Today is the 50th anniversary of Nonesuch Records. It was 20 years after the founding, 30 years ago today, that Bob Hurwitz, the label's president, was offered that position. Here he reflects on his early days at the company.

Nonesuch Records will release Natalie Merchant’s new self-titled album on May 6, 2014. The recording is the multi-platinum singer’s sixth solo collection, and her first of entirely original songs in 13 years; she describes the new release as informed "by experience and keen observation," dealing with issues of "love gained and lost, regret, denial, surrender, greed, destructiveness, defeat, and occasional triumph." Natalie Merchant is available for pre-order in the Nonesuch Store. International tour dates will be announced shortly.

In celebration of the April reissue of Emmylou Harris’s groundbreaking album Wrecking Ball on Nonesuch Records, Harris and producer Daniel Lanois, along with Jim Wilson on guitar and Steven Nistor on drums, will embark on an international tour this spring, including, in addition to the previously announced North American dates in April, newly announced European shows in the Netherlands, Belgium, and UK in May. 

John Adams's 1991 opera The Death of Klinghoffer will receive its Metropolitan Opera premiere on October 20, 2014, the first of eight performances during the Met's 2014–15 season. This is the third Adams work to be staged at the Met, following Doctor Atomic and Nixon in China. The production is directed by Tom Morris (War Horse), with David Robertson conducting and baritone Paulo Szot in the leading role.

Singer-songwriter Conor Oberst has signed to Nonesuch Records, which releases his new solo album Upside Down Mountain on May 19, 2014. Pre-order details to come. Prior to the album release, a limited-edition seven-inch single will be released exclusively for Record Store Day (Saturday, April 19), with the album track “Hundreds of Ways,” which you can hear here, and album outtake “Fast Friends” on the B-side. Oberst kicks off the first leg of a world tour May 8 in North Carolina with Dawes as special guests. Tickets go on this Friday, February 14. 

Composer Steve Reich is the winner of the 2013 BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in the Contemporary Music category. The jury citation describes how the American composer has developed "a new concept of music, based on the use of realist elements from the realm of daily life and others drawn from the traditional music of Africa and Asia." The jury notes: "Steve Reich has carved out new paths, fostering a dialogue between popular and high culture and between western modernity and non-European traditions, and achieving a rich combination of complexity and transparency.” 

Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) has announced two one-night-only April concert events featuring Nonesuch artists Carolina Chocolate Drops with Twyla Tharp (April 10) and Emmylou Harris on her Wrecking Ball Tour with Daniel Lanois, Steven Nistor, and Jim Wilson (April 12). These two shows serve as precursors to BAM’s larger celebration of Nonesuch’s 50th anniversary this fall (the full slate of fall shows will be announced shortly). BAM has fostered a longtime artistic connection with Nonesuch and its dedication to cultivating outstanding talent in a wide variety of musical genres.

Musician-activist Natalie Merchant has directed a short documentary film titled SHELTER: A Concert Film to Benefit Victims of Domestic Violence that shines light on a group of women living in the Mid-Hudson region of New York State responding to the crisis of domestic violence in their community with compassion and creativity. Musicians, advocates, criminal prosecutors, victims and survivors all take to the stage, illuminating the darkness surrounding this public health epidemic. Shelter was inspired by One Billion Rising, a global campaign calling for an end to violence against women. Watch the film here.

Nonesuch Records releases Caetano Veloso’s album Abraçaço in North America on March 25, 2014. The album, which was released in 2012 in South America and Europe, won a Latin Grammy for Best Singer-Songwriter Album. Abraçaço is the final installment of a trilogy with the youthful trio of 2007’s Cê and 2009’s zii e zie known as the Banda Cê. A fusion of the traditional Tropicália style and the indie pop of contemporary Rio, Abraçaço includes 11 original songs written by Veloso. Nonesuch Store pre-orders include instant downloads of the album tracks "A Bossa Nova É Foda," which you can hear here, and "Um Abraçaço." A US tour, which includes a September 21 Hollywood Bowl show with Andrew Bird and Devendra Banhart, will be announced at a later date.

k.d. lang makes her Broadway debut in the new musical After Midnight as Special Guest Star vocalist beginning this Tuesday, February 11, and continuing through Sunday, March 9, 2014. After Midnight, which celebrates Duke Ellington’s years at the Cotton Club using his original arrangements and performed by a big band of 17 musicians hand-picked by Wynton Marsalis, began performances last fall with Fantastia in the role, reintroducing the Cotton Club's tradition of welcoming stars in limited engagements throughout the musical's run. The New York Times says the show is "hot, sweet, and altogether glorious." New York magazine calls it "pure joy ... an unmitigated pleasure."

Joshua Redman's "dashing post-bop quartet" (New Yorker) makes its Jazz at Lincoln Center debut  ... Alarm Will Sound continues Missouri run ... Carolina Chocolate Drops are in Florida ... Shawn Colvin concludes Transatlantic Sessions UK tour ... Jeremy Denk plays Beethoven and Ligeti in Virginia ... Fatoumata Diawara kicks off US tour in Midwest ... Richard Goode tours Scotland ... Gidon Kremer, Kremerata Baltica close out US tour ... Kronos Quartet marks Kronos: Under 30 premiere ... Brad Mehldau is in NYC ... Pat Metheny Unity Group brings Kin (←→) to Florida ... Chris Thile kicks off solo tour in Arizona ... Dawn Upshaw tours Australia ... and more ...

Chris Thile kicks off a month-long US solo tour with two performances in Arizona this weekend, followed by stops in Santa Barbara, San Francisco, Davis, Santa Monica, Nashville, and Dallas. Thile then joins fellow mandolinist Mike Marshall for three Pacific Northwest duo shows before he and his fellow Punch Brothers tour together in March. Tickets for several recently announced Nickel Creek concerts this spring are on sale now.