When Nonesuch Records celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2014, with festivals at the Barbican in London and the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), Kronos Quartet joined forces with labelmates Sam Amidon, Olivia Chaney, Rhiannon Giddens, and Natalie Merchant to perform a concert entitled Folk Songs. The group later recorded the songs, most of which are traditional with contemporary arrangements, with Doug Petty as producer. Folk Songs will be released June 9, 2017, and is available to pre-order with an instant download of the track "The Butcher's Boy," featuring Merchant.

The Magnetic Fields have unveiled the video for "'12 You Can Never Go Back to New York," from their new album, 50 Song Memoir. The song 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. You can watch the video here. The video was directed by Alex Basco Koch and José Zayas, produced at Ghost Corporeal. It was originally created for the Magnetic Fields' 50 Song Memoir concert tour directed by Zayas.

Conor Oberst has shared his music video for "Barbary Coast (Later)," directed by Cris Gris. The song is from his latest album, Salutations. You can watch the video here. Oberst has extended his US tour this summer. The newly added dates include stops in Omaha, Knoxville, DC, Milwaukee, Chicago, Cincinnati, and more. Oberst will also perform on The Late Late Show with James Corden on May 10.

Fleet Foxes have announced an extensive international tour for 2017, including newly added US dates throughout the Southwest, Southern California, and the Midwest as well as a winter stretch across Europe. These dates are in addition to the previously announced selection of intimate theater shows in the Pacific Northwest, performances at legendary amphitheatres such as Hollywood Bowl and Red Rocks Amphitheatre, and routing through Australia and Europe. Fleet Foxes have also released a short trailer for their forthcoming album, Crack-Up, featuring footage shot during recent Seattle rehearsals paired with snippets from select album tracks.

The Denver Botanic Gardens has announced its 2017 Summer Concert Series lineup, and among the artists performing are Punch Brothers on June 13; Natalie Merchant performing her 3 Decades of Song program on July 12; and Randy Newman on August 7.

The Magnetic Fields have unveiled the video for "'06 'Quotes,'" from their new album, 50 Song Memoir. The song 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. You can watch the video here. The video was directed by Roger Miller, edited by John Erickson, and produced by Alex Basco Koch & José Zayas for Ghost Corporeal. It was originally created for the Magnetic Fields' 50 Song Memoir concert tour directed by Zayas.

Tigran Hamasyan performed two songs from his new album, An Ancient Observer, for NDR Kultur Neo in Germany: "Markos and Markos" and "Egyptian Poet." You can watch the performances here. "Tigran Hamaysan hovers between fast-paced jazz improvisation, classical piano art, and the enchanted music of his native Armenia," says NDR Kultur, which gives the album four stars.

Pianist Tigran Hamasyan's second Nonesuch album, An Ancient Observer, is out now. 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. DownBeat exclaims: "It's simply breathtaking." The Huffington Post calls Hamasyan "one of jazz's most dynamic artists" and the new album "outstanding."

Joshua Redman takes Still Dreaming to Lincoln Center in NYC … A Nonesuch Celebration pays tribute to Bob Hurwitz at BAM … Sam Amidon joins Anaïs Mitchell in Vermont … Teresa Cristina returns to Rio de Janeiro … Jeremy Denk concludes run with Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra … Rhiannon Giddens is in the UK … Richard Goode gives solo recital in Nebraska … Tigran Hamasyan performs in Belgium … Audra McDonald is in New Orleans … Brad Mehldau brings Bach to Boston … and more …

Dan Auerbach will release Waiting on a Song, his second solo album, on June 2, via his new label, Easy Eye Sound. The album is Auerbach's much anticipated follow-up to 2009's Keep It Hid and is a love letter to Nashville. As such, he recruited some of Nashville's most respected players to write and record his latest, including John Prine, Duane Eddy, Jerry Douglas, Pat McLaughlin, and Bobby Wood and Gene Chrisman of the Memphis Boys. Auerbach said about working with his musical heroes: "Living in Nashville has definitely changed the way I think about music and the way that I record it. I didn't have all of these resources before. I am working with some of the greatest musicians that ever lived." You can watch the video for the album's first single, "Shine on Me," here.

This Saturday, April 1, BAM in Brooklyn hosts a concert in tribute to Bob Hurwitz, who for the past three decades served as the president of Nonesuch Records. On the program: the world premiere of piano music written expressly for him by Nonesuch artists including John Adams, Laurie Anderson, Timo Andres, Louis Andriessen, Donnacha Dennehy, Philip Glass, Adam Guettel, Brad Mehldau, Pat Metheny, Nico Muhly, Randy Newman, and Steve Reich, plus performances from Nonesuch albums by Kronos Quartet, k.d. lang, Natalie Merchant, Stephin Merritt, Metheny, Mandy Patinkin, Chris Thile, Dawn Upshaw, Caetano Veloso, and others.

Sam Amidon's new album, The Following Mountain, will be released May 26, 2017, on Nonesuch. The album represents a new approach for Amidon, who shifts here from his previous norm of re-working traditional folk songs and presents nine wholly original compositions, with some lyrics drawing on traditional sources. The Following Mountain was created with producer Leo Abrahams and frequent Amidon collaborator Shahzad Ismaily, with a rare guest appearance by drummer Milford Graves. Nonesuch Store pre-orders include an exclusive autographed print and an instant download of the album track "Juma Mountain." You can watch a lyric video for the song here.