Rhiannon Giddens helped ring in the New Year with a performance on Jools Holland's annual Hootenanny. She gives her always show-stopping performance of "Waterboy" and of the Sister Rosetta Tharpe tune "Up Above My Head," from her solo debut album, Tomorrow Is My Turn. The show aired in the UK on BBC Two on New Year's Eve. You can now watch Giddens's two performance here for a limited time. Giddens was a guest on BBC Radio Scotland's Another Country with Ricky Ross in advance of her European tour, which begins later this month.

Nonesuch Records releases Henryk Górecki: A Nonesuch Retrospective, a seven-disc box set containing all of the Nonesuch recordings of Górecki works, as well as the first recording of the late composer's final work, Symphony No. 4, Tansman Episodes, on January 22. That day also brings the first vinyl LP of the 1992 Nonesuch recording of Górecki’s Symphony No. 3. In advance of these releases, the Nonesuch Journal presents a series of related videos, starting today with a 1992 interview with the composer about his beloved Symphony No. 3. Watch it here, and check back in the days ahead for interviews with key players in the recording of Fourth and more.

Laurie Anderson has been named the Guest Director for the Brighton Festival, England's largest annual curated multi-arts festival, May 7–29, 2016. She takes the helm in a milestone year for Brighton Festival as in 2016 it marks its 50th year. "I'm so happy to be serving as Guest Director of Brighton Festival in its historic 50th year," Anderson says. "Our theme of home and place is especially relevant with so many people in the world on the move now looking, like all of us, for a place we can belong. I've been part of the Festival several times and it was exciting to watch the city become the heart of so much art. I'm looking forward to being part of it this year." The 50th Brighton Festival will feature new works from Laurie Anderson alongside exclusives, world and UK premieres from a wide range of international, national and local artists and companies.

The line-up for the 2016 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival has been announced, and among the artists performing are The Arcs, St Germain, and Mbongwana Star. Coachella is held at the Empire Polo Grounds in Indio, California, and will take place over two weekends, April 15–17 and April 22–24, with The Arcs performing each Saturday, April 16 and 23, and St Germain and Mbongwana Star performing each Friday, April 15 and 22. Passes go on sale Wednesday, January 6, at 11 AM PST.

Nonesuch President Bob Hurwitz was featured on the NPR program Here & Now last week. He spoke with show co-host Robin Young about his more than three decades as head of the label and shares his perspective on the unique artists with whom he has worked over those years. "The rarest thing is when you hear someone who is doing something you have never heard before, and you love it," says Hurwitz. "And then it's a kind of instant reaction, almost like falling in love." You can hear the Here & Now piece, which includes music from several of those artists, here.

As 2015 draws to a close, and the Nonesuch Journal takes a bit of a hiatus till the start of 2016, 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.

Laurie Anderson is adapting her new feature film, Heart of a Dog, for Times Square. This unique edition of the film will be shown on Times Square's electronic billboards from 11:57 PM to midnight, January 1–31, as part of the monthly Midnight Moment series. On January 4, Anderson will be on site for a special live performance, joining NYPD canine handlers and their dogs starting at 11:30 PM. The event will be free and open to the public, who are encouraged to bring their own dogs. "I love Times Square," says Anderson. "It's a dream. Desire, speed, the explosions of color, patterns and energy. What a great way to start the New Year! Who could have predicted the unraveling dreams of my dog would be magnified up there like this?"

Brad Mehldau received the Wigmore Medal on Friday, becoming the first jazz musician to do so. Wigmore Hall Director John Gilhooly, presenting the medal at Mehldau's concert at the London hall, said: "Brad Mehldau has forged a unique path which embodies the essence of jazz exploration." His Wigmore concert program last week earned five stars from the Financial Times ("remarkable"), and four stars in the Guardian ("a powerful and thought-provoking gig") and The Arts Desk ("a beguilingly beautiful set").

Israeli composer/musician Shye Ben Tzur was a guest on BBC World Service Weekend. He discusses working on the new album Junun with Jonny Greenwood and the Rajasthan Express. The album was recorded in a makeshift studio inside the 15th-century Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur, India, and comprises Ben Tzur’s compositions, which feature devotional Sufi qawwal musicians who sing in Urdu as well as in his native Hebrew. Hear the BBC World Service piece here. Junun is on the Times of London's list of the Best Records of the Year and is up for the 2016 Gilles Peterson Worldwide Awards Album of the Year.

The Arcs conclude inaugural North American tour in Atlanta, Charlotte, and Nashville … Laurie Anderson presents a dog-friendly double feature in Los Angeles … Timo Andres joins fellow ACME members at National Sawdust in Brooklyn … Mark Morris Dance Group's week-long run of The Hard Nut at BAM in Brooklyn comes to a close … Brad Mehldau gives a solo performance in London … Punch Brothers end 2015 US tour with two nights in Knoxville … and more …

Emmylou Harris, Punch Brothers, and Chris Thile will be among the performers at the 43rd annual Telluride Bluegrass Festival, taking place June 16–19, 2016, the weekend before the summer solstice. The preliminary lineup for the much-loved southwestern Colorado event was announced earlier today, just before the winter solstice.

Nonesuch Records releases Michael Daves's two-album set, Orchids and Violence, on February 26, 2016. Orchids and Violence comprises two discs with identical track listings of mostly traditional bluegrass tunes, including songs by bluegrass pioneers Bill Monroe and Ralph Stanley. The first disc features straightforward interpretations recorded in a 19th-century church with a band of roots-music innovators: bassist Mike Bub, violinist Brittany Haas, mandolinist Sarah Jarosz, and Punch Brothers banjoist Noam Pikelny. The second disc was recorded in Daves's home studio and includes bass, drums, and electric guitar, mostly played by Daves, and takes a raw, experimental rock approach to the same old-time material. Pre-orders include an instant download of both the bluegrass and electric versions of the song "The Dirt That You Throw."