American Songwriter magazine has released its year-end-best lists, and among the artists featured are Rhiannon Giddens, Robert Plant, and Fleet Foxes. Rhiannon Giddens's album Freedom Highway and Robert Plant's Carry Fire have made the Top 25 Albums of 2017, and Giddens, Plant, and Fleet Foxes have songs on the list of the Top 25 Songs of 2017.

This holiday season, Chris Thile is on the radio with Punch Brothers, The Staves & yMusic … Randy Newman performs at Holiday Cheer for FUV in NYC … Sam Amidon is in Munich … Laurie Anderson plays Day for Night fest … Tyondai Braxton is in Brooklyn … Devendra Banhart brings Ape in Pink Marble to Argentina … Fleet Foxes are in Australia … Rhiannon Giddens tours France with Orchestre Symphonique de Bretagne … Richard Goode plays Mozart in NYC … Conor Oberst plays New Year’s Eve show in LA …

Nonesuch releases Steve Reich's Pulse / Quartet February 2, with vinyl due March 30. The album includes the world-premiere recordings of Pulse, performed by the International Contemporary Ensemble, and Quartet, played by the Colin Currie Group. The Los Angeles Times notes the "lyricism, gorgeous instrumental textures and affecting harmonies" of Pulse, and the New York Times says of Quartet: "Written for two vibraphones and two pianos, Quartet is Mr. Reich's first piece for those two instruments alone, and the combination is ingenious and seductive, and deployed with subtle craftsmanship." Pre-order to download the third movement of Quartet now.

Robert Finley debuted his music video for "Holy Wine," from his new album, Goin' Platinum!, via Relix. "This as close to gospel as you are going to get," Finley says. "The song tells the story of generations, especially the video, with the baby into young manhood. It’s like three generations in one video. Hopefully it fills a generational gap, that’s what the intention was, to try to bring the old and young together." Watch the video, directed by Gus Black, here.

Chris Thile's new album, Thanks for Listening, is out now on CD and digitally, with vinyl to follow next Friday, December 15. It's a collection of new studio recordings, produced by Thomas Bartlett, of ten songs originally written as Songs of the Week on A Prairie Home Companion. Thile manned almost all of the stringed instruments on the album and is joined by guest singers Sarah Jarosz, Gaby Moreno, and Aoife O'Donovan. 

A very limited number of Fleet Foxes' special 10" EP The Electric Lady Session, released for Record Store Day's 2017 Black Friday event, is now available in the Nonesuch Store. The EP is four songs from the band's 2017 Nonesuch debut album, Crack-Up, selected from a WFUV session recorded at the historic Electric Lady Studio in NYC in June. Tickets to Fleet Foxes new run of 2018 tour dates in the US South, announced earlier this week, go on sale today.

Randy Newman brings Dark Matter to Austin … Sam Amidon performs in London … Devendra Banhart exhibits artwork in Japan … Jeremy Denk gives solo recital in NYC … Richard Goode joins Cleveland Orchestra … Emmylou Harris plays Bonaparte’s Retreat benefit in DC … Kronos Quartet previews new documentary at MASS MoCA … Robert Plant takes Carry Fire tour to London … Chris Thile is on the radio from NYC …

Soul and blues singer Robert Finley's second studio album, Goin’ Platinum!, is out now via Dan Auerbach's label, Easy Eye Sound, which is distributed by Nonesuch Records. "He's the greatest living soul singer as far as I'm concerned," says Auerbach. Finley is surrounded by all-time-great session musicians with skill to match his singular voice, including drummer Gene Chrisman (Elvis Presley, Aretha Franklin), keys player Bobby Woods (JJ Cale, Bobby Womack), horns players from Preservation Hall, and legendary guitarist Duane Eddy. Goin’ Platinum! was co-written and produced by Auerbach and also features writing credits by legendary songwriters John Prine, Nick Lowe, and Pat McLaughlin.

Tigran Hamasyan has shared the music video for "Leninagone," a song from his album An Ancient Observer. He dedicates the song and video to the children who survived the devastating Armenian earthquake that hit his home town of Gyumri (Soviet name: Leninakan) on December 7, 1988, twenty-nine years ago. "I come from the generation of children whose lives were directly affected by this tragic event," says Hamasyan. "The video portrays the struggle and the hope of all the generations that lived through this apocalyptic time."

Emmylou Harris will be the subject of a major new exhibition at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, opening October 5, 2018. "From my first album release in 1975," said Harris, a Hall of Fame member, "country music has embraced me with open arms. This exhibit at the Hall of Fame makes me realize once more how grateful and honored I am to be part of such a remarkable musical family."

Fleet Foxes have announced a run of tour dates in 2018 throughout the Southern part of the US including multiple stops in Florida, as well as Charleston, Jackson, Mobile, and New Orleans, plus a night at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. Tickets go on sale this Friday, December 8, at 10am local time.

Laurie Anderson and Kronos Quartet’s Landfall is due February 16, 2018. The piece, which was inspired by Anderson’s experience of Hurricane Sandy, is the first collaboration between the artists, who perform together on the recording. Landfall juxtaposes lush electronics and strings with Anderson’s powerful descriptions of loss, from water-logged pianos to disappearing animal species to Dutch karaoke bars. The Washington Post calls it "riveting, gorgeous." Pre-order to download a track now and get a limited-edition print autographed by Anderson.