Newly formed Congolese seven-piece band Mbongwana Star releases its debut full-length album, From Kinshasa, on May 19 via World Circuit, distributed in North America by Nonesuch Records; vinyl follows on July 31. The band features members of a new generation of Kinshasa musicians embodying the concept of “mbongwana,” or “change.” Along with Parisian producer Doctor L, the band has created a sound that embodies the “smashed-together” nature of the surroundings from which it was born—fusing traditional Congolese rhythms with European post-punk bass and busted electronics from recycled and reconstructed instruments miked and distorted in unexpected ways. Pre-orders include an instant download of the album track "Malukayi (feat. Konono No.1)."

Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell's new album, The Traveling Kind, will be released May 12 on Nonesuch Records. Rolling Stone has premiered the title track, which may be downloaded with pre-orders of the album at iTunes and in the Nonesuch Store, where CD and vinyl orders also include an exclusive, limited-edition autographed print. Produced by Joe Henry, The Traveling Kind follows the longtime friends' first duet album, 2013's Grammy Award-winning Old Yellow Moon, and comprises 11 duet tracks, including six new songs written by Harris and Crowell with co-writing by Mary Carr, Cory Chisel, Will Jennings, and Larry Klein. Harris and Crowell will play a series of intimate shows in support of the record this May, including shows in San Francisco, Napa, Chicago, NYC, and Nashville.

The 2015 Big Ears Festival takes place in Knoxville, Tennessee, this weekend including performances from artists-in-residence Kronos Quartet, Laurie Anderson, Rhiannon Giddens, Sam Amidon, and Tyondai Braxton. Big Ears is held in venues throughout downtown Knoxville. Click here for a schedule of the Nonesuch artists' events at this weekend's festival. 

John Adams's latest work, Scheherazade.2, receives its world premiere in performances by the NY Philharmonic, led by Alan Gilbert, at Avery Fisher Hall in NYC this Thursday through Saturday, March 26–28. This "dramatic symphony" for violin and orchestra was written for the violinist Leila Josefowicz, who will perform the piece with the Philharmonic. In the piece, Adams reflects on the hardship and unfair treatment of women throughout history, with the violinist representing the legendary Scheherazade. Also on this week's program are Lyadov's The Enchanted Lake and Stravinsky's Petrushka. Each performance will be preceded by a pre-concert talk with the composer.

The Staves' Nonesuch debut album, If I Was, produced by Justin Vernon, is due out next week in the US. But you don't need to wait till then to hear it: the album is streaming in full all this week via Stereogum. "This entire record is essential listening," raves Stereogum. "The Staveley-Taylor sisters possess the kind of voices that make able-bodied writers lose control of their capacity to avoid terms like ethereal, angelic, and otherworldly. They are simply astonishing in tone, harmony, precision, their ability to weave in and around one another like birds dipping and flitting through the sky."

Punch Brothers kick off the spring leg of their North American tour at the Vogue Theatre in Vancouver on Wednesday featuring music from their new album, The Phosphorescent Blues. This leg of the tour includes stops in Seattle, Portland, Denver, and Salt Lake City; four dates in California; three in Texas; and two in Arizona. Gabriel Kahane supports along the way. This summer, the band plays several summer festival dates, like Bonnaroo and Telluride, and shows with Béla Fleck & Abigail Washburn.

Conor Oberst has announced a number of US tour dates for this June. The shows start at 40 Watt in Athens, Georgia, on June 3, followed by stops in Wilmington and Boston, all with support from Larkin Poe; a set at The Governors Ball in NYC; concerts in Maquoketa, Iowa, his hometown of Omaha, and Lincoln, Nebraska, all with support from The Felice Brothers; and culminating with a set at Rock the Garden in Minneapolis. See below for the complete list of June shows. Tickets are on sale now for the two festivals and go on sale Friday for the rest.

Buena Vista Social Club’s Lost and Found is out now on CD and digitally from World Circuit Records; the vinyl is due April 21. Coming almost two decades after the release of the original Grammy-winning, self-titled LP, the new album is a collection of previously unreleased tracks—some of which were recorded during the original album’s sessions in Havana and others from the years that followed. Lost and Found also features live recordings from the world tours of Buena Vista’s legendary veterans. NPR calls it "a gorgeous reminder of what made [Buena Vista] so famous to begin with." The Guardian calls it "exquisite."

Due to a serious shoulder injury to Patrick Carney, The Black Keys’ forthcoming concerts in Australia, New Zealand, and Japan, part of their Turn Blue World Tour, have been cancelled up until April 23. Regrettably, due to prior scheduled commitments, efforts to reschedule the original dates were unsuccessful; therefore all tickets (outside of Bluesfest Byron Bay) will be refunded at their point of purchase. At this time, it is not expected that any dates after April 23 will be cancelled.

This first day of spring, Jeremy Denk's tour with Academy of St. Martin in the Fields continues in the Midwest ... Sam Amidon performs in Portsmouth, NH ... Timo Andres, Jacob Cooper re-work Mozart in Albany ... Audra McDonald tours Florida ... Natalie Merchant performs with SUNY Purchase orchestra ... Robert Plant and the Sensational Space Shifters play Lollapalooza Argentina ... and more ...

In anticipation of the March 23 release of Buena Vista Social Club’s Lost and Found—a new collection of previously unreleased tracks—comes news that Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club, a core band featuring several of the original musicians, will embark on a North American farewell "Adios" tour in August 2015. The "Adios" tour includes extensive dates in the US and Canada, culminating in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on November 7.

The line-up for the 2015 Cambridge Folk Festival has been expanded, and among the newly announced performers at this year's festival are Punch Brothers, Rhiannon Giddens, and Olivia Chaney. The four-day festival takes place at Cherry Hinton Hall in Cambridge, England, and runs from July 30 to August 2. Tickets are on sale now.