben Tzur on a trip to Rajasthan, India, where Greenwood (with the Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich) and a group of musicians from across the Indian sub-continent worked on an album to be released by Nonesuch in November. Additional details on the album will be announced shortly.

The Staves have unveiled the official music video for "Steady," off their album If I Was. "We worked with the wonderful Brian and Karl on this surreal piece," says the trio. "So if you would like to see Jess face down in a swimming pool, Camilla struggling to turn off an alarm clock and Emily pretending she's in The Godfather, you can watch it here." The Staves conclude their UK tour as special guests of Florence and the Machine with two nights at Alexandra Palace in London tonight and Friday. 

The Arcs announce their first tour this fall with music from their acclaimed new album, Yours, Dreamily, with North American dates in December at Chicago's The Vic, Akron's Civic Theatre, New York's Terminal 5, and Nashville's Ryman Auditorium, among others, following recently announced European tour dates in November. The December tour dates also follow the band's sold-out performance at Bowery Ballroom in NYC this Saturday, September 26, which will be live streamed exclusively on Yahoo. The band makes its television debut on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert this Friday, September 25.

Robert Plant and the Sensational Space Shifters play NYC and Boston … Sam Amidon closes out Ireland tour … Jeremy Denk joins Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra … Rhiannon Giddens tours US Midwest, as do Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell … Lianne La Havas kicks off North American tour … Audra McDonald joins Sioux City Symphony Orchestra on Opening Night … Punch Brothers play Fresh Grass Festival … Joshua Redman closes out Europe tour … and more …

English singer/songwriter/guitarist Lianne La Havas, whose second album, Blood, was released this summer, kicks off a month-long North American tour at Theatre of Living Arts in Philadelphia this Sunday, September 20, followed by stops in Washington, DC; Chicago; Boston; San Francisco; Los Angeles; and Austin, among many others across the US and Canada.