Ambrose Akinmusire, Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society, and Cécile McLorin Salvant all play North Sea Jazz Fest in Rotterdam, and Salvant has shows in Montpellier and Toulon. Ringdown—Caroline Shaw and Danni Lee Parpan—plays a free show for Lincoln Center’s Summer for the City in NYC. Timo Andres gives a masterclass in Santa Barbara. Jeremy Denk is at the Aspen Music Fest. Emmylou Harris is at the Newfoundland and Labrador Folk Fest. Hurray for the Riff Raff tours the Midwest, in Marquette and Indianapolis.

The 72nd DownBeat Critics Poll results are in, and among the winners are Darcy James Argue, Arranger; Mary Halvorson, Guitar; Cécile McLorin Salvant, Female Vocalist; and Ambrose Akinmusire, Trumpet—all of whose albums are among the Jazz Albums of the Year—and Rhiannon Giddens, Beyond Artist and Beyond Album of the Year.

Laurie Anderson will give the world premiere of ARK: United States Part 5, a new live stage work, at Aviva Studios in Manchester, England, November 12–24, 2024. "For a long time I’ve wanted to make a new large-scale work about the United States—a collection of songs and stories about what has shaped this country in the 21st century," she says. "I plan to tell these stories moving through myth, journalism, fable, and TikTok, conjuring alternate realities and stories from my own life. Part ruminations, part long-form poems, ARK will also be a kind of 3D movie."

"Since I was a kid, I was in love with the sky, the beauty of it, the freedom of it, like I could just float up forever," Laurie Anderson tells BBC Radio 4's Front Row presenter Tom Sutcliffe in a conversation about her upcoming album, Amelia, due August 30. "I remember as a kid doing that, running into the dark ... the ecstasy. Your arms are out like a plane, and you close your eyes and you run." You can hear their conversation here.

The Staves performed at Glastonbury Festival last weekend and gave a special acoustic session for the BBC, performing "You Held It All," from their new album, All Now. You can watch it here.

Davóne Tines and his band THE TRUTH perform ROBESOИ on Little Island in NYC; he can be heard on the Met Opera's NYC Pride March float. Mary Halvorson and Tomas Fujiwara play at the Met Museum and MASS MoCA. Ambrose Akinmusire is at Montreal Jazz Fest. Yussef Dayes is in Saratoga Springs and at Ottawa Jazz Fest. Jeremy Denk joins Dallas Symphony Orchestra in Vail. Brad Mehldau goes solo in Kraków. Natalie Merchant is in Boone, NC. Cécile McLorin Salvant sings French songs at UK's Grange Festival. Sarah Kirkland Snider’s Mass for the Endangered is performed in Singapore and Oregon. Chris Thile goes solo in Big Sky, MT. Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway play from Kentucky to Wisconsin.

"'Ghost' explores the weariness and anxiety of being a fully feeling human who is forced to live in our modern world and its tech-saturated chaos,” Ringdown, the Portland-based cinematic pop duo of creator-musicians Danni Lee Parpan and Caroline Shaw, says of its second Nonesuch single, out now. “This is especially isolating in the world of internet dating, where the spotty texting tempo and normalized behavior of ‘ghosting’ someone can feel crushing. We used the clunky pedal sounds from a vintage piano as a heartbeat throughout the song. To us, this represents the yearning for connection beyond technology.”

"It's like an engine for the world. And when we don't have that—we can't not have that ... It's like we're compelled to do it," Cécile McLorin Salvant says of the arts on the series How Art Changed Me from NYC PBS station WNET's ALL ARTS. "For me, singing and music has been a way to really be direct and say what I mean and what I feel." You can see what else she has to say here.

Laurie Anderson 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. She chose recordings by Randy Newman, Steve Reich, Conor Oberst, Philip Glass, Bill Frisell, John Adams, and Rhys Chatham.

Congratulations to k.d. lang, whom the Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) has named the 2024 artist inductee to the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame; she will be honored in an induction ceremony during Country Music Week 2024 in Edmonton, AB, September 11–14. "I am beyond thrilled, and frankly pleasantly surprised to be honored in this way," lang says. "My love for the prairies, the people, and our culture underscore every ounce of my inspiration. Not without its complexities, I might add. Such is life. I am so stoked to be coming to Edmonton to bask in this celebration … with deepest gratitude."

The 92nd Street Y in New York City (92NY) has announced its 2024–25 Tisch Music Season, including performances by Caroline Shaw and Sō Percussion, Jeremy Denk, Julia Bullock, Richard Goode, Brad Mehldau, Gabriel Kahane, and Days of Wine and Roses star Kelli O'Hara.

Congratulations to composer and band leader Darcy James Argue, who has been named the Frankfurt Radio Big Band's new Composer in Residence. "Taking on this legacy is a massive responsibility, one I accept with the very deepest gratitude. Over the past 16 years, Jim McNeely has honed this group into a world-class big band, filled with amazing players that take great personal pride in the ensemble, and who always put the music first. I love this band and the people in it, and I’m very excited to be embarking on a new adventure with them!"