Singer Mandy Patinkin and pianist/producer Thomas Bartlett's Diary: April/May 2018, the second in their Diary series of musical installments, is out now on Nonesuch. The fourteen tracks of this Diary entry, recorded in Bartlett's NYC studio, include two songs written by Patinkin himself plus songs by Randy Newman, Laurie Anderson, Bob Dylan, Patty Griffin, Harry Nilsson, Tom Waits, Lyle Lovett, Taylor Mac, Keren Ann, and Stephen Sondheim. Watch a video for their take on Anderson's "From the Air" by Tom Kalin here.

David Byrne brings American Utopia to NYC … Olivia Chaney is in London ... Jeremy Denk is in Denver … Rhiannon Giddens plays FreshGrass Fest … Emmylou Harris, k.d. lang are in Nashville … Gabriel Kahane brings Book of Travelers to Boston … Kronos Quartet is in Austria … Lake Street Dive takes Free Yourself Up out West … Gaby Moreno hosts benefit in Miami … Robert Plant plays festivals in Colorado, California … Punch Brothers are All Ashore in Dallas, Oklahoma City … Joshua Redman plays Still Dreaming at SFJAZZ … Rostam performs in LA … and more …

Mountain Man's first album in eight years, Magic Ship, out next Friday, September 21, is streaming in full till then as an NPR First Listen. The new album distills eight years of experience since their 2010 debut album, Made the Harbor, of sights seen, pleasures had, feelings hurt, forgiveness extended. "There's also a precision to these songs—both in harmony and duration—that lend them a sense of purpose," writes NPR's Otis Hart. "Magic Ship is most potent when heard in full, from beginning to end, ideally on a back porch or around a smoldering campfire."

Gabriel Kahane has written original music for the Broadway premiere production of Kenneth Lonergan's play The Waverly Gallery. The production, starring Elaine May, Lucas Hedges, Joan Allen, and Michael Cera, and directed by Lila Neugebauer, begins in previews at the John Golden Theatre on Tuesday, September 25. Kahane is currently on tour performing music from his new album, Book of Travelers.

Rostam has released a new song, "In a River," his first new song since his debut album, Half-Light, last year. Watch the video, directed by Rostam and animated by Jon Race, here. "I often want the songs I produce to be meeting places for organic and electronic sounds—old traditions and new ones," Rostam says. “‘In a River’ is new territory for me, because although it’s a studio recording, it’s pulling from one of the oldest traditions in music, a live performance in front of an audience." He performs at Belly Up in Solana Beach and The Fonda Theatre in LA this week.

Caetano Veloso and David Byrne caught up backstage at Byrne's American Utopia concert on Friday, and Veloso took in the concert from the crowd. He shared his beautiful response to the show on his Instagram, roughly translated from the Portuguese here. "The David Byrne (American Utopia) show is incredible," says Veloso. "It is one of the most beautiful rock or pop concerts ever made and is unlike any other." Read what else he has to say here.

Pitchfork has published its list of "The 200 Best Albums of the 1980s," which it hopes "represents the best of what this innovative decade has to offer." Among the "icons who defined a decade" are Steve Reich for Different Trains / Electric Counterpoint, featuring Kronos Quartet and Pat Metheny, Brian Eno and David Byrne for My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, and Laurie Anderson for Big Science.

Olivia Chaney was on BBC Radio 2's The Folk Show with Mark Radcliffe. She performed the title track to her new album, Shelter, as well as the album tracks "Roman Holiday" and "House on a Hill," and spoke with Radcliffe about the album. Watch "Roman Holiday" here. Chaney performs at Kings Place in London on September 29.

Rhiannon Giddens will star as Bess in Greensboro Opera's production of The Gershwins' Porgy & Bess in 2020. The performances will take place at the Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts in her hometown of Greensboro, NC, on November 13 and 15, 2020, the company's inaugural season in the new venue. Giddens was in Greensboro last weekend as the guest curator of and a performer at the North Carolina Folk Festival. She performs in upstate New York this week and at the FreshGrass Festival at MASS MoCA this weekend.

Punch Brothers' first self-produced album, All Ashore, released on CD/digitally in July, is now available on vinyl. "It's a meditation on committed relationships in the present day, particularly in the present political climate," says Chris Thile. The Independent's four-star review calls it "an album of rich instrumentation and understated beauty that reveals deeper nuances on each and every listen." The Boston Globe says it's "a deeply meaningful and downright gorgeous record."

Gabriel Kahane's Nonesuch Records debut album, Book of Travelers, released on CD and digitally last month, is now available on vinyl. It comprises his musical travelogue about the looping railway journey across the US he embarked upon the day after the 2016 election. "Exquisitely crafted songs," says Uncut. "Musically fascinating and hauntingly empathetic." The San Francisco Chronicle calls it "extraordinary ... vivid and wholly original."Rolling Stone calls it a "stunning portrait of a singular moment in America." Kahane kicks off his tour tonight.

Rhiannon Giddens guest curates and performs at North Carolina Folk Festival … David Byrne brings American Utopia to Northeast … Jeremy Denk joins Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra for Beethoven … Tigran Hamasyan performs in Japan … Gabriel Kahane launches Book of Travelers tour … The Gospel at Colonus is in NYC's Central Park … Kronos Quartet is in Italy, Latvia … Lake Street Dive is out West … k.d. lang takes Ingénue to Florida … Robert Plant plays St. Louis … Punch Brothers are All Ashore in Midwest ...