Laurie Anderson has received the Award of Merit for Achievement in Performing Arts from the Association of Performing Arts Presenters (APAP). The 60th Annual APAP Awards Ceremony and Luncheon took place in NYC on Monday as part of APAP|NYC 2017, the association's 60th annual conference of performing arts professionals. "These recipients inspire and motivate our field to continue to grow and change," APAP President and CEO Mario Garcia Durham says of the honorees, "showing the strength and influence the arts can have in our communities, schools and cultural landscapes, and how important and influential the arts can be."

Chris Thile and Brad Mehldau will release their self-titled debut duo album on January 27. At the end of 2015, they played a two-night stand at Bowery Ballroom in NYC before going into the studio to record the album, a mix of original songs and covers, like Elliott Smith's "Independence Day." You can now watch a video of their Bowery Ballroom performance of the song here. The album track may be downloaded now with pre-orders of Chris Thile & Brad Mehldau, along with their take on "Scarlet Town," written by David Rawlings and Gillian Welch.

Lake Street Dive brings Side Pony to the Southern Hemisphere, touring Australia … Jeremy Denk performs Beethoven with North Carolina Symphony in Raleigh … Chris Thile hosts A Prairie Home Companion from Seattle … and more …

Guitarist Michael Daves and his 2016 double album, Orchids and Violence, are the subject of a documentary by filmmaker Jason Zucker. The Making of Orchids and Violence, which premiered on The Bluegrass Situation, is an intimate portrait of the album, from its conception to its release. You can watch it here.

Rhiannon Giddens, whose new album, Freedom Highway, is due February 24, joins the cast of the television show Nashville as it returns for its fifth season tonight at 9 PM ET tonight, making its debut on CMT. Giddens plays the role of Hanna Lee "Hallie" Jordan, a young social worker with "the voice of an angel." Nashville airs Thursday nights on CMT; episodes will be available to stream on Hulu on Fridays.

As 2016 draws to a close, and the Nonesuch Journal takes a bit of a hiatus till the start of 2017, it's time to take a look back and remember all of the great and diverse music made by Nonesuch artists over the past year. Many Nonesuch artists and their recent Nonesuch releases have made music critics' and fans' year-end best lists. Here, in words and music and in chronological order, is a look back at the year in Nonesuch music.

The Randy Newman Songbook is now available in a three-CD box set, following its recent release on vinyl. The Songbook series—comprising solo recordings of songs from throughout Newman's five-decade career—previously included two volumes, released on CD in 2003 and 2011. Sixteen additional songs from a newly released third volume, along with five bonus tracks, join those first two volumes to create this new complete Songbook box set. Mitchell Froom produced The Randy Newman Songbook, Vol. 1 (which has been remastered for this box set) and was joined on Vol. 2 and Vol. 3 by Newman's lifelong friend and colleague Lenny Waronker.

Emmylou Harris joins Rufus & Martha Wainwright in presenting Nashville Noel Nights at the Ryman … John Adams’s El Niño is performed by LA Philharmonic … Devendra Banhart plays Standing Rock benefit in LA … Shye Ben Tzur, Rajasthan Express perform Junun in Thailand ...

Nonesuch Records releases its second album from pianist Tigran Hamasyan, An Ancient Observer, on March 31, 2017. It includes ten new compositions, two of which are based on Armenian melodies. Some are through-composed and completely written out, while others are composed with ample space for Hamasyan to improvise. He cites a wide range of influences—from Baroque dance to hip-hop grooves adapted to piano—and the sounds of his native country of Armenia are present, as always. Pre-orders include an instant download of the album track "Fides Tua"; you can watch a live performance of the song here.

Nonesuch Records will release a vinyl 7-inch single of two Randy Newman songs this coming Inauguration Day, January 20, 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. The Los Angeles Times called the former a "three-decades-on bookend to Political Science" that was "so funny it hurt." The 7-inch is now available to pre-order in the Nonesuch Store.

Congratulations to Audra McDonald, who has been nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award and an NAACP Image Award for her role as Billie Holiday in Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill on HBO. She made history and became Broadway's most decorated performer when she won her sixth Tony Award for Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill in 2014.

Chris Thile and Brad Mehldau were guests on CBS This Morning Saturday. They stopped gave a Saturday Sessions performance of three songs from their forthcoming debut duo album, Chris Thile & Brad Mehldau: Bob Dylan's "Don't Think Twice It's Alright," Elliott Smith's "Independence Day," and Thile and Mehldau's own "The Old Shade Tree." The selection reflects the mix of covers and original songs on the new double album, which is due January 27. You can watch the performances here.