American Railroad, the new album from the Silkroad Ensemble with Rhiannon Giddens, is out now. It is the culmination of four years of research, collaboration, and music-making, having brought Silkroad artists all across the US to uncover and uplift stories of those who built the transcontinental railroad and connecting railways across North America. "The result is a tapestry of stories, traditions, and music that have shaped our multifaceted cultural identity, and that must be heard and recognized," Giddens says. Also out now are a performance video of the track "Mahk Jchi" and the first episode of the American Railroad podcast series. The US fall tour continues to November 23.

Donnacha Dennehy’s Land of Winter is out now. The piece, performed by the composer's longtime collaborators Alarm Will Sound and conductor Alan Pierson, explores the subtleties of Ireland’s seasons via twelve connected sections representing the months of the year. "It is the varying quality of light that truly demarcates the seasons," Dennehy says, "from the shorter days of grey or piercing light in the winter to the warmer but mercurial light of summer days that at solstice stretch almost to midnight. I like this play between light and time, and it is the major inspiration behind the piece." You can watch a video for “July" here.

Cécile McLorin Salvant inaugurates four-part Carnegie Hall concert series. John Adams conducts NY Phil at David Geffen Hall. Laurie Anderson continues premiere of new piece in Manchester. Rhiannon Giddens and Silkroad Ensemble take American Railroad to Georgia. Mary Halvorson plays Elbphilharmonie's Marc Ribot festival in Hamburg. Hurray for the Riff Raff plays Mexico City's Corona Capital Festival. Kronos Quartet performs at Bozar in Brussels. Mandy Patinkin performs in Charleston. Caroline Shaw and Gabriel Kahane are in Oregon. The Staves are in Atlanta and Birmingham. Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway tour the East Coast.

"The most relentlessly curious person I've ever come across, and that kind of wonder, that kind of joy, that kind of excitement about learning, we can use a lot of now," Ken Burns says of Leonardo da Vinci, the subject of his latest film, on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Burns was on The Today Show as well, talking with host Hoda Kotb about the film. You can watch both conversations here and listen to Burns and his fellow directors Sarah Burns and David McMahon on Design Matters with Debbie Millman.

Brad Mehldau, Christian McBride, and Marcus Gilmore will tour the US in April—with concerts in California, Texas, Indiana, Michigan, and Massachusetts—then head to Hong Kong and Japan for five shows in May. Prior to that, Mehldau will play several solo sets across Europe, including those with music from his new album Après Fauré, in Madrid, Barcelona, London, Lyon, Paris, Grenoble, Bordeaux, Rome, and Vienna.

Cécile McLorin Salvant, who begins her Carnegie Hall Perspectives series this Saturday, stopped by for the Nonesuch Selects video series, in which artists visit the Nonesuch office, pick some of their favorite albums from the music library, and share a few words on their choices. She chose recordings by Philip Glass, Jeff Parker, Caroline Shaw & Attacca Quartet, Early Music Consort of London, Björk, Caetano Veloso, Steve Reich, Dawn Upshaw, Adam Guettel, Gipsy Kings, and monks from Khampagar Monastery.

Hurray for the Riff Raff (aka Alynda Segarra), who performs at the Corona Capital Festival in Mexico City this Sunday, announces new tour dates across the US South, supporting Bright Eyes, beginning February 26, 2025, in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and continuing through March 22 in St. Louis, with shows in Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Oklahoma. Segarra toured with the band in 2022; Conor Oberst can be heard on "The World Is Dangerous," from Hurray for the Riff Raff's album The Past Is Still Alive.

Congratulations to all of the Nonesuch nominees for the 67th Grammy Awards: The Black Keys for Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Song for "Beautiful People (Stay High)," from Ohio Players; Ambrose Akinmusire's Owl Song for Best Jazz Instrumental Album; John Adams's Girls of the Golden West for Best Opera Recording and Best Engineered Album, Classical; Timo Andres's The Blind Banister for Best Engineered Album, Classical; and Caroline Shaw and Sō Percussion's Rectangles and Circumstance for Best Chamber Music / Small Ensemble Performance.

The Staves take their acoustic tour to Hamden, CT, and Williamsburg. John Adams conducts Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Ambrose Akinmusire performs new piece in the Netherlands and Austria. Rhiannon Giddens and Silkroad Ensemble perform American Railroad in Ann Arbor and Nashville. Emmylou Harris is in New Orleans. Mandy Patinkin and family chat in Glen Ellyn, IL. Cécile McLorin Salvant tours Germany. Caroline Shaw, Gabriel Kahane, and Roomful of Teeth are in Denver.

"Music is a powerful tool. In an instant, it can change your mood, your perspective, or your life," Stacey Abrams says on her Crooked Media podcast, Assembly Required, introducing her conversation with Rhiannon Giddens. "No matter the motivation, music is an outlet, a force that builds us up or keeps us steady. It holds the capacity to move millions and to resonate with each individual, and every lyric, every note, every beat has the potential to share a message." You can watch and hear their conversation here. Giddens's new album with Silkroad Ensemble, American Railroad, is out next week; their fall tour begins tonight.

"Hurray for the Riff Raff is the perfect music for this moment," Anna Sale says of the guest on her Slate podcast, Death, Sex & Money. "In it, you hear the sweep of American history and propulsive motion, coming together in joy and protest and marking losses in family and community, and Alynda Segarra's voice—clear and melodic with a sly punk edge." You can hear their conversation, about Segarra's life and music, here.

The Black Keys have released a new song, “I’m With The Band,” written with and featuring Beck, from the upcoming Ohio Players (Trophy Edition). It's the third song from that expanded version of the band's latest album on which Beck sings and which he co-wrote with The Black Keys, including the original Ohio Players tracks “Paper Crown,” featuring Juicy J, and “Beautiful People (Stay High).” The Black Keys have added new tour dates at festival in Monterrey, Mexico, and Tempe, AZ, in early 2025.