Devendra Banhart is on Jenny Eliscu's LSQ podcast. His new album, Ma, is "awesome," says Eliscu, "his best album in a minute, kind of a return to form and a reminder of all of the heart and soul in his music." Of their conversation, she says: "It was great to get to talk with my dear old friend about stuff we've never gotten to before. You don't always get to ask your friends such nerdy questions as I do in this convo ... I was so curious to know about how this incredibly interesting and unique artist ended up sounding the way he does." Hear what he had to say here.

Rhiannon Giddens is in Los Angeles … Devendra Banhart brings Ma tour to Pacific Northwest … David Byrne's American Utopia officially opens on Broadway ... Olivia Chaney performs in London … Jeremy Denk joins Amarillo Symphony … Gabriel Kahane brings Book of Travelers to New Jersey … Lake Street Dive concludes tour in upstate New York … Natalie Merchant plays Woodstock benefit … Gaby Moreno continues Germany tour … Caroline Shaw, Attacca Quartet perform music from Orange in New Jersey …

Devendra Banhart stopped by KCRW on Monday to perform six songs from his new album, Ma, plus an earlier tune from his album Mala, on Morning Becomes Eclectic and chat with Raul Campos. Hear it here. Banhart's twenty-five city US tour, which began in Ventura, CA, last night, continues with shows in San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, Los Angeles, Chicago, Mexico City, Detroit, Toronto, Brooklyn, and more in the months ahead.

Yola stopped by the KCRW to performs six songs from her album Walk Through Fire plus Elton John's "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" on Morning Becomes Eclectic and chat with host Anne Litt about her music. You can watch it here. Yola is also on the latest Broken Record podcast with Bruce Headlam. She performs at the Grammy Museum in LA this Wednesday and as special guest of Kacey Musgraves at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena October 25.

Devendra Banhart begins a twenty-five city North American tour—his first since 2017—featuring music from his new album, Ma, at The Majestic Ventura Theater in Ventura, California, tonight, and includes shows in San Francisco, Seattle, Los Angeles, Chicago, Mexico City, Detroit, Toronto, Brooklyn, and more. He tours Europe in early 2020. Banhart has partnered with PLUS1 so that $1 from every US ticket sold (excluding a festival in Austin) will go to World Central Kitchen and every ticket bought in Canada, $1 will go to support Rainbow Railroad.

Vagabon (aka Lætitia Tamko) has released a video for "Every Woman," a new song from her upcoming album, directed by Lino Asana and filmed on location in Mendocino County, CA. You can watch it here. "'Every Woman' is the thesis of my album," she says, "so I wanted the visuals to represent transparency and to create a world for this thesis statement to live inside of. It's an ode to all those who feel different and who actively search and fight for space." Vagabon begins a fall tour this week.

The Black Keys bring "Let's Rock" tour to Boston, DC … John Adams, Steve Reich works performed by Rotterdam Philharmonic … Timo Andres joins yMusic in NYC … David Byrne takes part in The New Yorker Festival … Daughter of Swords tours Boston, NYC with Wilco ... Emmylou Harris plays Grand Ole Opry in Nashville ... Kronos Quartet is in Australia … Lake Street Dive tours mid-Atlantic … Gaby Moreno continues German tour … Chris Thile hosts Live From Here from NYC … Yola plays Austin City Limits festival …

Congratulations to Laurie Anderson, the 2020 recipient of The Vanguard Award & Residency at Joe's Pub at The Public Theater in NYC. The program celebrates the work and influence of an icon of American popular culture. She will be honored at the third-annual Vanguard Gala on February 3, with an all-star slate of artists and friends, with musical direction by Shara Nova of My Brightest Diamond and Chris Bruce, and her residency will take shape in a Sunday night performance each month, from March to December. "I love Sunday evening shows," Anderson says. "The end of the weekend is such a no man’s land—an interesting time to play with new combinations."

The first worldwide vinyl release of Sam Phillips's critically acclaimed 2001 Nonesuch debut album, Fan Dance, is due on Valentine's Day 2020, as the latest fan-selected title on Run Out Groove. Remastered and pressed on 180-gram vinyl, the LP comes in an old-school tip-on style jacket with booklet, limited and individually numbered. It is available to pre-order via Run Out Groove and the Nonesuch Store until November 7, and then pressed and numbered to a limited quantity based on total orders. The Boston Globe calls it "a stunning work of intimacy and emotional range."

The line-up for the 2020 Big Ears Festival has been announced, and as usual, featured among the performers are several artists familiar to readers of the Nonesuch Journal: Devendra Banhart, Kronos Quartet, Terry Riley, and Caroline Shaw. Big Ears will be held at venues throughout downtown Knoxville, Tennessee, March 26–29, 2020. Weekend passes go on sale this Thursday.

Composer-performer Daniel Wohl, whose album État was released on New Amsterdam and Nonesuch Records in May, has released a video for the album track "Orbit." The generative music video, made by Ben Heim, is driven by sound data extracted from the music, evolving over time with the sonic landscape and can be seen here. Wohl will be the special guest of A Winged Victory for the Sullen on the duo's European tour early next year. The fourteen-concert tour begins in Amsterdam on February 20 and stops in Germany, Belgium, Ireland, and the UK.

Yola was named among "the best things we saw" at Farm Aid 2019 by both Rolling Stone, noting "her powerhouse vocals," and Billboard, which reports of the festival's "breakthrough artist": "An imposing presence with a massive, gospel-fired voice, Yola held the midday crowd riveted with songs from her debut album Walk Through Fire." One such festival performance, of the song "It Ain't Easier," can be seen here. It has just been announced that she will perform at Holiday Cheer for FUV at the Beacon Theatre in NYC in December and at Chris Stapleton's benefit concert in Kentucky next April. Fittingly, Yola has been nominated as Live Act of the Year in the UK's Independent Festival Awards.