Laurie Anderson spoke with BBC Radio 6 Music's Lauren Laverne, BBC Radio 4's Front Row, and BBC Radio 2's The Arts Show with Jonathan Ross about her new film, Heart of a Dog, and the Brighton Festival, of which she is Guest Director. She gave the UK premiere of her Music for Dogs concert at the festival this week and will perform there again next week. Heart of a Dog opens in the UK, Ireland, and Denmark, where she performs her piece Language of the Future this Saturday.

The Americana Music Association announced its nominations for the 2016 Americana Honors & Awards, and among the nominees for Duo/Group of the Year are Lake Street Dive, which made its Nonesuch debut with the release of Side Pony, and Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell, who released their second duo album together, The Traveling Kind. The Americana Honors & Awards return to the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville on September 21.

Rokia Traoré was the guest on NPR's World Cafe. She spoke with host David Dye about her new album, Né So, and performed three songs from the album: "Obiké," "Ilé," and "Strange Fruit." Find out what she has to say and hear the performances here. Traoré takes her Né So tour to the Festival Mawazine in Morocco later this month, followed by shows throughout France and the UK, including a set at the Glastonbury Festival in June.

Olivia Chaney stopped by two BBC radio programs today, ahead of performances at Birmingham Symphony Hall for a multi-artist tribute to Nick Drake on Thursday and at St John's Smith Square in London for the London Festival of Baroque Music on Sunday. She spoke of her connection to Purcell and shared some illustrative songs live on BBC Radio 3's In Tune and spoke with BBC Radio 4's Front Row and wrote an article on the subject for the Guardian. Chaney will perform with Joe Boyd in Cardiff next month and tour the UK as special guest of Ben Folds and yMusic.

The 50th Brighton Festival, England's largest annual curated multi-arts festival, has begun and runs through May 29, with Laurie Anderson as Guest Director. Her own events include the UK premiere of her Music for Dogs this evening; a screening of her acclaimed new film Heart of a Dog, also tonight; an exclusive new performance monologue called Slideshow; and Song Conversation, a freewheeling walk through sonic spaces. Heart of a Dog also begins its UK and Irish cinematic run; Anderson takes part in two London screening Q&As and will discuss the film on BBC Radio 6 Music Lauren Laverne show on Wednesday.

Louis Andriessen's new work, Theatre of the World, which explores the life of 17th-century Jesuit polymath Athanasius Kircher, was given its world premiere by the LA Philharmonic, led by Reinbert de Leeuw, at Walt Disney Concert Hall in LA this weekend. The multimedia production, directed by Pierre Audi, will receive its European premiere in Amsterdam, with de Leeuw and the Dutch National Opera, in June. "While eclecticism is now the compositional norm (much more so than when he was first experimenting with bold stylistic mixtures in the 1960s and '70s)," says the New York Times in its review, "Mr. Andriessen was there first, and he still does it best."

Today marks the release of two new albums from guitarist, composer, and bandleader Pat Metheny on Nonesuch Records. Metheny is well-known as a musical collaborator, and both records feature friends and colleagues with whom he has worked for years. The Unity Sessions is taken from a filmed performance with Pat Metheny Unity Group that was recently released on DVD, and Cuong Vu Trio Meets Pat Metheny joins the guitarist with a trio led by longtime Pat Metheny Group trumpeter Cuong Vu.

Violence and Orchids, the vinyl edition of Michael Daves's new album, Orchids and Violence, is out now. The vinyl edition comprises two versions each of five traditional bluegrass tunes: acoustic takes performed with a band of roots-music innovators paired with electric rock renditions of the same songs. It's "a roots-music master class, a brilliant example of old modes reinhabited with flair," says the New York Times. The LP includes a download of the complete Orchids and Violence album. Daves and friends will mark the vinyl release at Littlefield in Brooklyn on May 19.

Kronos Quartet begins its first UK tour in many years at the Barbican this Monday, May 9. The tour program includes works by Steve Reich, Laurie Anderson, and Terry Riley, a world premiere, and three UK premieres from the Kronos Fifty for the Future commissioning project. Kronos will perform on BBC Two's Later... With Jools Holland live show on Tuesday, May 10, and the one-hour episode on lucky Friday the 13th; the line-up includes Corinne Bailey Rae, Bloc Party, and Sir Elton John.

Lianne La Havas, who will open for Leon Bridges on his autumn US tour, has just announced four headlining shows in the fall as well: Webster Hall in NYC, Civic Theatre in New Orleans, Teragram Ballroom in LA, and Buckhead Theatre in Atlanta. Tickets for the newly announced dates go on sale today. La Havas joined Coldplay on its recent Latin American tour and will tour Europe and the UK with the band starting in late May.

Sam Amidon and guitarist Bill Frisell are the guests on the eTown radio show. Following Frisell's set, Amidon makes his eTown debut performing three songs from his latest album, Lily-O—"Down the Line," "Walkin' Boss," and "Your Lone Journey"—as well as "Another Man Done Gone," from an earlier album, and joins host Nick Forster for a conversation about his life and music. The show closes with a group performance of "I'll Fly Away." You can listen to the complete show and watch the performances here.

Nonesuch Records releases Sleeping In A Car, a three-song EP from the English trio The Staves, on May 13, 2016. The EP was recorded at Justin Vernon's April Base studio in Eau Claire, WI, and at Urchin Studios in London. The Staves will embark on a North American tour beginning June 3, with stops in Minneapolis, Washington, Nashville, New York, and more, along with the Firefly, Newport, and Eaux Claires festivals. Sleeping In A Car is available to pre-order digitally; CDs will be available exclusively at the Staves' shows.