Audra McDonald makes her Australian debut with a one-night-only performance at Arts Centre Melbourne's Hamer Hall this Saturday, October 31, followed by three performances with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra at the Sydney Opera House from November 5 to 7. The six-time Tony Award winner has been performing for audiences across the US over the past several months, bringing what the Los Angeles Times calls her "downright inspirational" interpretations of American classics to stages from California to Connecticut.

Punch Brothers' five-song EP The Wireless is due from Nonesuch Records on November 20, 2015. The tracks were recorded during sessions for the band's T Bone Burnett–produced album The Phosphorescent Blues, and four of the tracks were included on the vinyl edition of the album. The Wireless comprises four original compositions, including a song with words by Gabriel Kahane entitled "Sleek White Baby," plus a cover of Elliott Smith's "Clementine." Pre-order to download "Sleek White Baby" now. A behind-the-scenes video from that song's recording, with a cameo from the band's friend actor/musician Ed Helms, can be seen here.

A new limited-edition 10" six-song recording by The Arcs, entitled The Arcs vs. The Inventors Vol. I, featuring Dr. John and David Hidalgo, will be released on November 27, 2015, for Record Store Day's Black Friday event; a digital version will be available December 11. The disc is the first in a series of collaborative "Inventors" recordings to be released by The Arcs. "Sometimes the best way to see into the future is to study the past," says the band's Dan Auerbach. "In this series we do both, collaborating with folks who have been in the game a long time but instead of rehashing old material, we collaborate on new works, explore new ideas and introduce each other to a different generational perspective."

Lianne La Havas was a special guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert last night, sitting in with the house band, led by Jon Batiste, throughout the show. Other guests included Anthony Bourdain, Carrie Brownstein, and ... Hillary Clinton. La Havas also performed a web-exclusive take on the song "Green & Gold," off her new album, Blood. Watch it here.

Rhiannon Giddens was recently a guest on NPR's Mountain Stage. Giddens performs several songs from her debut solo album, Tomorrow Is My Turn: "Don't Let It Trouble Your Mind," "She's Got You," "Waterboy," "O Love Is Teasin'," "Black Is the Color," and "Up Above My Head." "The broad mix of material from which Giddens draws inspiration plays a big part in defining her personality as a performer," says the show. "Her Mountain Stage set is no exception, as she weaves together traditional music with songs by trailblazers Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Dolly Parton." Hear it here.

Paul Thomas Anderson will give his new documentary Junun its Los Angeles premiere on Sunday, November 15, at The Theatre at Ace Hotel Downtown Los Angeles, where he had given a pre-release screening of his film Inherent Vice. This past spring, Anderson joined Jonny Greenwood, Shye Ben Tzur, and a group of Indian musicians as they recorded the album Junun in a makeshift studio at Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur. The film chronicles the making of that album. The film is currently streaming on MUBI. The album, due November 20 on Nonesuch, is now available to pre-order.

Laurie Anderson was the guest on WNYC's New Sounds last night. She spoke with host John Schaefer about her new film, Heart of a Dog, and shared several excerpts from its soundtrack. The show also touches on her recent Park Avenue Armory piece Habeas Corpus. "Similar themes run through both works," says WNYC, "in that Anderson ponders how stories are spun, and how language is used, along with ideas about what time ('Living Life Backwards'), identity ('How to Feel Sad Without Being Sad'), and freedom might mean in a surveillance and algorithmic culture." Hear the conversation here.

Punch Brothers were the guests on an encore broadcast of NPR's World Cafe yesterday. The show first aired in February, following the release of the group's T Bone Burnett–produced album The Phosphorescent Blues. The band spoke with host David Dye about the album, which Dye says "sounds great," and performs three tracks: "I Blew It Off," "Magnet," and "Boll Weevil." You can hear the session here.

The Arcs were the guests on NPR's World Cafe on Friday. Dan Auerbach spoke with host David Dye about the band's debut album, Yours, Dreamily, and the group was joined by Mariachi Flor de Toloache to perform four songs off the album: "Outta My Mind," "Put a Flower in My Pocket," "Pistol Made of Bones," and "Stay in My Corner." You can hear the session here. The Arcs kick off a two-week tour of Europe in November 5 and begin a US tour on December 1.

The complete soundtrack recording of Laurie Anderson's film Heart of a Dog, is out now, comprising the full audio recording of the film, including all music and spoken text. Heart of a Dog, which has opened theatrically at Film Forum in NYC, invites viewers to spend "75 enthralling minutes with the endlessly associative contents of Anderson's head and heart," says NPR. The New York Times calls it "dreamy, drifty and altogether lovely." New York says it's "one of the most moving and provocative films you’ll see this year."

Brad Mehldau's new 8-LP box set 10 Years Solo Live "contains some of the most impressive pianism Mr. Mehldau has captured on record," exclaims the New York Times' Nate Chinen. It "also confirms that his pristine technique and prismatic elaboration are distinctive traits unto themselves," closing with a performance that is "an astonishment even by his lofty standards." Jazzwise, in a five-star review, calls it "a monumental achievement, and one of the most rewarding solo piano collections of the 21st century so far." The BBC Music Magazine five-star review says it's "a powerful picture of a renaissance artist at the height of his powers."

Laurie Anderson's new film, Heart of a Dog, has been nominated for a Gotham Independent Film Award for Best Documentary. The Gotham Awards, presented by the Independent Filmmaker Project, will be handed out in a ceremony at Cipriani Wall Street in NYC on November 30. The Heart of a Dog soundtrack recording, including all music and spoken text, is due out tomorrow on Nonesuch Records.