Rhiannon Giddens's "At The Purchaser's Option," from her 2017 album, Freedom Highway, has made NPR Music's list of The 200 Greatest Songs By 21st Century Women+. The song comes in at No. 30 on list, part of NPR Music's Turning the Tables project. "The songs are by artists whose major musical contributions ... have shifted attitudes, defied categories and pushed sound in new directions," says NPR. "Giddens has become a leader in the Americana world by foregrounding her talent for telling black Americans' stories, as she does on her 2017 LP Freedom Highway."

Punch Brothers play NYC's Beacon Theatre, CBS This Morning Saturday … John Adams's Doctor Atomic is performed at Santa Fe Opera … David Byrne, Fleet Foxes play Panorama NYC Music Festival … Olivia Chaney tours Boston, New York … Rhiannon Giddens is in Virginia … Shye Ben Tzur, Jonny Greenwood, Rajasthan Express perform Junun in Boston … Brad Mehldau Trio concludes European tour in Marciac … Natalie Merchant continues sold-out UK tour … Robert Plant plays Italy, Germany … Joshua Redman is in Belgium … Rostam plays Newport Folk Fest … and more …

Gabriel Kahane has released a new song from his forthcoming Nonesuch debut album, Book of Travelers, called "What If I Told You," and a new video here. The song is available to download now with pre-orders of Book of Travelers along with three other recently released album tracks. Nonesuch Store pre-orders also include a limited-edition signed print.

Congratulations to Punch Brothers and the band's own Chris Thile and Noam Pikelny, all of whom have been nominated for 2018 International Bluegrass Music Awards. Punch Brothers are among the finalists for Instrumental Group of the Year, Thile is up for Distinguished Achievement Award, and Pikelny for Banjo Player of the Year. The Distinguished Achievement Award is the highest honor bestowed by the IBMA outside of induction into the Hall of Fame. Winners will be announced in Raleigh, NC, on September 27. Punch Brothers' new album, All Ashore, will be eligible for the 2019 awards.

Olivia Chaney has shared a video for the title track to her new album, Shelter, as she begins a three-week tour of North America. The video was filmed by Gavin Elder in the rustic cottage in the hills of the North Yorkshire Moors where she wrote the songs on the album. Watch it here. The tour begins in Decatur, Georgia, tonight and includes headline shows across the US and Canada, plus sets as special guest of Patty Griffin and Bruce Hornsby.

Emmylou Harris will take part in The Lantern Tour: Concerts for Migrant and Refugee Families with Jackson Browne, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Shawn Colvin, Lila Downs, Steve Earle, and Graham Nash in support of families seeking safety at the US–Mexico border. Proceeds will go to the Women's Refugee Commission. The tour begins in Nashville on October 23 and includes shows in Washington, DC; Collingswood, NJ; Boston; and NYC. 

Punch Brothers performed "Like It's Going Out of Style," from their just-released album, All Ashore, at Layman Drug Company in Nashville for a new video made by Alex Chaloff. You can watch it here. Punch Brothers bring their big summer tour to Boston's House of Blues on Wednesday, followed by shows in Burlington and Portland, and at the Beacon Theatre in NYC .

The Gospel at Colonus, Bob Telson and Lee Breuer's groundbreaking retelling of Sophocles' Oedipus at Colonus, will be given six free performances at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, September 4–9, presented by The Public Theater and the Onassis Foundation USA. The musical, for which Nonesuch released the 1985 original cast recording, returns to NYC for the first time since 2004 to celebrate the 35th Anniversary of the original production. Set in the context of a black Pentecostal service, it celebrates the myth of Oedipus' redemption with a rousing gospel and blues score, featuring more than forty voices including The Blind Boys of Alabama as Oedipus.

Nonesuch Records' 1998 Grammy-winning recording of Steve Reich's landmark piece Music for 18 Musicians, performed by Steve Reich and Musicians, is back on vinyl. First released on vinyl in a limited run for Record Store Day 2015, the album, mastered for vinyl by Robert C. Ludwig, is now available at a new, low price, pressed on two 140-gram vinyl LPs at Pallas Manufacturing in Diepholz, Germany. The New York Times says: "It would be hard to think of any American music more important than this."

Punch Brothers celebrated the release of their new album, All Ashore, last Friday with a Facebook Live Q&A with The Bluegrass Situation. They discussed the album with host Craig Havighurst backstage at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, where they performed over two nights last weekend.

Punch Brothers' first self-produced album, All Ashore, is out now on CD/digitally on Nonesuch, with the vinyl out September 7. "It's a meditation on committed relationships in the present day, particularly in the present political climate," says Chris Thile. The Independent's four-star review calls it "an album of rich instrumentation and understated beauty that reveals deeper nuances on each and every listen." The Boston Globe says it's "a deeply meaningful and downright gorgeous record."

Gabriel Kahane, Timo Andres perform in picturesque Fishtail, Montana … Sam Amidon plays UK's Folk Forest fest … David Byrne brings American Utopia to Italy … Fleet Foxes play Pitchfork Fest in Chicago … Shye Ben Tzur, Jonny Greenwood, Rajasthan Express perform Junun in Toronto, Detroit … Lake Street Dive is in Texas … Brad Mehldau Trio tours Italy … Natalie Merchant continues sold-out UK tour … Robert Plant, Joshua Redman are in France … Punch Brothers play the Ryman … and more …