Renowned singer-songwriter John Wesley Harding, hailed by Rolling Stone as, “a literate and ironic neo-folkie with enough bile to win over a younger, hipper audience not attuned to folk music,” recently released his latest album, Who Was Changed And Who Was Dead , via Popover Corps/Rebel Group. In support of the record Harding will be reviving his three-show residency at Le Poisson Rouge on March 25, April 15, and May 20. Part variety show and part concert, the Cabinet of Wonders will draw together collaborators from the worlds of music, literature, comedy and even ventriloquism all hand-picked by Harding himself. “I wanted to bring together my novel writing friends (who mostly envy my musician friends) and my musician friends (who mostly envy my novel writing friends) under one flag,” says Harding. “The fact is: I like everyone who’s performing.”

You can read about their 11/18/09 show at LPR here.

A.C. Newman is neither Hawaiian nor Harvard grad, but oh, yes he can. This Inauguration Day, the lisping ringleader of that maximalist pop conglomerate The New Pornographers unveils his second solo album, Get Guilty.

Pitchfork called his 2004 solo debut The Slow Wonder "soulful sing- alongs with grit, pop nuggets that hold up to hours of repeat play, and ultimately, the sound of a great songwriter hitting his stride." Get Guilty both expands on and synthesizes his talents, with the introspection and nuance of The New Pornographers' last album Challengers, but with more immediacy and the excitability of his most- loved songs.

Get Guilty showcases beautifully Newman's fascinating blend of catchiness and impenetrability - witness the first single, "The Palace At 4 A.M.", a Top 40 singalong that namechecks a Donald Barthelme short story and talks of Polynesian dives, bingo, and bombs. "Thunderbolts" is from the point of view of a gang of young troublemaking gods, and "Like A Hitman, Like A Dancer" distills the 1967 film "Le Samourai" into a simple tale of indecision. Still, those simple thrilling hair-on-back-of-neck moments so familiar to Newman fans are plentiful here: The explosive "change your mind" in "Changeling (Get Guilty)"; the unexpected heart-tugging harmonies of "Like A Hitman"; the crescendo coda of "The Heartbreak Rides". "Spot The Influence" is a perennial sport to play with Newman's songs, and he himself confoundingly explains his formula as a cross between Keith's "98.6" and 10cc's "Dreadlock Holiday." That said, he cops to "Elemental"'s guitar solo being a tribute to the band Felt, and "The Collected Works" an effort to meld George Benson's "On Broadway" with Queen's "Fat Bottomed Girls". Which could all be a ploy to deflect the Jimmy Webb comparisons, but we've seen his record collection and the guy goes deep.

Players on Get Guilty include drummers Jon Wurster (Superchunk, Mountain Goats) and Charles Burst, an array of strings, horns, and woodwinds, and vocalists Nicole Atkins and Mates Of State. It sounds familiarly lush but not overworked, and even intimate. Dramatic themes recur - change, water, self-doubt, gods and prophets - yet an optimistic beauty prevails. The stately opening track gives way to the orchestral, romantic road trip of "The Heartbreak Rides," and the album closes with one of his most direct songs ever, "All of My Days and All Of My Days Off," a love letter to his wife about their wedding day.

Newman will be touring North America from February 2009 through the summer, and his cover of Aha's "Take On Me" will be featured on a Starbucks Valentine's Day compilation.

Rhett Miller is the front man and main songwriter of the hard-charging rock ‘n’ roll quartet the Old 97’s, as well as an accomplished solo artist. In addition to his seven records with the 97’s, he’s released two highly regarded solo albums, The Instigator (2002) and The Believer (2006).

Rhett continues to balance his solo endeavors with his membership in the Old 97’s. The still-active quartet, which was prominently featured in the Jennifer Aniston/Vince Vaughn romantic comedy, The Break Up, will release their next full-length studio album, Blame It On Gravity, on May 13.

Steve Almond is the author of two story collections, My Life in Heavy Metal and The Evil B.B. Chow, the non-fiction book Candyfreak, and the novel Which Brings Me to You, co-written with Julianna Baggott. He lives outside Boston with his wife and baby daughter Josephine, who can and will kick your ass with cuteness.

In the third grade I won the "Author of the Month" at St. Mary's School in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts for a poem I wrote about bears and Thanksgiving. At the time my aspirations were to become a poet, a teacher, or the owner of a pizza restaurant where third graders could hang out.

At Georgetown I won the “Funniest Person on Campus" contest and the chance to perform at the D.C. Improv. They were so impressed they hired me to bus tables.

From there I took my jokes to New York City, where I was fired as a temp at Pfizer for repeatedly falling asleep at my desk . I proceeded to drive my mom’s old station wagon to comedy clubs all over America until my mechanic would no longer take my calls.

Since that time I’ve had three Comedy Central Presents specials and appeared a bunch of times on Conan O’Brien, David Letterman, Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon. I was even on The View once with Nathan Lane to chat about my Off-Broadway show, Sleepwalk with Me. I’ve performed at The Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal, The Kilkenny Arts Festival and three times at Bonnaroo. I'm also a regular contributor on This American Life and The Bob & Tom Show and I'm writing a book and a movie.

I live in New York where one day I hope to own a pizza restaurant where 31-year-olds can hang out.

Stephen Elliott is the author of seven books including The Adderall Diaries (September 2009) and Happy Baby, a finalist for the New York Public Library's Young Lion Award as well as a best book of 2004 in Salon.com, Newsday, Chicago New City, the Journal News, and the Village Voice. In addition to writing fiction he frequently writes on politics. In 2004 he wrote Looking Forward To It, about the quest for the Democratic Presidential nomination.

Elliott's writing has been featured in Esquire, The New York Times, GQ, Best American Non-Required Reading 2005 and 2007, Best American Erotica, and Best Sex Writing 2006. He was a Wallace Stegner Fellow at Stanford University and is a member of the San Francisco Writer's Grotto. He is the editor of The Rumpus.

I started using comedy as a defence mechanism in junior high and high school and then turned it into a career, once it became clear that I make a terrible temp. I moved to Brooklyn eight years ago from Somerville, MA. Sometimes, I am on television (which makes me professional!). I’m a regular on HBO’s Flight of The Concords, and on Adult Swim’s Delocated. Sometimes you can catch my half hour special on Comedy Central. I voiced the nun on Lucy, Daughter of the Devil. My first book, The Will to Whatevs , is now out from Harper Perennial.

More: Interview at Pitchfork.com