"Stephin Merritt is a prolific and highly talented songwriter, musician, and singer," says Vish Kahnna on the latest episode of his Kreative Kontrol podcast. "A contemporary pop genius, Merritt has crafted some of America's most touching and brilliant love songs ... He is perhaps best known for his band The Magnetic Fields, whose hilarious and beautiful twelfth album is called Quickies." On the show, Merritt offers insight on each of the twenty-eight short songs on Quickies, which is available from Nonesuch digitally on May 15, in a five 7" vinyl box set May 29, and a single CD June 19. You can hear their conversation here.

Reasons to Be Cheerful, the online magazine founded by David Byrne, has announced Now Anything Is Possible, a new series that explores the potential of the changes occurring around the world in response to COVID-19. "This is a catalyzing moment and many of the changes that have been made or contemplated are going to be permanent––some of those are good, and some deeply questionable,” says Byrne. "We at Reasons to be Cheerful of course want to know: how can we keep the good stuff? Who is doing it (it's already happening) and how those ideas and initiatives are working out?"

Laurie Anderson was celebrated at Joe's Pub's 2020 Vanguard Gala event back in February. That concert, in which artists and friends perform music from throughout her career, premiered last night as part of the Joe's Pub Live! From the Archives series and can be seen here. Under the music direction of Shara Nova (of My Brightest Diamond), the evening featured performances by Ryuichi Sakamoto, Carl Hancock Rux, Theo Bleckmann, Colin Stetson, Nona Hendryx, Christina Courtin, Joan as Police Woman, Meshell Ndegeocello, and many others.

Randy Newman was on NPR's Here and Now today to talk with host Jeremy Hobson about his new song to promote social distancing, "Stay Away," proceeds from which go to support the Ellis Marsalis Center for Music in New Orleans. They discuss life under quarantine, and Newman performs a bit of another new song he's been working on while at home. You can hear it here.

Having trouble keeping track of the days lately? Us too. For starters, the calendar says today is May 1. For an assist on getting through the rest of the month, we're kicking off our own 30-Day Song Challenge. We've adjusted the categories a bit and added one more day to complete the month, so if you'd like to play along with us, head to our Instagram or Twitter to grab the square game board now. Then check in each day on Twitter and Instagram Story to hear our picks, reply or tag @NonesuchRecords so we can hear yours, and add the hashtag #30DaySongChallenge for good measure so everyone else can play along too. Enjoy!

Timo Andres's performance of Philip Glass's Evening Song No. 2, from the forthcoming album, I Still Play, is now available. You can follow along in the score as Andres performs it in the new video here. Evening Song No. 2 is one of eleven new solo piano compositions by artists who have recorded for Nonesuch Records, written in honor of the label’s longtime President Bob Hurwitz as he became Chairman Emeritus in 2017, performed by Andres, Brad Mehldau, Randy Newman, and Jeremy Denk.

David Byrne's American Utopia on Broadway was given a Special Citation at the New York Drama Critics Circle Awards ceremony, held via a special episode of Stars in the House, which you can watch here. Byrne was presented the citation by John Mulaney, who calls American Utopia "the greatest live show of any kind I've ever seen ... It is a fantastic show, and it has brought me a lot of joy."

Daughter of Swords—aka Mountain Man's Alexandra Sauser-Monnig—gave a Tiny Desk Concert for the staff of NPR back in February. She performed songs from her debut solo album, Dawnbreaker—"Long Leaf Pine" and "Shining Woman"—as well as her Jeff Tweedy–produced single "Prairie Winter Wasteland." "Between the rustic sweetness of the arrangements and Sauser-Monnig's between-song banter," says NPR Music's Stephen Thompson, "Daughter of Swords' set doubles as a fine way to trick your doctor into not prescribing blood-pressure medication. In anxious times, it'll settle you right down." You can watch it here. She has also released a new single, a cover of the hymn "What Wondrous Love Is This?," and has launched a Patreon.

Early James was on NPR's World Cafe to talk with host Stephen Kallao about his recently released debut album, Singing for My Supper, and how Dan Auerbach came to produce it, and shared a live performance recorded earlier this year in Nashville. You can hear it here.

Jeremy Denk led the second event of Bach's Well-Tempered Lens, a three-part online series for WNYC/WQXR's The Greene Space in NYC, with "The Mysterious Life of J.S. Bach." From his barn in upstate New York, Denk leads a distanced discussion of the person behind the music with Bach scholar and author Daniel R. Melamed, composer Melinda Wagner, New Yorker staff writer James Wood, and composer/pianist (and fellow Nonesuch artist) Timo Andres. You can watch it here.

Stephen Sondheim, who turned 90 on March 22, was given a birthday celebration to remember when scores of artists came together, virtually, to perform his songs on Take Me to the World: A Sondheim 90th Birthday Celebration last night. The two-plus-hour event, a benefit for ASTEP (Artists Striving to End Poverty), was hosted by Raúl Esparza and includes performances and birthday wishes from Esparza, Mandy Patinkin, Audra McDonald, Meryl Streep, Patti LuPone, Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Lane, Kelli O’Hara, Laura Benanti, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Donna Murphy, Alexander Gemignani, and so many more. You can watch it here.

Brad Mehldau brought his Three Pieces After Bach program to the Philharmonie de Paris back in April 2018. As with his album After Bach, released on Nonesuch in March of that year, the solo program pairs pieces from J.S. Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier with Mehldau's own works inspired by Bach. The concert, which was broadcast live from the hall via ARTE, is now being made available again as a series. All five segments are available here now.