Randy Newman brings Dark Matter to Austin … Sam Amidon performs in London … Devendra Banhart exhibits artwork in Japan … Jeremy Denk gives solo recital in NYC … Richard Goode joins Cleveland Orchestra … Emmylou Harris plays Bonaparte’s Retreat benefit in DC … Kronos Quartet previews new documentary at MASS MoCA … Robert Plant takes Carry Fire tour to London … Chris Thile is on the radio from NYC …

Soul and blues singer Robert Finley's second studio album, Goin’ Platinum!, is out now via Dan Auerbach's label, Easy Eye Sound, which is distributed by Nonesuch Records. "He's the greatest living soul singer as far as I'm concerned," says Auerbach. Finley is surrounded by all-time-great session musicians with skill to match his singular voice, including drummer Gene Chrisman (Elvis Presley, Aretha Franklin), keys player Bobby Woods (JJ Cale, Bobby Womack), horns players from Preservation Hall, and legendary guitarist Duane Eddy. Goin’ Platinum! was co-written and produced by Auerbach and also features writing credits by legendary songwriters John Prine, Nick Lowe, and Pat McLaughlin.

Tigran Hamasyan has shared the music video for "Leninagone," a song from his album An Ancient Observer. He dedicates the song and video to the children who survived the devastating Armenian earthquake that hit his home town of Gyumri (Soviet name: Leninakan) on December 7, 1988, twenty-nine years ago. "I come from the generation of children whose lives were directly affected by this tragic event," says Hamasyan. "The video portrays the struggle and the hope of all the generations that lived through this apocalyptic time."

Emmylou Harris will be the subject of a major new exhibition at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, opening October 5, 2018. "From my first album release in 1975," said Harris, a Hall of Fame member, "country music has embraced me with open arms. This exhibit at the Hall of Fame makes me realize once more how grateful and honored I am to be part of such a remarkable musical family."

Fleet Foxes have announced a run of tour dates in 2018 throughout the Southern part of the US including multiple stops in Florida, as well as Charleston, Jackson, Mobile, and New Orleans, plus a night at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. Tickets go on sale this Friday, December 8, at 10am local time.

Laurie Anderson and Kronos Quartet’s Landfall is due February 16, 2018. The piece, which was inspired by Anderson’s experience of Hurricane Sandy, is the first collaboration between the artists, who perform together on the recording. Landfall juxtaposes lush electronics and strings with Anderson’s powerful descriptions of loss, from water-logged pianos to disappearing animal species to Dutch karaoke bars. The Washington Post calls it "riveting, gorgeous." Pre-order to download a track now and get a limited-edition print autographed by Anderson.

The Way Is Read, an album by the English trio The Staves and NYC-based ensemble yMusic, released digitally last week, is now available on limited-edition vinyl. "Developed from a live collaboration," says a four-star review in the Evening Standard, "the siblings' voices are blended seamlessly with the instrumentation on haunting, experimental compositions where folk and contemporary classical meet halfway." The Sunday Times of London calls it "wonderful." 

Steve Reich takes part in all-Reich concerts at Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris … Jeremy Denk plays solo in Seattle … Fleet Foxes take Crack-Up tour to Cologne, Stockholm … Brad Mehldau Trio tours Midwest … Joshua Redman is in Shanghai … The Staves & yMusic perform The Way Is Read in Minneapolis … Chris Thile hosts A Prairie Home Companion in NYC …

Celebrating the 25th anniversary of her Grammy-winning, critically acclaimed album Ingénue, k.d. lang has announced a nineteen-city concert tour that will bring a live performance of the platinum-selling record to venues across the US. Fans in cities such as Seattle, Portland, Los Angeles, Denver, Minneapolis, Boston, and NYC can experience the album live, performed in its entirety. The tour follows the release of a re-mastered, two-disc Anniversary Edition of Ingénue on Nonesuch earlier this year. 

Eric Salzman, the American composer, producer, music critic, and author, has died at the age of 84. Salzman was an important figure in the first decades of Nonesuch Records under the leadership of Tracey Sterne. His pieces The Nude Paper Sermon and Civilization and Its Discontents: A Musical Theater Comedy, both composed with Michael Sahl, were recorded for Nonesuch in the 1970s. Also for the label, Salzman produced Teresa Stratas's The Unknown Kurt Weill; the New York City Opera recording of Weill's Silverlake; and the three albums of The Tango Project.

Rostam gives his take on The Pogues' classic holiday tune "Fairytale of New York" in a new Spotify Singles holiday release. Fittingly, he recorded the song at Spotify Studios in NYC. You can hear the track here. Rostam's Half-Light tour returns to North America in January. 

Congratulations to Offa Rex, Randy Newman, and the Metropolitan Opera on their Grammy Award nominations: The Queen of Hearts (Best Folk Album), "Putin" (Best Arrangement), and Berg's Lulu (Best Opera Recording), respectively. The 60th Grammy Awards will take place at NYC's Madison Square Garden on Sunday, January 28, 2018, broadcast live on CBS.