Tortoise, Rhiannon Giddens, Justin Robinson, Dirty Projectors, Julia Bullock, Hurray for the Riff Raff, Steve Reich, Chris Thile News
New Tortoise, Rhiannon Giddens & Justin Robinson * Dirty Projectors in New Yorker * Julia Bullock NPR Tiny Desk Concert * Hurray for the Riff Raff, Chris Thile tours * Steve Reich in Gramophone
New This Week
Tortoise: "Oganesson"
The single “Oganesson" marks the first new offering from the band Tortoise since 2016 and foreshadows a larger body of work to come. The track was released just as the band performed both new music and classics from their thirty-year catalog at the Big Ears Festival in Knoxville, TN.
News from the Nonesuch Journal
Listen: Rhiannon Giddens, Justin Robinson Share "Going to Raleigh"
Rhiannon Giddens and Justin Robinson have released "Going to Raleigh," from their upcoming album, What Did the Blackbird Say to the Crow. Originally released in 1939 by western North Carolina string band The Carolina Playboys, this version (learned by Robinson from Evelyn Shaw) was recorded at the historic former plantation Mill Prong Preservation in Red Springs, NC, where the video was filmed.
David Longstreth in The New Yorker
"The idea of somehow capturing an experience of Earth, human or otherwise, in a song, seemed very grandiose. But it also seemed sort of magical," David Longstreth says in a New Yorker magazine feature profile. The article comes ahead of next week's release of his Song of the Earth, performed by his band Dirty Projectors and the chamber orchestra s t a r g a z e.
Watch: Julia Bullock, Christian Reif Perform NPR Tiny Desk Concert
"These songs refract love in various tints, and further illustrate why Julia Bullock is one of today's most discerning and expressive singers," NPR's Tom Huizenga says of the classical singer's Tiny Desk Concert with pianist/conductor Christian Reif. "If you want to know how to program and deliver a vocal recital, this is your masterclass."
Hurray for the Riff Raff to Join Ani DiFranco on Tour, Adds New Headlining Dates
Hurray for the Riff Raff (Alynda Segarra) will join Ani DiFranco on tour this August and September, with shows in Massachusetts, New York, Vermont, Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Iowa. Segarra has also added new dates to their own spring and summer headlining tour, with second shows in San Francisco and Chicago and new stops in Healdsburg, Louisville, and St. Louis, all ahead of fall dates with The Head and the Heart.
David Longstreth Bandcamp Listening Party
Join David Longstreth for a free early listening party on Bandcamp next Tuesday, April 1, at 2pm ET, to celebrate the release of Song of the Earth. Listen to the album then, ahead of its April 4 release, and chat with Longstreth about the making of the album.
Steve Reich in Gramophone
"Few living composers can claim to have altered the course of history by fundamentally changing the way we listen to music. Steve Reich is one of those figures," writes Gramophone's Pwyll ap Siôn. "Collected Works contains innumerable landmark moments ... There still remains so much to admire, appreciate and understand about the music of this significant figure in contemporary music."
Chris Thile to Tour Europe in November
Chris Thile has announced a solo tour of Europe in November, with shows in Schiltigheim, Rome, Milan, Paris, Chalon-sur-Saône, Montbéliard, London, Bristol, Manchester, Dublin, and Barcelona.
Nonesuch Events for the Weekend
The Big Ears Festival in Knoxville, TN, continues with performances by Ambrose Akinmusire, Ibelisse Guardia Ferragutti & Frank Rosaly, Jeff Parker, and Mary Halvorson. Kronos Quartet is at Carnegie Hall in NYC and Zellerbach Theatre in Philadelphia. Brad Mehldau is with Ian Bostridge at Muziekgebouw in Amsterdam. Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway tour with Brooks & Dunn in Charlotte and Charlottesville.
The Best of the Gipsy Kings at 30
It was 30 years ago: The Best of the Gipsy Kings was released on Nonesuch. The initial success of this 18-track compilation, chronicling the first seven years of the group's Nonesuch career, illustrated just how popular the band had become: It held the top spot on the World Music charts for a full year. The first-ever vinyl edition was released in 2016.