The Staves unveiled a live performance of "Black & White," 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 two additional tracks: "Blood I Bled" and "Steady." 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.

Devendra Banhart and longtime friend, musical collaborator, and fellow singer-songwriter Andy Cabic (Vetiver)—who together formed the vanguard of an experimental and folk-influenced aesthetic that emerged in the Bay Area around the turn of the millennium—will tour Spain and Portugal in May, performing both individually and together in a casual mix of older and newer material, including Banhart's 2013 Nonesuch Records debut album, Mala.

Pianist Tigran Hamasyan's Nonesuch Records debut, Mockroot, is out now, featuring new tracks written by Hamasyan, as well as his arrangements of traditional Armenian songs. Although trained as a classical and jazz musician, Hamasyan draws on a wide range of influences, including Armenian folk music, rock, electronica, poetry, and more. "There are many brilliant and perfectly finished young jazz pianists around," says the Telegraph, "but Hamasyan stands out because he has something important and urgent to say." "You will find it difficult if not impossible to get this disc out of your machine for quite a while," raves the Buffalo News. "Don’t count on getting it out of your head for a long while either." Hamasyan and his trio are currently on tour in the US.

Conor Oberst is the guest on the latest episode of WTF with Marc Maron. Oberst, whom the show calls "a virtuoso singer-songwriter," talks with Maron about his Nonesuch Records debut album, Upside Down Mountain, what WTF describes as "the intangible nature of writing songs," and much more. Oberst kicks off a tour of Australia and New Zealand with special guests The Felice Brothers next week.

This long weekend, Olivia Chaney continues her US tour with shows in Minneapolis, Seattle, Los Angeles ...Chris Thile guests hosts A Prairie Home Companion with musical guest Rhiannon Giddens ...Richard Linklater, Patricia Arquette talk Boyhood with James Corden in LA ... Jeremy Denk plays Bartók in North Carolina ... Tigran Hamasyan kicks off US tour in Chicago ... Emmylou Harris is on Austin City Limits ... Steve Reich celebrated in London ... and more ...

Tickets are on sale now for Rhiannon Giddens' spring solo tour, featuring music from her debut solo album Tomorrow Is My Turn. The shows begin at the Big Ears Festival in March and continue through June, with stops in cities and at festivals along the way, including NYC, Chicago, LA, and the Bonnaroo Music Festival. Giddens’ bandmates from Carolina Chocolate Drops are part of her touring band. They perform on A Prairie Home Companion this weekend.

Emmylou Harris joins Willie Nelson, Lyle Lovett, and more for a special episode of Austin City Limits (ACL) featuring performances from the inaugural Austin City Limits Hall of Fame presentation, which took place in April. The hour-long special, hosted by actor Matthew McConaughey, debuts on PBS this weekend. Harris and ACL Hall of Fame inductee Nelson perform "Crazy," and Lovett joins them both for a trio take on "Pancho & Lefty" and "On the Road Again." Harris's groundbreaking album Wrecking Ball was the featured classic album on BBC Radio 2's Johnnie Walker’s Long Players program earlier this week. 

Tigran Hamasyan, whose Nonesuch Records debut album, Mockroot, is due out on Tuesday, kicks off a tour of the US with a performance at the University of Chicago's Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts—his Chicago debut—on Friday. The tour continues through the month, with stops in Oakland, Santa Cruz, Los Angeles, and Cambridge, two nights in New York City, and two sets in College Park, Maryland.

David Byrne will curate 2015’s Meltdown Festival at Southbank Centre in London, August 17–28. Previous directors include Laurie Anderson, Patti Smith, David Bowie, Yoko Ono, Ray Davies, and Ornette Coleman. "This is going to be exciting," says Byrne. "I plan to invite performers I've seen—and I do get out—and others I've missed or have dreamed of seeing." The line-up will be announced in the coming months. 

Punch Brothers recently stopped by the CMT studios for a Live @ CMT session, performing what CMT Edge calls a "sparkling" set of four songs off their new album, The Phosphorescent Blues: “Julep,” “Magnet,” “I Blew It Off,” and “Boll Weevil.” You can watch the performances here. The band was featured on NPR's World Cafe yesterday. They spoke with host David Dye, who calls them "some of the very best acoustic musicians anywhere," and performed three songs from the new album: "I Blew It Off," "Magnet" and "Boll Weevil."

Rhiannon Giddens, whose debut solo album, Tomorrow Is My Turn, was released yesterday on Nonesuch Records to critical acclaim, celebrated the record's release with a performance of the song "Waterboy" on CBS's Late Show with David Letterman last night. "Oh my god," Letterman exclaimed following the performance. "Oh my god, that was unbelievable." Watch for you yourself here. "Tomorrow Is My Turn confirms the arrival of a significant talent whose voice and distinctive approach communicate the simmering emotion at the core of the songs," says the Wall Street Journal. "Thus, she may prove indispensable."

Punch Brothers were the musical guests on Conan last night on TBS, performing "Magnet" from their new album, The Phosphorescent Blues. They were also the musical guest on a special episode of A Prairie Home Companion on Saturday, guest-hosted by none other than Chris Thile. Watch performances from both shows here. And tune in to NPR's World Cafe today to hear the band perform.