Robert Plant's new album, Carry Fire, is out now. As with his 2014 album, lullaby and… The Ceaseless Roar, it features his band The Sensational Space Shifters. They are also joined here by special guests, including Chrissie Hynde. NPR calls the album "transfixing ... rivetingly intimate." The New York Times calls it "a swirling mix of deep blues, mountain music, North African rhythms and Zeppelin-heavy weight." The AP says: "There are few undisputed rock stars this accomplished still taking musical risks. Plant’s songwriting remains a class above ... 'Out here the fire's still burning / So long into my night,' he sings. Long may it burn."

Jeremy Denk hosts a day-long event in London as Milton Court Artist in Residence … Sam Amidon concludes North American tour … Tigran Hamasyan is in France … Emmylou Harris is in Washington state … Kronos Quartet joins Calgary Philharmonic … Pat Metheny begins European tour … Randy Newman is on PBS … Conor Oberst takes Salutations South … Joshua Redman is in Ohio … The Staves play Festifeel in London … Chris Thile hosts A Prairie Home Companion, joined by Lake Street Dive’s Rachael Price … and more ...

Robert Plant and his band the Sensational Space Shifters were on the Later… With Jools Holland live show on BBC Two. They performed two songs from the new album Carry Fire, out this Friday: "Bones of Saints" and "New World…" You can watch them perform both here, and tune in to BBC Two again this Friday for the full, one-hour episode of Later for more. The show calls it "a set of songs that combines some haunting tribal rhythms with Plant's customary inventive flair and sense of urgency." Plant and the band performed from Carry Fire on BBC Radio 6 Music live last Friday; he spoke with Lauren Laverne about the new album and more.

Congratulations to singer, instrumentalist, and songwriter Rhiannon Giddens, who has been named a MacArthur Fellow. Giddens is among the twenty-four new MacArthur Fellow for 2017, selected by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. The annual fellowship, often referred to as the "Genius" grant, awards individuals who, in the Foundation's words, "have shown extraordinary originality and dedication in their creative pursuits and a marked capacity for self-direction." Watch Giddens discuss her work and the fellowship in a MacArthur Foundation video here.

Fleet Foxes have announced a special 10" EP available exclusively at independent record stores starting on Record Store Day's Black Friday, November 24, 2017. The EP features four Crack-Up songs, selected from a WFUV session recorded at the historic Electric Lady Studio in NYC in June: Side A is "Cassius, -" and "- Naiads, Cassadies," and Side B is "Mearcstapa" and "On Another Ocean (January / June)." Fleet Foxes have also released a Classic Album Sunday Q&A which premiered via Record Store Day and can be seen below.

Randy Newman stopped by NPR in Washington, DC, to perform a Tiny Desk Concert for Bob Boilen and the staff at NPR and NPR Music. The set included four songs from his new album, Dark Matter: "Putin," "She Chose Me," "It's A Jungle Out There," and "Wandering Boy." "I think Randy Newman is a national treasure," says Boilen. "Randy Newman paints lasting portraits of places and people, all the while poking fun and highlighting injustice, stupidity, power and humanity and he's been doing it for half a century." You can watch the set here.

Chris Thile spoke with writer Michael Hill about his forthcoming album, Thanks for Listening—new studio recordings of songs originally written as Songs of the Week on A Prairie Home Companion—and how it came to be. "We're in a place where listening is a precious commodity," he says. "That's the theme that I noticed rising up, greater than 'here is what was happening last week' or 'here is the place we were.' It's a celebration of people who haven't switched off, despite being given every reason to do so."

Chris Thile's new album, Thanks for Listening, will be released on Nonesuch Records on December 8, 2017; vinyl on December 15. The album is 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. Pre-order to download the track "Thank You, New York," the lyric video for which you can watch here, and get a limited-edition, signed print.

Conor Oberst, Emmylou Harris, Randy Newman, Dan Auerbach play free Hardly Strictly Bluegrass fest in San Francisco … Sam Amidon takes The Following Mountain tour to the Northeast … Laurie Anderson performs at Philip Glass fest in California … Jeremy Denk joins New Jersey Symphony … Tigran Hamasysan launches tour in Greece … Kronos Quartet is in San Francisco … Chris Thile begins new season of A Prairie Home Companion in Saint Paul … and more …

Camille has unveiled the video for "Lasso," a new song from her new album, OUÏ. The video, co-directed by Camille and Olivier Montoro, the team behind her recent "Seeds" video, was also made at L'Axe Majeur, just outside of Paris. Camille calls the video "an uneven merry-go-round that captures and frees at the same time." You can watch it here.

Robert Plant's new album, Carry Fire, due next Friday, October 13, is streaming in full below as an NPR First Listen. The new album is "transfixing," exclaims NPR's Tom Moon. "Plant and his collaborators create music that overflows with irrepressible life force ... Carry Fire is rivetingly intimate."

Robert Finley, whose new album, Goin' Platinum!, is due December 8 on Dan Auerbach's label Easy Eye Sound, has shared the video for the album track "Medicine Woman." The video, which was directed by Alysse Gafkjen, premiered via Bilboard and can be seen here.