Pitchfork has published its list of "The 200 Best Albums of the 1980s," which it hopes "represents the best of what this innovative decade has to offer." Among the "icons who defined a decade" are Steve Reich for Different Trains / Electric Counterpoint, featuring Kronos Quartet and Pat Metheny, Brian Eno and David Byrne for My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, and Laurie Anderson for Big Science.

Olivia Chaney was on BBC Radio 2's The Folk Show with Mark Radcliffe. She performed the title track to her new album, Shelter, as well as the album tracks "Roman Holiday" and "House on a Hill," and spoke with Radcliffe about the album. Watch "Roman Holiday" here. Chaney performs at Kings Place in London on September 29.

Rhiannon Giddens will star as Bess in Greensboro Opera's production of The Gershwins' Porgy & Bess in 2020. The performances will take place at the Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts in her hometown of Greensboro, NC, on November 13 and 15, 2020, the company's inaugural season in the new venue. Giddens was in Greensboro last weekend as the guest curator of and a performer at the North Carolina Folk Festival. She performs in upstate New York this week and at the FreshGrass Festival at MASS MoCA this weekend.

Punch Brothers' first self-produced album, All Ashore, released on CD/digitally in July, is now available on vinyl. "It's a meditation on committed relationships in the present day, particularly in the present political climate," says Chris Thile. The Independent's four-star review calls it "an album of rich instrumentation and understated beauty that reveals deeper nuances on each and every listen." The Boston Globe says it's "a deeply meaningful and downright gorgeous record."

Gabriel Kahane's Nonesuch Records debut album, Book of Travelers, released on CD and digitally last month, is now available on vinyl. It comprises his musical travelogue about the looping railway journey across the US he embarked upon the day after the 2016 election. "Exquisitely crafted songs," says Uncut. "Musically fascinating and hauntingly empathetic." The San Francisco Chronicle calls it "extraordinary ... vivid and wholly original."Rolling Stone calls it a "stunning portrait of a singular moment in America." Kahane kicks off his tour tonight.

Fleet Foxes have released a short film for their Crack-Up album opener, "I Am All That I Need / Arroyo Seco / Thumbprint Scar," directed by Sean Pecknold, with art direction and production design by Adi Goodrich and choreography by Steve Reker. The film was shot on 35mm film in southern California, creating a look that feels like an old Technicolor movie, with everything hand-made and in-camera. WeTransfer commissioned and helped produce the video. Watch it here.

k.d. lang begins the Southern US leg of her Ingénue Redux Tour on Friday, performing her 1992 platinum-selling record, Ingénue, plus songs from her 2004 album, Hymns of the 49th Parallel, in cities across Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, and Texas. The Americana Music Association will present her with its 2018 Americana Trailblazer Award as part of the Americana Honors & Awards at the Ryman in Nashville next Wednesday, September 12. She will perform a headline show at the historic venue as part of her tour the following Sunday.

Chris Thile joined Merrill Garbus of Tune-Yards to perform "Sidewalks of New York," a 19th-century vaudeville song, for Spire Studios. Watch the result here. Thile and his fellow Punch Brothers begin the last leg of their big US summer tour in Washington, DC, on Thursday; their new album, All Ashore, is out on vinyl this Friday. Tune-Yards open for David Byrne on the next leg of his American Utopia tour, starting this Friday.

Bill Frisell's classic album Nashville, first released on Nonesuch Records in 1997, will receive its first worldwide vinyl release on November 23, 2018. The vinyl edition, made in partnership with Run Out Groove, was mastered for vinyl by Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound in a two-LP set pressed on 180g vinyl at Record Industry in the Netherlands. The set comes in a gatefold tip-on jacket made at Stoughton Printing with outtake photos from the sessions. Limited to 3,000 copies worldwide, the Nashville vinyl edition is available to pre-order now.

Robin Pecknold of Fleet Foxes talks with singer-songwriter Nilüfer Yanya, who opened for the band on tour, for the latest episode of Talkhouse Podcast, which you can hear here. The two spoke at the Pitchfork Music Festival about life on the road, writing while touring, and more. 

Punch Brothers returned to Conan on TBS as musical guests, performing "It's All Part of the Plan" from their new album, All Ashore. Watch it here. The band's big summer tour resumes in Washington, DC, on September 6, and culminates at Red Rocks Amphitheater on September 17. The European tour is in November.

David Byrne was a guest on NPR's World Cafe today. He spoke with host Talia Schlanger about his new album, American Utopia, its ongoing tour, and more. His "creativity knows no bounds," says Schlanger. "Exploration, freedom, and a sense of awe rule the day. David Byrne collects wonder from the world around him and sets it to music." Hear the conversation here.