Rokia Traoré performs in Paris, begins North American tour in NYC … John Adams’s Nixon in China is performed by Royal Swedish Opera … Tyondai Braxton tours Europe … Michael Daves plays Brooklyn Bluegrass Bash … Jeremy Denk performs with St. Louis Symphony … Rhiannon Giddens plays for Bill Murray's Mark Twain Prize ceremony on PBS … Richard Goode gives solo recital in Colorado … Mariza is at SFJAZZ … Chris Thile hosts A Prairie Home Companion in Saint Paul … and more …

Rhiannon Giddens joined a stellar line-up to perform at the ceremony awarding Bill Murray the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at The Kennedy Center last weekend. The ceremony—which also features Aziz Ansari, Roy Blount Jr., Jane Curtin, Bill Hader, Jimmy Kimmel, David Letterman, Brian Doyle Murray, Paul Shaffer, Emma Stone, and Sigourney Weaver—will be broadcast on PBS stations across the US this Friday night at 9/8c. You can watch Giddens sing of a certain celebrated jumping frog from the evening here.

Conor Oberst was the musical guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC last night. He was joined by bassist Miwi La Lupa to perform two songs—"Gossamer Thin" and "Till St. Dymphna Kicks Us Out"—from his new solo album, Ruminations, released earlier this month. You can watch the performance here. Obert resumes his Ruminations tour in his hometown of Omaha on November 3. 

A new, limited-edition, black 7" vinyl by Conor Oberst will be released on Nonesuch Records on November 25, 2016, exclusively as a part of Record Store Day's Black Friday event at independent record shops. The vinyl features a new full-band recording of "Tachycardia," a song on his just-released solo album Ruminations, paired with "Afterthought," an unreleased track from the Ruminations recording sessions. The disc is being pressed at Record Industry in the Netherlands.

A stellar lineup of musical luminaries comes together for a one-night-only concert at the Brooklyn Academy of Music to pay tribute to Bob Hurwitz, who for the past three decades has served as president of Nonesuch Records. The event will take place at the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House on April 1, 2017. At the center of this celebration is Eleven Pieces for Bob, a program of world premiere works for piano by Nonesuch artists—John Adams, Laurie Anderson, Timo Andres, Louis Andriessen, Donnacha Dennehy, Philip Glass, Adam Guettel, Brad Mehldau, Pat Metheny, Randy Newman, and Steve Reich—performed by the composers themselves and others. The evening also includes performances by Kronos Quartet, k.d. lang, Mandy Patinkin, Chris Thile, Dawn Upshaw, Stephin Merritt, Devendra Banhart, and others who have worked closely with Bob during his tenure.

"Here's a video dedicated to a great world leader," Randy Newman says of his new video. "I hope all of you like it. I know he will." You can watch it here.

Chris Thile spoke with PBS NewsHour about his new role as host of A Prairie Home Companion. "I’m obsessed with the good things that people make to give to one another," Thile says. "This show is a place, has been one of America’s most consistent sources of good things for 40 years. And I feel like it’s imperative that it continue." Mike Olson of Lake Street Dive, which was a musical guest on Thile's first show as host, tells PBS: "The desire to have a vinyl record and the desire to listen to a variety show and these kinds of things goes beyond nostalgia. And that’s a very visceral experience. And there’s something I think directly transferable to a show like this." Watch the piece here.

Devendra Banhart took the Marketplace Quiz, answering the public radio show's questions and offering insight in his own inimitable way. "It's okay not to know, and it's okay to ask for help," Banhart says when asked what advice he wished someone had given him before he started his career, advice he doesn't feel he took at the time. "I feel like it was all about 'No, I know, I know, I know, and I don't need anyone's help. I need to prove I can be independent.' But that isn't really how it works and you definitely don't know everything, and not only that, but it's okay not to know everything, and asking for help doesn't suddenly make you intrinsically dependent or co-dependent. It's a dance." You can hear the Quiz here.

Conor Oberst celebrated the release of his new album, Ruminations, by performing the record in its entirety at New York City's Housing Works Bookstore Cafe last Friday. The performance, co-presented by NPR Music's Bob Boilen and WFUV Radio's Rita Houston, was webcast live via NPR Music's Facebook page. You can now watch the full album set here via NPR Music. "Ruminations is one of Conor Oberst's most personal records," says Boilen, "a collection of brave, dark songs ... that are unmistakably moving and contain some of Oberst's best lyrics and imagery."

Confessions, a collaboration between the acclaimed American composer Nico Muhly and the Faroese singer/songwriter Teitur, is out now; the vinyl is due November 4. The two musicians began work on the project when Muhly was composer-in-residence at Muziekgebouw Eindhoven in the Netherlands. The songs' lyrics were inspired by or culled from video and commentary the pair found on YouTube. Confessions was recorded with Holland Baroque. Muhly and Teitur perform the album with New York Baroque Incorporated at (le) Poisson Rouge in NYC tonight.

Portuguese singer Mariza, who is currently touring North America with songs from her Nonesuch debut album, Mundo, was the guest on NPR's World Cafe yesterday. She spoke with host David Dye about Mundo and performed two songs from the album, "Rio de Mágoa" and "Saudade Solta," from what Dye calls a "triumphant" concert in Lisbon. Find out what Mariza has to say about her music and hear the performances here.

Joshua Redman, Brad Mehldau tour Australia with new duo album, Nearness … John Adams’s Scheherazade.2 is performed by Minnesota Orchestra, violinist Leila Josefowicz … Devendra Banhart plays California's Beach Goth fest … Jeremy Denk tours with Florida Orchestra … Emmylou Harris, Robert Plant close out Lampedusa tour in DC … Mariza plays sold-out Massachusetts show … Natalie Merchant gives benefit concert in upstate NY … Nico Muhly, Teitur perform Confessions in NYC … Chris Thile hosts A Prairie Home Companion in Saint Paul … and more …