Long before social distancing began, Rhiannon Giddens and Francesco Turrisi brought their world tour to The Royal Conservatory's Koernal Hall in Toronto last October. They were joined by bassist Jason Sypher to perform songs from their 2019 Nonesuch album there is no Other and more. The concert was captured via Livestream and can be seen in full here.

If there's a ray of sunlight to be found today, perhaps it's that it's that the vernal equinox has arrived in the Northern Hemisphere. To mark the first day of spring, we've updated our Ring in Spring playlist of Nonesuch recordings as a soundtrack to the melting snows, blossoming trees, and hopefully healthier days soon to come. Here are some seasonally appropriate songs from David Byrne, Dave Malloy, Devendra Banhart, Jeff Parker, Pat Metheny, Caroline Shaw, Daughter of Swords, Early James, Yola, Mountain Man, Fleet Foxes, Conor Oberst, The Magnetic Fields, Kronos Quartet, Brad Mehldau, The Black Keys, Robert Plant, k.d. lang, Emmylou Harris, Chris Thile, Allen Toussaint, Randy Newman, Caetano Veloso, Tigran Hamasyan, Mandy Patinkin, and more.

Well before we were all social distancing, Vagabon stopped by KEXP in Seattle on December 12, 2019, to perform a few songs live in the studio with her band. She spoke with host Troy Nelson and performed three songs from her self-titled Nonesuch debut album—"Secret Medicine," "Water Me Down," and "In A Bind"—as well as "Cold Apartment," from her previous album, Infinite Worlds. While her spring tour has been postponed, you can watch the KEXP live session here.

Sam Gendel released his Nonesuch debut album to critical acclaim last week, with the Los Angeles Times calling it "a woozy, blissfully twisted album," and the Guardian saying: "The avant-garde trailblazer pushes the boat out to glorious extremes ... a searing new language for sax." The album is a sonic construction / deconstruction of jazz standards, including songs by Miles Davis, Charles Mingus, and Duke Ellington. Gendel has shared a track-by-track breakdown of all the songs on the album, which you can read here while you listen.

Live from Here, the public radio show hosted by Chris Thile, has launched #LiveFromHome, a digital space for people to continue to make and experience art while social distancing due to COVID-19 keeps us apart physically. To kick things off, Chris Thile covered Wilco's "Radio Cure" from his brother and sister-in-law's closet, and invited artist friends to record and share their own. Rachael Price, of Lake Street Dive and Rachael & Vilray, did just that, performing Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time" from home with her husband Taylor Ashton. You can watch both here.

Sam Gendel's Nonesuch debut album, Satin Doll, is out now. On this futuristic homage to historical jazz, three musicians—Gendel on saxophone, Gabe Noel on electric bass, and Philippe Melanson on electronic percussion—engage in simultaneous synchronized sonic construction / deconstruction of jazz standards, including songs by Miles Davis, Charles Mingus, and Duke Ellington. "A woozy, blissfully twisted album," says the Los Angeles Times. "The avant-garde trailblazer pushes the boat out to glorious extremes," says the Guardian. "A searing new language for sax." Gendel has released a new video for the track "Glide Mode," which you can watch here.

Early James's debut album, Singing for My Supper, is out now on Easy Eye Sound and Nonesuch Records. The album spans hard-charging blues, wistful folk, and ages-old pop crooning, anchored by the singer's voice that oscillates from gravel-gruff shout to a honey-smooth whisper. Early James "dazzles on his luminous debut," says Mojo, "this astonishingly assured album."

Rachael & Vilray were musical guests on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert last night. The duo was joined by Jon Batiste and Stay Human to perform "At Your Mother's House" from their self-titled debut album. They also gave a web-exclusive performance of the album track "Do Friends Fall in Love?" with Batiste, who performs on the album as well. You can watch both here.

Vagabon (aka Lætitia Tamko) has released two alternate versions of songs from her self-titled album: "In A Bind (Strings Version)" and "Wits About You (Saxophone Version)." A video for the former, directed by Maegan Houang, also debuts today and can be seen here. She leads a headline tour then joins Brittany Howard on tour this spring.

David Byrne will deliver the address at the 160th Commencement ceremony of Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, on Saturday, May 23, 2020. He will also receive an honorary doctorate degree at the ceremony, along with Laurie Anderson and others.

Chris Thile, Michael Daves, Sarah Jarosz, and Aoife O'Donovan will perform at New York Plays & Sings Nashville, a benefit concert to support those affected by the tornado that hit Nashville and Middle Tennessee last week. The concert will take place at The Bell House in Brooklyn on Friday, March 27. All proceeds will be donated to the Middle Tennessee Emergency Response Fund as administered by The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee. 

In celebration of International Women's Day this Sunday and Women's History Month, we've got a newly updated playlist of music performed and written by some of the women who inspire us at Nonesuch every day, including Laurie Anderson, Olivia Chaney, Daughter of Swords, Rhiannon Giddens, Emmylou Harris, Lianne La Havas, Lake Street Dive, k.d. lang, Kate & Anna McGarrigle, Natalie Merchant, Joni Mitchell, Gaby Moreno, Mountain Man, Rachael & Vilray, Caroline Shaw, The Staves, Rokia Traoré, Vagabon, Yola, and others. Listen here on Spotify and Apple Music.