Pianist Jeremy Denk's label debut album, Ligeti/Beethoven, pairing Ligeti’s Piano Études, Books One and Two, with Beethoven’s Sonata No. 32 in C Minor, is out today. "The result is dazzling," raves the Observer. "The Ligeti is crisp, nuanced and technically flawless, the Beethoven beautifully shaped and flexible." The Independent gives the album four stars. The Arts Fuse calls it "revelatory." Denk celebrates the record's release with a performance of music from the album at (Le) Poisson Rouge in New York City next week. 

Jessica Lea Mayfield has extended her tour into the summer with a number of headline shows and a ten-day tour supporting Langhorne Slim. Following previously announced spring sets at the Nelsonville Music Festival and Appalachian Uprising, the summer tour begins with headlining shows in St. Louis, Kansas City, Denver, and Salt Lake City. The tour with Langhorne Slim kicks off in San Francisco and LA and includes additional stops in California, Arizona, Texas, Tennessee, and Kentucky.

Ligeti/Beethoven, the Nonesuch Records debut from acclaimed pianist Jeremy Denk, is out today. The album, which features Ligeti's Piano Études, Books One and Two, and Beethoven's Sonata No. 32 in C Minor, Op. 111, includes an essay written by Denk, a noted writer, both on his blog and in such publications as The New Yorker and the New York Times Book Review. Read his album note here.

Audra McDonald will be the guest on today's episode of NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross. She talks about her performance as Bess in the Broadway production of The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess, for which she has been nominated for a Tony Award and a Drama Desk Award and has won the Outer Critics Circle Award. She is also the subject of a feature article in the New York Times. McDonald is the winner of four Tonys has recorded four solo albums for Nonesuch.

The Black Keys, who are in the midst of their North American arena tour with special guests Arctic Monkeys, have announced several new arena shows out West for this October. The new leg of the tour includes stops throughout California, including the Staples Center in Los Angeles and the famed Santa Barbara Bowl, and in Arizona and New Mexico. Tegan and Sara open. Fan ticket pre-sales are on now. The Calgary Herald puts Friday's show in as an "early entry into gig of the year." The Edmonton Journal says Saturday's was a "spellbinding show of fuzzy guitar riffs and soulful grooves."

Punch Brothers performed "Movement and Location," the opening track off their new album, Who's Feeling Young Now?, on Later ... with Jools Holland, which aired Friday night on BBC Two. They also helped inaugurate Garden & Gun's new web series, The Back Porch Sessions, performing The Band's "The Weight" at the magazine's office. Watch both performances here. The band resumes its US tour at the Appalachian Uprising on June 2.

Carolina Chocolate Drops’ video for the track “Country Girl,” after rating as one of the most-watched music videos on CMT.com following its premiere last week, will air throughout this week on CMT’s High 5 Countdown. The show airs on CMT at 11 AM ET/PT Monday through Friday, and the video can still be viewed online. “Country Girl” appears on the Grammy-winning band’s new album, Leaving Eden.

Donnacha Dennehy's Grá Agus Bás will be featured in the Opening Night concert of the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival (HCMF), the UK's largest contemporary music festival, in November. The all-Dennehy program will be performed by Crash Ensemble, with Alan Pierson conducting and featuring vocalist Iarla Ó Lionáird, all of whom performed Grá Agus Bás on Dennehy's Nonesuch debut album of of the same name. Crash, an ensemble in residence at HCMF, will also bring Grá Agus Bás to the US next year for performances with Dawn Upshaw at The Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall.

Kronos Quartet has announced its late-spring and summer tour schedule, adding a number of dates throughout Europe. The Quartet kicks things off this weekend with two concerts at home in San Francisco, then heads to Europe for the first of two trips, featuring performances of Dracula with Philip Glass. In July, Kronos returns to the UK for several events in the Cultural Olympiad and the group's debut at BBC Proms.

Tune in to The Tonight Show with Jay Leno tonight to see Sara Watkins perform "You and Me," off her just-released album, Sun Midnight Sun. The Wrap gives the album glowing marks. "If Levon Helm's passing put you in an Americana mood, but you're not sure younger generations have as much to bring to roots-based music as their elders," writes the Reuters-syndicated site, "proceed directly to the superb sophomore effort by Sara Watkins. Not that Sun Midnight Sun will only be a balm to suffering Band fans; it might be the finest album of the year so far in any genre."

Dr. John's video for the track "Revolution," which premiered yesterday on NPR, is now available via Dr. John's YouTube channel. The song is from the New Orleans legend's universally-lauded collaboration with The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach, Locked Down. Directed by Reid Long, the video offers a behind-the-scenes look at Dr. John's recent three weekend residency at BAM. NPR calls it "three and a half minutes of horn-laden rock that are simultaneously relaxed and tightly wound." Watch the video here.

In recent months, British singer/songwriter/guitarist Lianne La Havas emerged as one of the UK’s most buzzed-about new talents, with critically acclaimed EPs, sold-out shows worldwide and nods from the likes of Bon Iver and Ryan Adams. La Havas’ debut album, Is Your Love Big Enough?, will be released in the US on August 7 via Nonesuch Records. The album was recorded in Brooklyn and Los Angeles last summer and produced by Matt Hales (Aqualung). She will return to LA on Tuesday, May 22, for a headline show at Bootleg Bar. Album pre-order and US tour dates will be announced shortly. Watch the official video for the track "Lost & Found" here.