Journal
- Tuesday, November 26, 2024
Composer Donnacha Dennehy, whose piece Land of Winter, performed by Alarm Will Sound and conductor Alan Pierson, was released earlier this month on Nonesuch, shares some insight on the work, which explores the subtleties of Ireland’s seasons via twelve connected sections representing the months of the year, in a new essay. "It is the varying quality of light that truly demarcates the seasons," he 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."
Journal Topics: Artist Essays, Artist News
- Thursday, September 12, 2019
A new album track from the forthcoming Rachael & Vilray—the debut album by Lake Street Dive singer-songwriter Rachael Price and composer, singer, and guitarist Vilray—"Let's Make Love on This Plane" debuted today with a video by Robert Edridge-Waks featuring footage from the golden age of jet travel. The song "finds its inspiration in classic 'list songs' like Gershwin's 'They All Laughed' and Porter's 'I Get A Kick Out of You,' both chock full of little jokes," says Vilray. "Here two jetsetters contemplate the famous pioneers of flight and decide to one-up their aerial firsts with a bang."
Journal Topics: Album Release, Artist News, VideoThursday, September 12, 2019Kudos to Rhiannon Giddens, Yola, and Punch Brothers guitarist Chris "Critter" Eldridge on a wonderful night of music and words at the Americana Honors & Awards ceremony at the Ryman in Nashville last night. Giddens received the inaugural Legacy of Americana Award, made a beautiful speech honoring posthumous recipient Frank Johnson, and gave a haunting performance of "Wayfaring Stranger" with Francesco Turrisi. Yola, introduced by Dan Auerbach, brought the house down singing "Faraway Look." And Eldridge took home the award for Instrumentalist of the Year. Tune in to a special episode of Austin City Limits on November 23 with performance highlights from the evening.
Journal Topics: Artist News, TelevisionTuesday, September 10, 2019Mandy Patinkin's Children and Art, his first new album since 2002, is due October 25, 2019, on Nonesuch. The songs were recorded in New York with pianist/producer Thomas Bartlett (aka Doveman); several have been previewed over the last two years as part of the digital Diary series. Video of the album tracks "Wandering Boy" by Randy Newman and Laurie Anderson's "From the Air" may be seen here. Other composers on the record include Lyle Lovett, Taylor Mac, Stephen Sondheim, Tom Waits, and Patinkin himself. Mandy Patinkin will tour North America, accompanied by pianist Adam Ben-David, from October 30 through February 2020.
Journal Topics: Artist NewsMonday, September 9, 2019The Black Keys announce a Lonely Boys & Girls Fan Club show at The Wiltern in LA on Thursday, September 19, 2019. Members of the club, band's official fan club, will have first access to purchase tickets when they go on sale. Fans can sign up to the club for free here where they can also enter for chances to meet the band and receive music and videos before anyone else. The Wiltern show marks The Black Keys' return to the stage after a five-year absence, kicking off their thirty-eight date North American "Let's Rock" tour.
Journal Topics: Artist News, On TourMonday, September 9, 2019Rhiannon Giddens performed in a concert celebrating Country Music, the new Ken Burns film, at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville in March, joining Dierks Bentley, Rosanne Cash, Rodney Crowell, Vince Gill, Kathy Mattea, Marty Stuart, Dwight Yoakam, and others. The concert was broadcast on PBS yesterday and can be seen here. Giddens performs "Ruby Are You Mad at Your Man" with Ketch Secor, Willie Nelson's "Crazy," and in the all-star finale, "Will the Circle Be Unbroken." Country Music premieres on PBS this Sunday. Giddens receives the inaugural Legacy of Americana Award at the Americana Honors & Awards this Wednesday.
Journal Topics: Artist News, Television, VideoMonday, September 9, 2019Attacca Quartet kicks off its 2019–20 concert season in Italy this week, performing a program that opens with composer Caroline Shaw's five-part Plan and Elevation, the centerpiece to her album, Orange. On the album, the Attacca performs that and other pieces by Shaw, as it will throughout the upcoming concert season. Shaw joins the quartet for performances in Red Bank, New York City, and London, and the season's culminating concert at The Phillips Collection in Washington, DC, in May, for which they will also be joined by Gabriel Kahane as well.
Journal Topics: Artist News, On TourFriday, September 6, 2019Ry Cooder's critically acclaimed album Chávez Ravine, first released on Nonesuch Records in 2005, makes its vinyl debut today. With a cast of legendary Chicano musicians, Cooder recounts the story of how a Mexican-American community was razed to make way for L.A.'s Dodger Stadium. "A remarkable song cycle," said Rolling Stone, "a brilliant and flavorful film-noir history lesson." The two-LP vinyl edition was remastered from the original high-resolution source files and pressed on 140-gram vinyl. The set comes in a gatefold tip-on jacket with a twenty-page, full-color booklet. It is available in the Nonesuch Store, as are new remastered digital editions.
Journal Topics: Album Release, Artist NewsFriday, September 6, 2019Chris Thile launches new season of Live From Here from NYC … Timo Andres gives solo recital in Brooklyn … Daughter of Swords plays Hopscotch Music Fest … Rhiannon Giddens plays UK's The Long Road fest … Gabriel Kahane brings Book of Travelers to Calgary … Pat Metheny tours Midwest … Joshua Redman, Brad Mehldau reunite MoodSwing quartet in upstate New York … Yola tours as special guest of Kacey Musgraves …
Journal Topics: On Tour, Weekend EventsThursday, September 5, 2019Devendra Banhart has released "Taking a Page," a fourth song from his new album, Ma, due September 13. For the song, he sought special permission from Carole King to lift a line and melody from her beloved 1971 classic "So Far Away." "I'm so glad Carole got to hear it," he says. "It's really just a song about my entire life. I can't explain it much beyond that." King's immediate response upon hearing the song: "I like it."
Journal Topics: Artist NewsWednesday, September 4, 2019Yola begins an eight-concert North American tour as special guest of Kacey Musgraves with shows in Kansas City, St. Louis, Cleveland, Toronto, and Vienna, VA; two nights in New Orleans; and a culminating concert at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena. Yola also has several US headline shows and festival sets ahead—including Farm Aid, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, and Austin City Limits—then returns to the UK and Europe to tour. She will perform at the Americana Honors & Awards in Nashville on September 11; Yola is up for Emerging Act of the Year and Album of the Year.
Journal Topics: Artist News, On TourWednesday, September 4, 2019Gabriel Kahane begins his 2019–20 concert season with a performance of songs from his album Book of Travelers at the Honens Festival in Calgary on Friday. The season ahead brings several concerts featuring music from the album, including an evening with string quartet in Seattle and performances of Pattern of the Rail: Six Orchestral Songs from 'Book of Travelers' with Oregon Symphony, of which he was recently named Creative Chair, and Louisville Orchestra. Kahane's currently scheduled season culminates in a concert with Caroline Shaw and Attacca Quartet at The Phillips Collection in Washington, DC, in May.
Journal Topics: Artist News, On TourTuesday, September 3, 2019The line-up for Hardly Strictly Bluegrass has been announced, and among the performers are several artists familiar to readers of the Nonesuch Journal: Emmylou Harris, Kronos Quartet, Robert Plant, Punch Brothers, Chris Thile, and Yola. The free, annual outdoor music festival returns for the nineteenth year to San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, October 4–6, 2019. You can hear songs from all these artists in a playlist here.
Journal Topics: Artist News, On Tour