David Longstreth, Hurray for the Riff Raff, Yasmin Williams, Ambrose Akinmusire, k.d. lang News and More
David Longstreth's Nonesuch Selects * Hurray for the Riff Raff new single, tour * Yasmin Williams x NPR * k.d. lang audiophile vinyl * and more
News From the Nonesuch Journal
Watch: David Longstreth Shares Nonesuch Selects
Composer/performer David Longstreth, whose new album with his band Dirty Projectors and the chamber orchestra s t a r g a z e, Song of the Earth, is out April 4, 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. He chose recordings by David Byrne, Jonny Greenwood, Bulgarian State Television Female Choir, Caetano Veloso, Tyondai Braxton, Scritti Politti, and João Gilberto, and from the Nonesuch Explorer Series.
Watch: Hurray for the Riff Raff's "Pyramid Scheme"
Hurray for the Riff Raff, just before the one-year anniversary of their acclaimed album The Past Is Still Alive, has shared their first new single and music video of 2025, "Pyramid Scheme." The song embodies that record’s spirit of resilience and rebellion, with lyrical nods to Billy the Kid, Calamity Jane, Darby Crash, and Frida Kahlo. The video was animated by Jayla Kai Smith.
Hurray for the Riff Raff Announces Tour
This spring and summer, Hurray for the Riff Raff headlines sixteen newly added US tour dates, with shows across the West Coast, East Coast, and Midwest. The shows feature support from Merce Lemon, and follow an extensive run with Bright Eyes that begins next week, in addition to dates with Waxahatchee and MJ Lenderman, festivals, and more.
Yasmin Williams on Perseverance, on NPR
Yasmin Williams, whose NPR Tiny Desk Concert premiered earlier this month, shared a few words with NPR.org about how "losing" the Tiny Desk Contest some years ago helped launch her music career. "Please understand that you only really lose if you don't try," she concludes. "Keep pushing, y'all! Stay true to yourself, don't lose your integrity and know that, even when something feels like a loss, it can reveal itself to be the thing that changes your life for the better."
Ambrose Akinmusire in JazzTimes
"The swell of influences pulls in listeners as it moves beyond genres," Mike Shanley writes in a JazzTimes profile of trumpeter/composer Ambrose Akinmusire and his new album, honey from a winter stone. Akinmusire says: "There are no more imaginary ladders for me to climb. I’m just trying to inspire the next generation to be themselves authentically and show people that you can do that."
k.d. lang Ingénue Audiophile Vinyl Due March 21
Because Sound Matters will release a One-Step audiophile vinyl edition of k.d. lang's GRAMMY-winning album Ingénue. This all-analog release comes from the original first-generation master tapes for the first time. Chris Bellman, who mastered the original 1992 CD, cut the lacquers at Bernie Grundman Mastering. The album is housed inside a top quality, foil-stamped, uniquely designed numbered slipcase. The enclosed gatefold jacket features an old-style tip-on jacket with the original artwork.
Nonesuch Events for the Weekend
David Longstreth hosts a listening party / performance of songs from his upcoming album, Song of the Earth, in LA. Nathalie Joachim performs Ki moun ou ye in DC. Gabriel Kahane and Jeffery Kahane are in Stamford. Brad Mehldau plays from Après Fauré and After Bach II in Germany. Cécile McLorin Salvant performs in Chicago and Palm Springs. Yasmin Williams is at Wintergrass in Washington State.
Carolina Chocolate Drops' Nonesuch Debut at 15
It was 15 years ago this week: Carolina Chocolate Drops' album Genuine Negro Jig was released. Earning a GRAMMY Award for Best Traditional Folk Album, the multi-instrumental trio of Rhiannon Giddens, Dom Flemons, and Justin Robinson reclaims and revives banjo-driven string-band music from North Carolina’s Piedmont region. They had met five years prior at the Black Banjo Gathering in Boone, NC, and trained in the Piedmont banjo and fiddle musical tradition under the tutelage of the legendary Joe Thompson. Carolina Chocolate Drops reunite for Giddens' Biscuits and Banjos festival in Durham this April.
Audra McDonald's How Glory Goes at 25
It was 25 years ago this week: Audra McDonald's album How Glory Goes, was released on Nonesuch. The album combines contemporary theatre pieces, including the title track from Adam Guettel's Floyd Collins, and classic Broadway showstoppers, with special emphasis on Harold Arlen's songbook. The New York Times says: "You come away captivated by as lofty a vision of non-classical American theater music as any singer has dared put forth."