Sufjan Stevens News

Get a first look at Justin Peck and Jackie Sibblies Drury's ILLINOIS at the Fisher Center at Bard.

Rising artist, songwriter and producer Jean Ryden unveils her cinematic debut single, “Chlorine.' The track, self-written and co-produced, uses imagistic lyrics and a string-laden arrangement to examine grief and Ryden’s longing for alternate timelines to take hold.

The follow-up to 2021’s critically acclaimed collaboration with Sufjan Stevens, A Beginner’s Mind – and first solo effort since his 2019 breakthrough LP,  Tomb – Toil and Trouble has arrived to great reviews, including 8/10 stars from Uncut and 4/5 stars from Mojo, and an in-depth Artist Spotlight feature at Our Culture.

The album announcement comes with the first single “Calling,” which BrooklynVegan described as “a layered, unfolding ballad with soothing, almost ambient vocals and synths and stirring flutters of trumpet and flugelhorn.” The album was produced by Sun Chung, and will be released on the Libellule Editions imprint of Chung’s Red Hook Records.

Anna Tivel has announced Outsiders (Live in a Living Room), one year after the acclaimed album's original version. The 12-track set sees Tivel in a duo arrangement with friend Jon Neufeld, both on acoustic guitar, creating intimate renditions of all eleven songs from her most celebrated record yet, as well as B-side single 'American Novella.'

The curtain rises next week on Bard SummerScape's 20th anniversary season, “Breaking Ground.” Presented in New York's Hudson Valley by the Fisher Center at Bard, also celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, the seven-week annual arts festival opens next Friday with the world premiere of Illinois (June 23–July 2).

Acclaimed singer-songwriter Angelo De Augustine shares “Toil and Trouble,” the title track from his forthcoming album via Asthmatic Kitty Records. The enchanting single arrives alongside a claymation video directed by De Augustine and created by Clara Murray, which brings the album’s mystical cover artwork to life. 

As with the first two tracks issued from the new album – “Step Step Step” and “New Conditions” – “Range” is accompanied by an abstract video made by Odd.One. Swirling, eddying images in beautiful, muted colours conjure thoughts of rippling water or shifting sands, a landscape evolving in time with the gentle flow of the music.

The song is based on the Betty and Barney Hill incident, a famous UFO sighting and alien encounter involving a couple in New Hampshire in 1961. “Ballad” pulls us deeper into Toil and Trouble, De Augustine’s exploration of the counter-world that the fantastical “Another Universe” single introduced us to last month.

Portland, Oregon-based artist Anna Tivel makes her NPR Tiny Desk debut where she performed songs from her widely acclaimed new album Outsiders  — 'Black Umbrella,' 'Heroes,' and 'Royal Blue' — as well as an unreleased new song called 'Fluorescence In the Future.' Plus, check out new tour dates! Watch the video now.

The Fisher Center at Bard has added a seventh performance (June 29 at 7:30 pm) to its world premiere production of Illinois, a music-theater work based on Sufjan Stevens’ acclaimed album of the same name.

Yarn/Wire hosts its eighth annual International Institute, an incubator for sonic collaborations between performers, ensembles, composers, and creators, serving as an ecosystem for emerging and world-class artists to collectively push the boundaries of music, performance and sound.

“New Conditions”, a key composition from Balmorhea’s second album for Deutsche Grammophon. Like the group’s recently issued single “Step Step Step”, “New Conditions” is accompanied by a companion video made by Odd.One. Its monochrome visuals, familiar yet strange, suggest a universe in a state of constant flux, always changing, never rigid.

Chicago Shakespeare Theater announces its 2023/2024 productions and programming, featuring bold interpretations of Shakespeare’s plays in conversation with visionary artists of today, world premiere productions, theater from across the globe through the WorldStage series, and much more.

Acclaimed Grammy Award-winning choir The Crossing, led by Donald Nally, releases its 30th album Titration, on Navona Records. Premiered at the Warren Miller Performing Arts Center in Big Sky, Montana in August 2022, Titration is another creative collaboration between The Crossing and Shara Nova, founder of the chamber pop band My Brightest Diamond and one of the featured composers on the choir's most recent album, Carols After a Plague.

Acclaimed singer-songwriter Angelo De Augustine has announced his fourth studio album, Toil and Trouble. The album’s wonderful, cosmic lead single, “Another Universe,” is also out now alongside a fantastical claymation video, written/directed by De Augustine and fabricated/animated by Owen Summers.

Anna Tivel has shared a new single called 'American Novella.' The new song arrives following Tivel's announcement that she will be supporting Fenne Lily and Christian Lee Hutson next month for an 8-show run that includes stops in San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, Vancouver, Salt Lake City, Denver, and more. Plus, check out tour dates!

The Fisher Center at Bard will present Illinois, a world premiere music-theater work based on Sufjan Stevens’ acclaimed album of the same name, June 23–July 2.

New York City Ballet has announced its 2023-24 season featuring world premieres by Justin Peck, Tiler Peck, and more! See full programming and learn how to purchase tickets!

Let Go is his first major project in almost three years, featuring seven glorious tracks of folk-hewn songwriting, recorded in Tottenham and at Middle Farm studios in Devon. Baroque yet utterly direct, the material deals with loss, grief, and survival, as Jolé learned to re-assert his sense of self in the wake of impending fatherhood.