Natalie Merchant was a guest on the Today show this morning, performing "Jealousy" and "Wonder" from her forthcoming album, Paradise Is There: The New Tigerlily Recordings. The album, due out next Friday, November 6, features new recordings of the beloved songs of her multi-platinum solo debut album, Tigerlily, as they have evolved over two decades of live performance. Watch the performances here. The documentary film that accompanies the album is being screened at theaters across the US, including Upstate Films in Rhinebeck, NY, where Merchant answers questions tonight.

Chris Thile kicks off a US solo tour at Murray State University, the university he attended, in Kentucky tonight, followed by stops in Kalamazoo, Birmingham, Iowa City, San Diego, San Francisco, Portland, Charleston, and many other cities across the country, through November. In December, he joins his fellow Punch Brothers to resume their own US tour.

In celebration of Black History Month in February 2016, Rhiannon Giddens will lead a concert with cellist Leyla McCalla and singer-songwriter Bhi Bhiman titled Swimming in Dark Waters: Other Voices of the American Experience. The concert will examine the history of protest, subversion, and cultural resistance from musicians of color throughout US history, from the original inhabitants to recent immigrants. Performances are currently scheduled for Lincoln Center’s American Songbook series in NYC, Weinberg Center for the Arts in Frederick, MD, and Lisner Auditorium in Washington, DC, with more to be announced soon.

Audra McDonald makes her Australian debut with a one-night-only performance at Arts Centre Melbourne's Hamer Hall this Saturday, October 31, followed by three performances with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra at the Sydney Opera House from November 5 to 7. The six-time Tony Award winner has been performing for audiences across the US over the past several months, bringing what the Los Angeles Times calls her "downright inspirational" interpretations of American classics to stages from California to Connecticut.

Punch Brothers' five-song EP The Wireless is due from Nonesuch Records on November 20, 2015. The tracks were recorded during sessions for the band's T Bone Burnett–produced album The Phosphorescent Blues, and four of the tracks were included on the vinyl edition of the album. The Wireless comprises four original compositions, including a song with words by Gabriel Kahane entitled "Sleek White Baby," plus a cover of Elliott Smith's "Clementine." Pre-order to download "Sleek White Baby" now. A behind-the-scenes video from that song's recording, with a cameo from the band's friend actor/musician Ed Helms, can be seen here.

A new limited-edition 10" six-song recording by The Arcs, entitled The Arcs vs. The Inventors Vol. I, featuring Dr. John and David Hidalgo, will be released on November 27, 2015, for Record Store Day's Black Friday event; a digital version will be available December 11. The disc is the first in a series of collaborative "Inventors" recordings to be released by The Arcs. "Sometimes the best way to see into the future is to study the past," says the band's Dan Auerbach. "In this series we do both, collaborating with folks who have been in the game a long time but instead of rehashing old material, we collaborate on new works, explore new ideas and introduce each other to a different generational perspective."

Rhiannon Giddens was recently a guest on NPR's Mountain Stage. Giddens performs several songs from her debut solo album, Tomorrow Is My Turn: "Don't Let It Trouble Your Mind," "She's Got You," "Waterboy," "O Love Is Teasin'," "Black Is the Color," and "Up Above My Head." "The broad mix of material from which Giddens draws inspiration plays a big part in defining her personality as a performer," says the show. "Her Mountain Stage set is no exception, as she weaves together traditional music with songs by trailblazers Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Dolly Parton." Hear it here.

Lianne La Havas was a special guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert last night, sitting in with the house band, led by Jon Batiste, throughout the show. Other guests included Anthony Bourdain, Carrie Brownstein, and ... Hillary Clinton. La Havas also performed a web-exclusive take on the song "Green & Gold," off her new album, Blood. Watch it here.

Paul Thomas Anderson will give his new documentary Junun its Los Angeles premiere on Sunday, November 15, at The Theatre at Ace Hotel Downtown Los Angeles, where he had given a pre-release screening of his film Inherent Vice. This past spring, Anderson joined Jonny Greenwood, Shye Ben Tzur, and a group of Indian musicians as they recorded the album Junun in a makeshift studio at Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur. The film chronicles the making of that album. The film is currently streaming on MUBI. The album, due November 20 on Nonesuch, is now available to pre-order.

Laurie Anderson was the guest on WNYC's New Sounds last night. She spoke with host John Schaefer about her new film, Heart of a Dog, and shared several excerpts from its soundtrack. The show also touches on her recent Park Avenue Armory piece Habeas Corpus. "Similar themes run through both works," says WNYC, "in that Anderson ponders how stories are spun, and how language is used, along with ideas about what time ('Living Life Backwards'), identity ('How to Feel Sad Without Being Sad'), and freedom might mean in a surveillance and algorithmic culture." Hear the conversation here.

Punch Brothers were the guests on an encore broadcast of NPR's World Cafe yesterday. The show first aired in February, following the release of the group's T Bone Burnett–produced album The Phosphorescent Blues. The band spoke with host David Dye about the album, which Dye says "sounds great," and performs three tracks: "I Blew It Off," "Magnet," and "Boll Weevil." You can hear the session here.

The Arcs were the guests on NPR's World Cafe on Friday. Dan Auerbach spoke with host David Dye about the band's debut album, Yours, Dreamily, and the group was joined by Mariachi Flor de Toloache to perform four songs off the album: "Outta My Mind," "Put a Flower in My Pocket," "Pistol Made of Bones," and "Stay in My Corner." You can hear the session here. The Arcs kick off a two-week tour of Europe in November 5 and begin a US tour on December 1.