Rhiannon Giddens has shared a behind-the-scenes video offering a brief look at the making of her acclaimed new album, Freedom Highway. She co-produced the album with multi-instrumentalist Dirk Powell in his Breaux Bridge, LA, studio, with the bulk of recording done in wooden rooms built prior to the Civil War. "It's so personal," Giddens says in the video. "But it's not just personal in the way that these are my stories. It's personal in that ... it's a huge chunk of my soul." Watch the video, directed by Harvey K. Robinson, here.

We've put together a playlist of a few songs to remind ourselves that while life and, hopefully, trying times are short, art is long. Featuring music from Randy Newman, Conor Oberst, Rhiannon Giddens, Ry Cooder, Laurie Anderson, Billy Bragg & Wilco, Frederic Rzewski, Emmylou Harris, John Adams, T Bone Burnett, Philip Glass, Rokia Traoré, Kronos Quartet performing Terry Riley, and The Wire.

Robert Plant and the Sensational Space Shifters performed songs from his 2014 Nonesuch debut album, lullaby and... The Ceaseless Roar, favorites from throughout his solo career, and Led Zeppelin classics at David Lynch's Festival of Disruption at the Theatre at Ace Hotel in Los Angeles in October. The performance will be broadcast on AXS TV this Sunday, March 5, at 10 PM ET. You can watch their take on "Whole Lotta Love" from the show here.

Natalie Merchant will tour the US this summer, performing songs from across her entire career. The tour, Natalie Merchant: 3 Decades of Song, includes dates at Tanglewood, Wolf Trap, and The Greek in LA. In anticipation of a forthcoming career retrospective boxed set on Nonesuch (details to be announced soon), Merchant's concerts will span her thirty-year career, with songs from 10,000 Maniacs and from her solo albums. A portion of the proceeds from the tour will be donated to the organization Food & Water, which champions healthy food and clean water for all.

Rhiannon Giddens's new album, Freedom Highway, was released on Friday to great critical acclaim. Giddens spent the day at Sing Sing prison, working with and performing for inmates as a part of Carnegie Hall's Musical Connections program. "Giddens is an immensely talented singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist with the instincts of a musical historian," says WFUV, which named Freedom Highway its New Dig of the week. "On this new collection, she expertly and powerfully tells the stories of those who could not and bears witness to their struggle ... Freedom Highway is welcome, relevant and important." The Los Angeles Times says: "It’s a powerful collection made all the more visceral by the stripped-down instrumental accompaniment around full-force-gale vocals in big moments, and delicate pleadings when songs are at their most intimate."

Freedom Highway, Rhiannon Giddens' follow-up to her highly praised solo debut album, Tomorrow Is My Turn, is out now. It's a "rich collection," says NPR. "[H]ope comes back to life in Giddens' music." Pitchfork exclaims: "Rhiannon Giddens emerges as a peerless and powerful voice in roots music on her second solo album." The AP calls it "a rich tapestry with threads of blues, folk, gospel, soul, country and jazz ... rootsy and relevant, delivered with crystal-clear emotion and understated musical skill." Uncut names this "remarkably wise and timely new album" its Album of the Month. It earns four stars in American Songwriter, Irish Times ("a record for and of our times"), Observer, and Guardian, which calls it a "powerful and timely set."

John Adams’s Scheherazade.2 is performed by San Francisco Symphony, violinist Leila Josefowicz … Timo Andres performs Adams, premieres new work at Barbican … Devendra Banhart is in Florida … Richard Goode plays Bach, Chopin in Texas … Tigran Hamasyan launches world tour in Los Angeles … Lake Street Dive heads south … Brad Mehldau Trio rounds out European run … Joshua Redman brings new quartet to Houston … The Staves play out West … and more …

Tigran Hamasyan has unveiled the music video for "The Cave of Rebirth" from his forthcoming album, An Ancient Observer. The video, produced by Truth.io, was directed by Ruben van Leer. Made in collaboration with fractal animator Julius Horsthuis and computer facilities at Hectic Electric Amsterdam, the video translates Hamasyan's music to 3D visuals based on mathematic formulas. "As a pianist and composer, he draws inspiration from jazz, folkloric and classical sources, in ways that feel both hypermodern and practically ageless," says NPR's Nate Chinen. "This synthesis is well captured in the video." Watch it here and get the song now with album pre-order.

Lake Street Dive was the guest on PBS's Charlie Rose on Tuesday. The quartet spoke with guest host Anthony Mason about how they formed the band, the trust and chemistry within the group, philosophies of success and artistic integrity, and more. They also perform their song “Rental Love” and offer their take on Prince’s “When You Were Mine.” You can watch it here.

Conor Oberst has shared the music video for "Till St. Dymphna Kicks Us Out," from his forthcoming album, Salutations. The video, directed by Greg Marinaccio, was filmed at the very same bar in Manhattan's East Village that inspired the song. You can watch it here and download the track (and three others) now when you pre-order Salutations. Oberst, with The Felice Brothers as his backing band, will tour in support of Salutations beginning March 9 in his hometown of Omaha, including several just-announced new dates.

Rhiannon Giddens has announced an extensive US tour this spring, including several new shows that go on sale this Friday, the day her new album, Freedom Highway, will be released. Following several intimate performances in the Northeast in March with Dirk Powell, with whom she co-produced the album, and a performance in a multi-artist tribute to Aretha Franklin at Carnegie Hall, Giddens heads to Europe and Australia to tour. She returns to the US in April to tour, starting at the Stagecoach festival in California on April 28. The tour includes headline shows throughout the country and festival sets at New Orleans Jazz Fest, Newport Folk, Newport Jazz, Spoleto, ROMP, and more.

The Magnetic Fields have unveiled the video for "'81 How to Play the Synthesizer," a song on the forthcoming album 50 Song Memoir. The song, which may be downloaded now with pre-orders of the album, is one of fifty on the five-disc set that chronicles the fifty years of songwriter Stephin Merritt's life with one song per year. The video was directed by John Erickson, Alex Basco Koch, and José Zayas and produced by Ghost Corporeal. It was originally created for the Magnetic Fields' 50 Song Memoir concert tour directed by Zayas. Watch it here.