Devendra Banhart's new album, Ma, is due September 13, 2019, on Nonesuch Records. With tender, autobiographical vignettes, Ma displays a shift from the sonic experimentation of his previous albums to an intricate, captivating story-telling and emotional intimacy. Banhart favors organic sounds to accompany his voice and guitar, the arrangements bolstered by strings, woodwinds, brass, and keyboards. The album was produced by his longtime musical compadre Noah Georgeson and includes a background vocal from Cate Le Bon and a duet with Banhart's mentor, muse, and dear friend Vashti Bunyan. Pre-order to download the track "Kantori Ongaku," a video for which can be seen here.

Rhiannon Giddens and Francesco Turrisi were on NPR's World Cafe to perform from the new album there is no Other and talk with host Talia Schlanger. It's "a fascinating collaboration," says Schlanger. "Both Rhiannon and Francesco are devoted students of music history whose mission is to use the past to illuminate the present and to give credit where credit’s due for the way instruments and ideas have moved over time between people. They used all that knowledge to make gorgeous music together on a new album called there is no Other." Hear the episode here.

The latest episode of Robert Plant's new podcast series, Digging Deep, digs deep into "Bones of Saints," a song from his latest album, Carry Fire. "It's about vitality. I can't hold back the hands of time or anything like that, but I can only be in environments where people really, really mean it musically," Plant says of creating new music with his band the Sensational Space Shifters. "We have a kind of inherent capacity to start a new project and know that we have business to do ... If it gets anywhere at all, this music, it ought to be saying something, it ought to be reflecting." You can listen to the episode and watch the video for the track here.

Robert Plant and Yola are at Bergenfest in Norway … Sam Amidon performs in Quebec … Jeremy Denk tours South Korea … Adam Guettel’s The Light in the Piazza receives London premiere … Lake Street Dive tours US Midwest … Gaby Moreno continues tour with David Gray … Joshua Redman Quartet plays DC JazzFest … Chris Thile hosts Live From Here from Tanglewood …

The Black Keys have shared a public service announcement. And remember, when you get your friends to pre-order the band's new album, "Let's Rock," you can say: "This is the coolest thing you've ever done in your life."

Vagabon (aka Lætitia Tamko)'s self-titled Nonesuch debut is due October 18, 2019, on Nonesuch Records. The follow up to her breakout debut, Infinite Worlds, it is an artistic leap for Tamko, who wrote and produced the entire album. Guitar-driven melodies are largely absent, replaced by hybridized analog and digital arrangements. Pre-order in the Nonesuch Store—on limited blue vinyl, black vinyl, CD, and cassette—to download the track "Flood" now and get an exclusive, limited-edition autographed print. Vagabon will tour this fall with headlining shows and a run with Angel Olsen.

In celebration of the recent release of William Brittelle's new album, Spiritual America, a walk-about concert and listening party will be held at Public Records in Brooklyn on Tuesday, June 25. The event, Forbidden Colors, is named for a piece on Spiritual America, an album on which Wye Oak, Brooklyn Youth Chorus, and the Metropolis Ensemble perform an electro-acoustic song cycle by Brittelle. Selections from the album will be played on the sound system between live performances by various artists, as will pieces from Daniel Wohl's new album, État.

A new full-length opera by Rhiannon Giddens will receive its world premiere at the 2020 Spoleto Festival in Charleston, then travel to Carolina Performing Arts in Chapel Hill, NC. The opera traces the spiritual journey of Omar Ibn Said, from his life in West Africa to his capture and enslavement in the Carolinas in 1807. Giddens says: "My work as a whole is about excavating and shining a light on pieces of history that not only need to be seen and heard, but that can also add to the conversation about what's going on now. This is a story that hasn't been represented in the operatic world—or in any world."

Storied musician Dr. John—Mac Rebennack—has died at the age of 77. "He was so one of a kind," Dan Auerbach, who produced the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer's 2012 album, Locked Down, tells Rolling Stone. "He could truly be unique, isolated in a way—that special gumbo. We lost one of the greatest musicians who ever lived and also one of the greatest reflections of this country, musically, in one man. He was a human melting pot, a human embodiment of what makes American music great. He grew up with different races and experiences, and it made him the most incredible mutt ever. We lost something that will never be duplicated."

Mountain Man's single featuring its take on two John Denver tunes, "Take Me Home, Country Roads" and "Around and Around," is now available on 7" vinyl, following its digital release earlier this year. "We love John Denver so much we gave Alex his haircut, and recorded a few of his legendary tunes too," says the trio—Amelia Meath, Molly Erin Sarlé, and Alexandra Sauser-Monnig. "Have a listen! They are so sooooothing, we promise."

Mountain Man concludes Magic Ship spring tour in New England … Devendra Banhart performs in Germany … Tyondai Braxton is in New Hampshire … David Byrne presents at the Tony Awards ... Olivia Chaney is at the Barbican in London … Jeremy Denk plays Mainly Mozart in San Diego … Lake Street Dive's US tour under way … Stephin Merritt takes part in NYC variety show … Gaby Moreno continues tour with David Gray … Joshua Redman joins WDR Big Band in Germany … Caroline Shaw performs with Roomful of Teeth at BAM … Chris Thile hosts Live From Here from Louisville … Yola performs on BBC Radio 2's Good Morning Sunday ...

The SFJAZZ Center in San Francisco has announced its 2019–20 concert season, and among the performers taking the Miner Auditorium stage are several Nonesuch artists: Brad Mehldau, Joshua Redman, Rhiannon Giddens, Kronos Quartet, and Laurie Anderson, who is an SFJAZZ Resident Artist Director for the season.