"'Ghost' explores the weariness and anxiety of being a fully feeling human who is forced to live in our modern world and its tech-saturated chaos,” Ringdown, the Portland-based cinematic pop duo of creator-musicians Danni Lee Parpan and Caroline Shaw, says of its second Nonesuch single, out now. “This is especially isolating in the world of internet dating, where the spotty texting tempo and normalized behavior of ‘ghosting’ someone can feel crushing. We used the clunky pedal sounds from a vintage piano as a heartbeat throughout the song. To us, this represents the yearning for connection beyond technology.”

"It's like an engine for the world. And when we don't have that—we can't not have that ... It's like we're compelled to do it," Cécile McLorin Salvant says of the arts on the series How Art Changed Me from NYC PBS station WNET's ALL ARTS. "For me, singing and music has been a way to really be direct and say what I mean and what I feel." You can see what else she has to say here.

Laurie Anderson 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 Randy Newman, Steve Reich, Conor Oberst, Philip Glass, Bill Frisell, John Adams, and Rhys Chatham.

Congratulations to k.d. lang, whom the Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) has named the 2024 artist inductee to the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame; she will be honored in an induction ceremony during Country Music Week 2024 in Edmonton, AB, September 11–14. "I am beyond thrilled, and frankly pleasantly surprised to be honored in this way," lang says. "My love for the prairies, the people, and our culture underscore every ounce of my inspiration. Not without its complexities, I might add. Such is life. I am so stoked to be coming to Edmonton to bask in this celebration … with deepest gratitude."

The 92nd Street Y in New York City (92NY) has announced its 2024–25 Tisch Music Season, including performances by Caroline Shaw and Sō Percussion, Jeremy Denk, Julia Bullock, Richard Goode, Brad Mehldau, Gabriel Kahane, and Days of Wine and Roses star Kelli O'Hara.

Congratulations to composer and band leader Darcy James Argue, who has been named the Frankfurt Radio Big Band's new Composer in Residence. "Taking on this legacy is a massive responsibility, one I accept with the very deepest gratitude. Over the past 16 years, Jim McNeely has honed this group into a world-class big band, filled with amazing players that take great personal pride in the ensemble, and who always put the music first. I love this band and the people in it, and I’m very excited to be embarking on a new adventure with them!"

Multi-instrumentalist, producer, and composer Yussef Dayes, who is currently on tour in the US, stopped by KEXP in Seattle back in November following the release of his debut solo album, Black Classical Music, to perform three songs from the album—"Raisins Under the Sun," "Turquoise Galaxy," and "Chasing the Drum"—and talk with host Larry Mizell, Jr. about his work, what Mizell calls "some of the most exciting music I've heard in years." You can watch it here.

The original cast recording of the Tony Award–winning Broadway show Illinoise: A New Musical, previously released digitally, is now available on CD, with the 2-LP vinyl set due August 30. The new work features music and lyrics by Sufjan Stevens based on his album Illinois, a book by Justin Peck and Jackie Sibblies Drury, and direction and choreography by Peck, with new arrangements by Timo Andres and music supervision and direction by Nathan Koci. The New York Times exclaims: "The vocalists do not seem to sing so much as pour emotion into our ears."

Kronos Quartet—whose 50th anniversary concert season culminates with the group's ninth annual hometown Kronos Festival at SFJAZZ in San Francisco through Sunday—has released several of its classic Nonesuch Records titles remastered in Spatial Audio on Apple Music Classical. You can hear Black Angels; Pieces of Africa; Howl, U.S.A.; Kronos Caravan; Nuevo; Terry Riley's Sun Rings; and Steve Reich's Different Trains, Triple Quartet, and WTC 9/11 in Spatial Audio on Apple Music Classical now. And check out Kronos founder and violinist David Harrington's interview with Apple Music Classical, about the quartet and its legacy, in the Kronos Quartet Essentials playlist.

Kronos Quartet bids farewell to longtime members John Sherba and Hank Dutt at Kronos Festival in San Francisco. Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway, Chris Thile, and Punch Brothers return to Telluride Bluegrass Festival in Colorado, where Emmylou Harris is in Steamboat Springs. Illinoise cast members sign CDs at Barnes & Noble in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn. Ambrose Akinmusire, Bill Frisell, and Herlin Riley, perform Owl Song in California. Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society performs Dynamic Maximum Tension at Ottawa Jazz Fest. Yussef Dayes plays SummerStage in NYC. Jeremy Denk gives a masterclass in Santa Barbara. Brad Mehldau goes solo in France and Belgium. Cécile McLorin Salvant is in Cleveland.

Carminho performs from the picturesque Palácio da Pena in Sintra, Portugal, as part of Good Morning America host Robin Roberts' reporting from there. Roberts talks with the "Portuguese icon" about fado and Carminho's bringing it to the big screen via her role in Yorgos Lanthimos's 2023 Oscar-winning film, Poor Things. "Her highly renowned performance captivated Emma Stone's character and the audience in a magical scene," says Roberts. As she does in the film, Carminho performs "O quarto," from her new album, Portuguesa. You can watch it here.

Rhiannon Giddens was on the Democracy Now! Juneteenth special to talk with host Amy Goodman about her album You're the One and the track "Another Wasted Life," which she wrote inspired by the tragic story of Kalief Browder, a young man wrongfully incarcerated at NYC's Rikers Island for three years, where he was subjected to nearly two years of solitary confinement. You can watch their conversation and the video she made for the song with the Pennsylvania Innocence Project, featuring 22 wrongfully convicted people, here. Giddens also talks with Goodman about her Pulitzer Prize–winning opera with Michael Abels, Omar.