In honor of the 50th anniversary of Nonesuch Records, the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) presents a wide-ranging series of concerts, September 9–28. Part of the 2014 Next Wave Festival, these diverse engagements—featuring 23 evenings of music—underscore the longstanding relationship between Nonesuch artists and BAM. Performs include Philip Glass, Steve Reich, Timo Andres, Brad Mehldau, Chris Thile, Dawn Upshaw, Alarm Will Sound performing works by John Adams, Youssou N'Dour, Rhiannon Giddens, Devendra Banhart, Stephin Merritt, Iron and Wine, Kronos Quartet, Natalie Merchant, Sam Amidon, Olivia Chaney, Laurie Anderson, Rokia Traoré, Toumani & Sidiki Diabaté, Caetano Veloso, and Robert Plant.

The Black Keys returned to Saturday Night Live this past weekend as musical guests, performing two songs from their new album, Turn Blue. The band returns to late-night TV with a performance on the Late Show with David Letterman tonight and an appearance on The Colbert Report tomorrow. Earlier today, The Black Keys will be on the webcast concert series Live on Letterman, performing live from the Ed Sullivan Theater in NYC, webcast on CBS.com, after 7:30 PM ET. 

Conor Oberst's new album, Upside Down Mountain, due out next Monday, May 19 (with vinyl due to arrive May 30), is streaming in full all this week as an NPR First Listen. The album is "artful and beautifully realized," writes NPR's Tom Moon. "Upside Down Mountain suggests that Oberst is growing, rapidly, as a craftsman ... [H]e's brokering interior thoughts, choosing clusters of words for the ways they thrive, or sometimes disappear, inside the sonic swirl." Oberst is on tour now with special guest Dawes.

Natalie Merchant performed two sold-out shows at Milton Court Concert Hall in London over the weekend and stopped by BBC Radio 2's Weekend Wogan for a live session. She performs on BBC Two's Later ... with Jools Holland Tuesday and again on Friday. She joins philosopher Alain de Botton in East London on Thursday to discuss her new album and returns to Milton Court on Sunday for another sold-out concert, this time with several label mates, for a celebration of roots music for the Barbican’s Explorations: The Sound of Nonesuch Records.

The Black Keys perform from their new album, Turn Blue, as musical guests on Saturday Night Live ... Natalie Merchant performs two sold-out shows in London and is on BBC Radio 2’s Weekend Wogan ... Richard Goode plays Beethoven in Minneapolis ... Iron and Wine plays Shaky Knees Festival in Atlanta; Conor Oberst does too and tours the Carolinas ... Gidon Kremer, Kremerata Baltica tour Germany ... Kronos Quartet premieres new works in Sweden and Ireland ... Brad Mehldau Trio concludes six-night residency at NYC's Village Vanguard ... Pat Metheny Unity Group tours Scandinavia ... Nickel Creek tours Midwest ... and more ...

Natalie Merchant's new, self-titled album was released earlier this week to great critical acclaim. The New York Times describes the album as "a set of dark, brave, thoughtful and serenely startling songs." NPR's All Things Considered says: "This record gives full rein to Natalie Merchant's voice, which is stronger than ever, especially in her magnificent lower register." A USA Today feature finds Merchant "driven by the same sense of empathy that has always motivated her." Refinery29 says the new album marks "the return of one of music’s most illustrious voices." 

The Black Keys will embark on an extensive North American tour this fall. The tour begins September 5 in Columbus, Ohio, and runs through December, with dates at Toronto’s Air Canada Centre, Brooklyn’s Barclays Center and Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, among others. Ticket pre-sale begins Tuesday, May 13, for Citi® card members and with pre-orders of The Black Keys' new album, Turn Blue, in the Nonesuch Store and the band's site. General on-sale begins Friday, May 16.

Iron and Wine kicks off a spring and summer US tour at the Shaky Knees Music Festival in Atlanta on Sunday, followed by first-week stops in Knoxville with Wild Belle, Louisville and Memphis with All Dogs, and Gulf Shores for the Hangout Music Festival Kickoff Party. The tour continues in the weeks and months ahead with stops throughout the country.

Natalie Merchant’s new self-titled album, her first of entirely original songs in 13 years, is out now on Nonesuch Records. "Merchant creates a rich musical tapestry that transcends the typical vagary of pop music," raves the Associated Press. The Daily Telegraph gives the album a perfect five stars, naming it Album of the Week: "There is something quietly magnificent about her vocal presence." The Sunday Express says the album is "brimming with wit, insight and compassion." Merchant "is in terrific form," says the Times of London. "It is Merchant’s mature, versatile voice that steals the show."

Conor Oberst has announced several additional tour dates for this fall, including concerts in Boulder, Austin, Dallas, Seattle, Portland, and more. He will also co-headline the Greek Theatre in LA with John Prine on October 5. Oberst will perform on NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on May 19, the release date for his new album, Upside Down Mountain, and CBS This Morning: Saturday on May 24. He will perform at Rough Trade NYC in Brooklyn on May 20.

The cast recording of David Byrne’s Here Lies Love is out now on Nonesuch Records. The recording features music by David Byrne and Fatboy Slim as performed by the original 2013 Public Theater cast of the Here Lies Love musical starring Ruthie Ann Miles and Jose Llana as Imelda and Ferdinand Marcos. The cast recording features seven new songs written specifically for the musical. CDs include a 80-page full color book with lyrics, an introduction by Public Theater director Oskar Eustis, and two essays by Byrne. Here Lies Love "will leave you walking on air," raves the Daily News. "The return makes the musical-theater scene beam brighter and smarter with contagious joy."

Jonny Greenwood will join in on the debut screenings of Paul Thomas Anderson’s There Will Be Blood with Greenwood's score performed live: with the London Contemporary Orchestra at the Roundhouse in London, August 6 and 7, and the Wordless Music Orchestra at the United Palace Theatre in NYC, September 19 and 20. Greenwood will play the ondes Martenot part of the score. He performs Steve Reich's Electric Counterpoint at Barbican Hall on May 18 as part of the Barbican's celebraton of Nonesuch Records' 50th anniversary.