Happy birthday in advance to composer Philip Glass, who turns 80 this coming Tuesday. Among the celebratory events around the world this concert season is a BBC Total Immersion Day, broadcast on BBC Radio 3 from the Barbican in London this Saturday. NPR Music is marking Glass's milestone birthday with personal reflections from artists who have collaborated with the composer, including Laurie Anderson and Nico Muhly.

Mandolinist/singer Chris Thile and pianist Brad Mehldau make their duo debut together with Chris Thile & Brad Mehldau, a mix of covers and original songs, out this Friday, January 27, 2017. Here, the label mates and longtime admirers of each other's work speak with writer Michael Hill about the project and how it came to be.

Devendra Banhart launches a two-month North American tour, featuring music from his 2016 album, Ape in Pink Marble, at The Showbox in Seattle tonight. The tour continues with stops in Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Boulder, Santa Fe, Austin, Atlanta, Miami, Minneapolis, Chicago, Detroit, Toronto, Montreal, Boston, Philadelphia, DC, New York City, and more. The European tour begins in April.

Celebrations of John Adams's 70th birthday, which began in fall 2016, continue through 2017 with major festivities taking place in the composer's native California, organized around his birthday on February 15, and throughout the winter and spring in New York, Chicago, London, Berlin, Amsterdam, and more.

Nonesuch Records releases a vinyl 7-inch single of two Randy Newman songs today, Inauguration Day 2017: "A Few Words in Defense of Our Country," from the new Randy Newman Songbook box set, b/w "Putin," a new song previously released only digitally. Newman says: "On this day, I would like to say a few words in defense of our country." 

This inauguration weekend, John Adams’s Nixon in China returns to Houston Grand Opera … Jeremy Denk brings Medieval to Modern to Philadelphia … Emmylou Harris, John Prine play Bonaparte’s Retreat benefit in Nashville … Brad Melhdau concludes solo European run … Pat Metheny continues quartet tour in Northeast US … Conor Oberst plays Switzerland, Germany … Joshua Redman leads SFJAZZ tribute shows … Chris Thile hosts A Prairie Home Companion in California … Caetano Veloso, Teresa Cristina perform in Brazil … 

k.d. lang's 2004 album Hymns of the 49th Parallel is now available on vinyl for the first time in the Nonesuch Store. The first-ever vinyl edition features the singer's Nonesuch debut release on a single 140-gram LP. On Hymns of the 49th Parallel, lang assembles a highly personal "Canadian Songbook" in a lushly orchestrated, gorgeously sung contemplation of work by Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, Neil Young, Jane Siberry, and others.

Conor Oberst's album Salutations, a companion piece to 2016's lauded Ruminations, is due March 17. Salutations comprises full-band versions of the ten songs from that solo album plus seven additional songs. It was recorded at the famed Shangri-la Studios in Malibu and Five Star Studios in Echo Park with The Felice Brothers and the legendary drummer Jim Keltner, who co-produced the album. Guest performers include Jim James, Blake Mills, Maria Taylor, M. Ward, Gillian Welch, and Jonathan Wilson. Nonesuch Store pre-orders include instant downloads of "A Little Uncanny," "Tachycardia," and "Napalm."

Conor Oberst begins a non-stop, three-week tour of Europe and the UK, featuring music from his 2016 solo album, Ruminations, in Munich tonight. From there, the tour heads to Stuttgart, Vienna, Zurich, Cologne, Oslo, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Berlin, Paris, Utrecht, Brussels, London, Manchester, and Edinburgh, culminating with a concert at Grand Canal Theatre in Dublin on February 5.

The Barbican Centre in London has announced its 2017–18 Classic Music concert season, in which pianist Jeremy Denk will be Artist in Residence at Milton Court Concert Hall. As such, Denk will lead four concerts throughout the season, with programs ranging from Mozart to Gershwin, from a collaboration with the Britten Sinfonia to a personal meditation on the Variation form. "Jeremy Denk isn't like other pianists," says the Barbican. "He's capable of spectacular musical gymnastics and the most eloquent insights—often in the same breath. In short ... he’s the ideal choice to be Milton Court’s Artist in Residence this season."

Rhiannon Giddens, whose new album, Freedom Highway, is due February 24, has unveiled a new song from the album called "At the Purchaser's Option," which you can hear in a lyric video here. The song is one of nine original songs Giddens wrote or co-wrote on the album, which also includes a traditional tune and two civil rights–era songs, "Birmingham Sunday" and Staple Singers' "Freedom Highway." That last track and "At the Purchaser's Option" come as instant downloads with pre-orders of the album.

This long weekend, Brad Mehldau brings Three Pieces After Bach to Europe … Laurie Anderson joins PEN America event in NYC .. Teresa Cristina performs in Rio de Janeiro … Jeremy Denk joins National Symphony Orchestra at Kennedy Center … Emmylou Harris, Rodney Crowell play Earl Scruggs tribute show … Kronos Quartet is in San Francisco … Lake Street Dive plays Sydney Fest, Blue Note Tokyo … Pat Metheny launches quartet tour in New England … Chris Thile hosts A Prairie Home Companion in Chicago … and more …