With her flexible, slender but dark-timbred mezzo-soprano, Joyce DiDonato is the star guest at Sir Simon Rattle’s side during the New Year’s Eve Concert, singing Richard Strauss’s lavishly beautiful orchestral songs. The programme also includes works by Dvořák, Stravinsky, Bernstein and Shostakovich and will create the perfect atmosphere for the New Year’s Eve celebrations.

The 7th annual collection for Blind Raccoon (third in partnership with Nola Blue) has been a favorite with DJs and attendees at the International Blues Challenge, with funds raised to benefit The Blues Foundation's HART Fund. The Blind Raccoon and Nola Blue Collection Volume III contains 32 compositions. An array of Blind Raccoon clients, including both independent and label artists, are represented as noted in the song credits.