Natalie Merchant brings the music of her latest album, the self-titled 2014 Nonesuch release, and more on the road as she performs a number of North American concerts in the coming months. She begins this run of shows at Kean University in Union, New Jersey, on Saturday, followed by shows in New York, Connecticut, Colorado, and Virginia, and culminating in two shows at Koerner Hall in Toronto in May.

Pianist/composer Brad Mehldau and drummer Mark Guiliana take their electric duo, Mehliana, on a week-long tour of Asia, featuring music from their debut album, Mehliana: Taming the Dragon. The tour starts with two nights at the Java Jazz Festival in Indonesia this weekend, then heads to Japan for shows in Osaka, Nagoya, and Tokyo, and to Korea for a culminating show in Seoul. 

Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell, whose 2013 duo album, Old Yellow Moon, won the Grammy Award for Best Americana Album, will be taking the music to Australia for a six-city tour, starting at the Perth Concert Hall on June 21. The tour continues with stops in Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney, Wollongong, and Gold Coast. Special local guest Harmony James joins. Local pre-sales begin March 12; general on-sales begin March 17. 

Chris Thile will curate The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts' American Strings: A Tradition of Innovation, a festival of performances, workshops, jam sessions, and panel discussions exploring the idea that tradition is innovation that lasts. American Strings will guide audiences from the origins fueling new traditions in American string music to the artistry and diverse styles in today’s creative landscape. The week-long survey, held June 20–26, 2016, in Washington, DC, will culminate in a star-studded performance with Chris Thile and the National Symphony Orchestra.

The Staves unveiled a live performance of "Make It Holy," off their forthcoming Justin Vernon–produced album If I Was. You can watch it here. The album version is available to download now with album pre-orders, along with three additional tracks: "Blood I Bled," "Steady," and "Black & White." The Staves will perform at the Eaux Claires Festival, curated by Vernon and Bryce Dessner, held in Eau Claire, July 17 and 18, as will Sam Amidon, among others.

Jonny Greenwood’s soundtrack to Paul Thomas Anderson’s new film, Inherent Vice, is out now available on two-LP, 140-gram vinyl. An adaptation of the Thomas Pynchon novel, Inherent Vice, is set in the tail end of the psychedelic ’60s. The soundtrack features nine compositions by Greenwood, an unreleased Radiohead tune performed by members of Supergrass, plus other recordings from the movie’s era. The New York Times calls it an "excellent playlist." Additional performers include The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Neil Young, Can, and The Marketts, among others.

Rhiannon Giddens' solo recording debut, Tomorrow Is My Turn, produced by T Bone Burnett, was released last month on CD and digitally and is now available on vinyl. The LP edition is pressed on 140-gram, audiophile vinyl and includes a CD of the complete album. The New York Times calls it "a showcase for Ms. Giddens’s glorious voice," and Rolling Stone dubs her "one of the most promising voices in American roots music." Rhiannon Giddens was the guest on NPR's World Cafe yesterday; her spring tour begins later this month at the Big Ears Festival.

Punch Brothers, while in Minneapolis on their winter tour, stopped by Minnesota Public Radio's The Current on Sunday to discuss their new album, The Phosphorescent Blues, and perform three songs from it: "I Blew It Off," "Magnet," and "Julep." Watch "I Blew It Off" here. The tour continues with performances along the Northeast: in Philadelphia, NYC, Boston, and Portland. The band has just announced a series of dates this summer, for which they will join Béla Fleck & Abigail Washburn in Ohio, New York, and Virginia.

Tigran Hamasyan closes out US Mockroot tour tonight in College Park, MD ... Bombino tours Australia ... Jeremy Denk joins Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra for Bach, Janáček ... Richard Goode plays Mozart with San Diego Symphony ... Audra McDonald performs in Wisconsin and Boston ... Conor Oberst continues Australian tour at Melbourne Zoo ... Punch Brothers take tour to Nashville, Chicago, Minneapolis, joined by Michael Daves ... and more ...

Nonesuch releases HIVE1, the label debut from Tyondai Braxton, on May 12, 2015. Written and recorded throughout 2013 and 2014, the recording comprises eight pieces that were originally conceived for a performance work called HIVE that debuted at New York’s Guggenheim Museum in 2013. The work evolved into HIVE1, which is available to pre-order with an instant download of the album track Scout1. Braxton will perform HIVE each day of his three-day residency at the Knoxville Museum of Art as part of the Big Ears festival in March. 

Robert Plant and the Sensational Space Shifters performed songs from his new album, lullaby and... The Ceaseless Roar, at the 2014 iTunes Festival in London last September. Their live take on the album track "Turn It Up" from the festival premiered via The Guardian, which says Plant's new album and tour made for "one of the marvels of 2014." Watch the performance here. Robert Plant and the band will tour Latin America in March and play a number of festivals in the US and Europe this summer.

Conor Oberst kicks off a tour of Australia and New Zealand, featuring music from his 2014 Nonesuch Records debut album, Upside Down Mountain, with a performance at The Triffid in Brisbane Wednesday night. The tour includes multiple shows in Melbourne and Sydney, a stop in Auckland, and a culminating set at the Golden Plains Festival. The Felice Brothers join as special guests. In June, Oberst will play The Governors Ball in New York City.