The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney, who kick off their International Players tour in Manchester, England, on Saturday, are on Sound Opinions to talk about their new album, Ohio Players, with hosts Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot, who call them "one of the greatest rock acts to emerge in the 21st century." You can hear their conversation here. The hosts also review Hurray for the Riff Raff's new album, The Past Is Still Alive, calling it "one great tune after another."

Composer/guitarist Yasmin Williams—whose first song on Nonesuch, "Dawning," was released late last year ahead of her label debut album, due later this year—will support Brittany Howard and Michael Kiwanuka on their North American fall tour. The shows begin at The Met in Philadelphia on September 29, and include stops in Boston, New York, Saint Paul, Denver, Boise, Portland, Vancouver, Seattle, Berkeley, Los Angeles, and more.

The Staves' Jessica and Camilla Stavely-Taylor stopped by for the Nonesuch Selects video series, in which artists visit the Nonesuch office, pick some of their favorite albums from the music library, and share a few words on their choices. They chose music by The Gipsy Kings, Emmylou Harris, Joachim Cooder, Steve Reich, and Nickel Creek. You can watch it here.

Rhiannon Giddens takes her You're the One tour to Seattle and San Francisco, while The Martha Graham Dance Company dances to songs from the album in NYC. Richard Goode performs Beethoven in Toronto. The Magnetic Fields play 69 Love Songs in Chicago. Mandy Patinkin is in St. Paul. Cécile McLorin Salvant and orchestra perform at Cité de la musique in Paris. Sarah Kirkland Snider’s Mass for the Endangered is performed in Chicago ahead of Earth Day. The Staves launch West Coast tour in Seattle and Portland. Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway are in North Carolina, Virginia, and Pennsylvania.

Following more than a dozen sold-out shows across the US this spring, Hurray for the Riff Raff (aka Alynda Segarra) has announced a US summer tour. Beginning in early July, a new leg of headline dates will stop in cities that have yet to experience the live show of The Past Is Still Alive, the acclaimed album that has Vulture calling Segarra “one of America’s best songwriters." Upcoming performances also include Hurray for the Riff Raff’s Red Rocks debut and other amphitheater appearances with Norah Jones, as well as a homecoming set at New Orleans Jazz Festival, a return to NYC for a free concert in Battery Park, and more to be announced.

The Black Keys have secured the No. 1 Current Rock Album and No. 1 Current Alternative Album in US sales following the release of their new album, Ohio Players, last week. The album also is the highest debut of the week on Billboard’s Top Rock Albums Chart and Top Alternative Albums Chart, at No. 5 on both charts, and has reached No. 4 on Overall Current Album sales and No. 26 on the Billboard 200. Internationally, Ohio Players is the band’s sixth consecutive top 20 album in the UK, as well as top 20 in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Netherlands, New Zealand, and Switzerland, among others. 

Congratulations to Kronos Quartet, whose acclaimed 1992 Nonesuch album Pieces of Africa has been named one of twenty-five recordings to be inducted into the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress for 2024. "It planted a seed for our work," Kronos founder and violinist David Harrington says of the album. "It's flowered so beautifully."

Kronos Quartet has announced its ninth-annual Kronos Festival, to take place at SFJAZZ Center, June 20–23, 2024. The festival marks the ensemble’s milestone 50th Anniversary year and the farewell performances of John Sherba and Hank Dutt, members of Kronos Quartet for more than 45 years. It will feature a slate of world and Bay Area premieres commissioned as part of the KRONOS Five Decades season; several guest artists; and the final performance of A Thousand Thoughts, a live documentary chronicling the quartet’s career, written and directed by Sam Green and Joe Bini.

Hurray for the Riff Raff (aka Alynda Segarra) returned to CBS Saturday Morning to perform a Saturday Sessions set of three songs from their new album, The Past Is Still Alive: "Alibi," "Hawkmoon," and "Buffalo." You can watch all three performances here.

Congratulations to Rhiannon Giddens, who will deliver the keynote address at Oberlin College and Conservatory’s Class of 2024 Commencement ceremony on Monday, May 27, which will be livestreamed. Giddens, who studied opera at the Conservatory and graduated in 2000, will be awarded an Honorary Doctor of Music degree. "A consummate musician, equally noteworthy for her accomplishments as a performer, composer, scholar, lyricist, and more, Rhiannon Giddens stands as one of the most important creative and artistic voices of our time," Dean of the Conservatory William Quillen says. 

Timo Andres joins Alarm Will Sound in Steve Reich's Music for 18 Musicians in College Park and Philadelphia. Cécile McLorin Salvant premieres new piece at 92NY in NYC, where The Magnetic Fields play 69 Love Songs at The Town Hall. Sam Amidon plays with Laura Veirs in Portland and Shahzad Ismaily in Seattle. Hurray for the Riff Raff is in Texas for shows in Fort Worth, Austin, and Houston, where Kronos Quartet live-scores Sam Green's documentary about them. Nathalie Joachim is in Columbus. Mandy Patinkin performs in Peekskill and joins his family in conversation in New London. Sarah Kirkland Snider’s Mass for the Endangered is performed outside Pittsburgh. Chris Thile plays solo in Beaverton and Seattle. Yasmin Williams is in Tysons, VA.

"I definitely think this is the most vulnerable I've been in my writing in a really long time," Alynda Segarra (aka Hurray for the Riff Raff) says of their new album, The Past Is Still Alive, when asked by Sheroes host Carmel Holt why the album has been resonating so deeply with listeners. "This is a record that has really stripped me down to the bone ... It's a lot of very tender themes of grief and growth and loss and all of these human experiences." You can hear their conversation here.