Yasmin Williams, Molly Tuttle, Caroline Shaw, Chris Thile, Steve Reich, Julia Bullock, Kronos Quartet News and More
Yasmin Williams, Molly Tuttle pre-orders * Caroline Shaw on GBH * Chris Thile at The Kennedy Center * Steve Reich, Julia Bullock on 'America at 250' * Kronos Quartet on 'The Intelligence' * and more
Available to Pre-Order
Yasmin Williams: Acadia
Available October 4
Composer/guitarist Yasmin Williams' Nonesuch debut album, Acadia, her most sonically expansive work to date, is nine original, mostly instrumental tracks written and produced by Williams, and features her on various guitars, banjo, calabash drum, tap shoes, and kora. She is joined by an eclectic cast of collaborators—including Immanuel Wilkins, Dom Flemons, Aoife O’Donovan, William Tyler, Darlingside, and others—creating a folk music that reflects the wide range of musical influences that have inspired her throughout her life. "Yasmin Williams treats her guitar like a playground," says NPR Music, noting the "joy and possibility she brings to the guitar." Songlines calls her "an original, a genuine trailblazer, one of those rare musicians who challenges your preconceptions about the possible."
Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway: Into the Wild
Available September 20
Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway’s new six-song EP, Into the Wild, a follow-up to their acclaimed GRAMMY-winning album City of Gold, features three new songs—including the title track, available now—as well as previously released covers of Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit" and Olivia Rodrigo's "good 4 u," and an alternate version of the City of Gold track "Stranger Things."
News from the Nonesuch Journal
Molly Tuttle in Garden & Gun
"The electrifying guitar virtuoso is putting out her boldest bluegrass yet," says Garden & Gun in a feature profile of Molly Tuttle. "Watching Tuttle's hands fly along the fretboard of her Pre-War dreadnought guitar is like observing a hummingbird's wingbeats: They're just a blur. She can play in almost any style, from classical to clawhammer, though her specialty is lightning-fast bluegrass flat-picking ... Most important, over the past few years Tuttle has integrated her fullest and most authentic self—all of it—into her music, leading to some of the boldest songs of her career."
Listen: Caroline Shaw Talks with GBH News
"I think a lot of my stuff is weirdly joyful about mortality, and this is no exception,” Caroline Shaw tells GBH's James Bennett II. The two sat down at the Newport Classical Music Festival for a track-by-track tour of her new album with So Percussion, Rectangles and Circumstance, and a conversation about songwriting, collaboration, and more.
Watch: Molly Tuttle on My Day With, Covers The Cranberries
Molly Tuttle is on photographer Fletcher Moore's new video series My Day With. They get ready for the day, paint while listening to Emmylou Harris, rate taco trucks, and talk about life and music, and Tuttle performs a cover of The Cranberries' "Dreams" and a solo version of "When My Race Is Run," from City of Gold.
Watch: Chris Thile, NSO Perform at Kennedy Center
Chris Thile and the National Symphony Orchestra performed his narrative song cycle ATTENTION! and more at The Kennedy Center in April. You can now watch them perform"The Rooftop" from that piece; "Julep," from Punch Brothers' 2015 album, The Phosphorescent Blues; and the Allegro from Bach's Concerto for Two Violins in D minor.
Watch: Steve Reich in America at 250
"It's a real historical break from, like, anything goes ... to suddenly no, I want one chord," composer Steve Reich says of the cultural shift in his lifetime to new musical ideas by American composers, in a new video for Boosey & Hawkes' America at 250 series. "I want to be able to hear the details that come out of staying put. It isn't recognized what a change happened in my lifetime. I'm proud, delighted, and pleased to have been a part of it."
Watch: Julia Bullock in America at 250
"I love this idea of 'intersection' for inspiration when it comes to describing American music or its characteristics," classical singer Julia Bullock says in a new video for Boosey & Hawkes' America at 250 series. "There's no apology for where those inspirations are coming from, so whether it's directly quoting or imitating the sort of collage and then the depth of expression that can come out of the layering effect, I put all these things together because it brings me great pleasure and joy and often surprises me tremendously."
Listen: Kronos Quartet on The Economist's The Intelligence
"More than 50 years later, this ensemble has forever changed the shape and sound of classical music," Jon Fasman says in a feature on Kronos Quartet on The Economist's The Intelligence podcast. "Kronos has also delighted in breaking genre barriers. They've played pieces by some of the greatest living classical composers, including Philip Glass, Steve Reich, and Terry Riley. But they’ve also played songs by Thelonius Monk and Jimi Hendrix. At its core, though, Kronos has dedicated itself to expanding chamber music repertoire ... Throughout it all, they've developed and performed scores rich with depth and meaning."
Nonesuch Events for the Weekend
Lianne La Havas, Makaya McCraven, and Jeff Parker perform at Newport Jazz Festival, while Richard Goode, Rhiannon Giddens, and Jeremy Denk perform at Caramoor near NYC. Giddens is also in upstate NY and PA. Hurray for the Riff Raff's tour with Norah Jones concludes in San Francisco, while Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway's tour with The Infamous Stringdusters begins in Seattle and Montana.
k.d. lang's Hymns of the 49th Parallel at 20
It was 20 years ago this week: k.d. lang's Nonesuch debut album, Hymns of the 49th Parallel, was released. This highly personal "Canadian Songbook" is a lushly orchestrated, gorgeously sung contemplation of work by Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, Neil Young, Jane Siberry, Bruce Cockburn, and Ron Sexsmith—"an album of triumphant Canadian soul music," per the Washington Post.