Legendary British singer/songwriter Robert Plant has signed with Nonesuch/Warner Bros. Records, which will release his label debut later this year. Further details about the album, which will feature the Sensational Space Shifters band, will be announced shortly. Plant says of working with Nonesuch, “I’m pleased to find such a reputable home for our renegade departures. The support and encouragement we have received has been strong and refreshing – Turn It Up!”

The Black Keys’ music video for “Fever” premiered this morning and can now be viewed here. The single, which is #1 on AAA radio for the third straight week and #3 on Alternative radio, is from the duo’s new album, Turn Blue, which will be released May 13 on Nonesuch Records. In celebration of the release, the band will return to Saturday Night Live for their third musical guest appearance on May 10.

The Black Keys stopped by the BBC's Maida Vale Studios in London to talk with Zane Lowe and perform three tracks from their forthcoming album, Turn Blue: the first single, "Fever"; the title track; and an exclusive new track from the album, "Bullet in the Brain." You can watch the performance of "Bullet in the Brain" here. The band was on Later … with Jools Holland live on Tuesday and will be on the full show Friday night.

Natalie Merchant's new, self-titled album is due out next Tuesday, May 6, but you don't need to wait till then to hear it: her sixth solo collection is streaming in full all this week in the New York Times's Press Play feature. Merchant will perform at the Beacon Theatre in NYC on September 13. Watch an in-depth video conversation with Merchant, in which she discusses the new album and the "intimate portraits" she creates in its songs, here. 

Joshua Redman has joined forces with the International Rescue Committee to become an IRC Voice to help raise awareness of the needs of refugees and others who have been impacted by war and disaster. “I've been greatly impressed with the depth of the International Rescue Committee’s devotion to human beings and the breadth of its work in defense of human dignity,” Redman said. As an IRC Voice, he plans to travel with the IRC to Africa later this year.

Jacob Cooper’s Nonesuch Records debut album, Silver Threads, is out now. The album comprises a six-song cycle performed by soprano Mellissa Hughes. Cooper wrote the title track for Hughes in 2011, setting a haiku attributed to Japanese poet Matsuo Bashō for voice and electronic track. To expand it into a full cycle (for voice and track), he enlisted five other poets to write text inspired by the haiku. Silver Threads is Album of the Week at WQXR's Q2 Music, which calls it "stylish, with a youthful energy." Hughes performs music from the album at (Le) Poisson Rouge in NYC on May 7.

The Black Keys, after performing “Fever,” from their new album, Turn Blue, on Che Tempo Che Fa in Italy Sunday, performs on BBC Two’s Later … with Jools Holland tonight and Friday. On Wednesday, The Black Keys perform on BBC Radio 1’s Zane Lowe. The band is featured on the cover of the new issue of Mojo magazine (pictured at left), and Turn Blue is Album of the Month in Uncut, which exclaims: “Turn Blue turns out to be The Black Keys’ sneakiest, subtlest and most seductive album.” The Independent gives it five stars, calling it "a post-modern blues-rock marvel."

Natalie Merchant brings the music of her album Leave Your Sleep to Carnegie Hall for a Family Concert ... Alarm Will Sound performs Donnacha Dennehy’s Grá agus Bás in Carnegie's Zankel Hall ... Bombino tours Louisiana ... Carolina Chocolate Drops tour South ... Jeremy Denk joins Steven Isserlis at 92nd Street Y ... Dr. John plays Perth with Aaron Neville ... Richard Goode joins Chicago Symphony Orchestra ... Brad Mehldau Trio heads to Canada ... Pat Metheny Unity Group kicks off European tour in the Baltics ... Nickel Creek rounds out Southern leg of US tour ... and more ... 

Nonesuch Records releases saxophonist Joshua Redman’s Trios Live on June 17, 2014. The album was recorded at Jazz Standard in NYC and Blues Alley in Washington, DC during stands with two different trios: drummer Gregory Hutchinson and bassists Matt Penman (Jazz Standard) and Reuben Rogers (Blues Alley). Trios Live features four original tunes by Redman and interpretations of three additional songs. Nonesuch Store pre-orders include an instant download of Redman’s song “Soul Dance” from the record, which you can preview here.

The video for Natalie Merchant's song "Ladybird," the opening track from her forthcoming self-titled album, has premiered via Rolling Stone. "A lilting lullaby for happier times, the song is vintage Merchant," writes Rolling Stone's Gavin Edwards. Merchant spoke with Edwards about the song; the new album, her first of entirely original songs in 13 years; life in upstate New York; and more. Watch the video here.

The Black Keys will return to Saturday Night Live for their third musical guest appearance on May 10. The program will be hosted by Charlize Theron and will feature songs from the duo’s new album, Turn Blue, which will be released the following Tuesday, May 13, on Nonesuch Records. "Fever," the first single off the album, is currently #1 on AAA radio and #5 on Alternative radio.

Stanford Live has announced its 2014–15 season, and featured among the performers taking the stage at Bing Concert Hall are a number of artists familiar to readers of the Nonesuch Journal: Chris Thile & Edgar Meyer, Toumani Diabaté & Sidiki Diabaté, Emmylou Harris, Kronos Quartet, and Brad Mehldau Trio, as well as the world premiere of a new piece by John Adams and a celebration of the work of Stephen Sondheim.