On The Randy Newman Songbook Vol. 2, which Nonesuch Records will release on May 10, Randy Newman takes a fresh look at both classic and more recent work in new solo recordings of his celebrated songs. Songbook Vol. 2, which was co-produced by Mitchell Froom and Lenny Waronker, includes songs spanning from the 1968 album Randy Newman through 2008’s Harps and Angels. Newman began his North American tour on February 11 and continues through April 22 in San Francisco. Newman performs his Oscar-nominated song from Toy Story 3 at the awards ceremony this Sunday.

The Black Keys, fresh off their multiple Grammy Awards wins for the album Brothers, have announced plans for a summer tour of the US and Canada. The band will be joined for most of the dates by special guests Cage the Elephant and, for the first date in June, by Booker T. Jones, Nicole Atkins & The Black Sea. Fan pre-sale for the newly announced shows starts this Wednesday.

Wanda Jackson is set to kick off her months-long US tour in Philadelphia tonight, featuring music from her new Jack White-produced album, The Party Ain't Over. The Philadelphia Inquirer says the songs on the new album "are proof of a match made in heaven." The New York Times says Jackson "still sounds fantastic, and her gnarled, feisty vocals are a good fit with Mr. White’s scrappy production." The San Francisco Chronicle says Jackson "is, now and forever, the Queen of Rockabilly, and she shows it again and again on the album's 11 cuts." Seattle Weekly exclaims: "Holy damn, is this record a keeper."

Jessica Lea Mayfield plays three show run with the Avett Brothers ... John Adams conducts Juillliard Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, final Nixon in China performance at the Met ... Ben Folds kicks off Europe tour as Wanda Jackson concludes hers  ... The Black Keys play sold-out shows in Vegas ... Carolina Chocolate Drops in Alabama ... Kronos Quartet, Wu Man perform A Chinese Home ... Brad Mehldau joins Sofie von Otter at Carnegie Hall ... Randy Newman tours the Midwest ... Punch Brothers celebrate Chris Thile's 30th in Asheville ... Joshua Redman makes music in Moscow ... Dawn Upshaw returns to Saint Paul ... and more ...

Ben Folds kicks off the European leg of his 2011 world tour with a performance at Vicar Street in Dublin tonight, featuring music from his latest album, Lonely Avenue, a collaboration with English novelist Nick Hornby. After Saturday's stop in Birmingham, England, the tour heads to Hornby's hometown of London for a performance at the Hammersmith Apollo on Sunday. Time Out London recommends the show, calling Folds an artist "whose style suggests a Randy Newman for the iPod generation."

Randy Newman continues his US tour with two stops in the Midwest this weekend. Last weekend, Newman received a Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for the film Toy Story 3. He's been nominated for an Academy Award for the song "We Belong Together" from the film and will perform it at the Oscars next weekend. Newman recently spoke about his scoring and songwriting on PBS's Tavis Smiley, which you can watch here.

Laurie Anderson will perform on NBC's Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on Thursday, February 24. The show is giving Anderson's fans a shot at sitting up-close as the performance unfolds; find out how here. Following her Grammy appearance this past Sunday, Anderson and her husband, Lou Reed, perform a belated Valentine's Day duo show at The Stone in NYC tonight as part of a month of events they are curating at the downtown space.

The 2011 Bonnaroo festival lineup has been announced, and among the performers at this year's gathering will be The Black Keys, The Low Anthem, Wanda Jackson, and Jessica Lea Mayfield. The festival will take place June 9 through 12 in Manchester, Tennessee; tickets go on sale this Saturday, February 19, at 12 EST.

Jessica Lea Mayfield and her album Tell Me were featured on NPR's Weekend Edition Saturday. "Meeting, matching, looking for love and struggling to keep it are all subjects for songs on Jessica Lea Mayfield's new album," says host Scott Simon. Mayfield performs those songs at First Avenue in Minneapolis tonight, the final stop on her tour with Justin Townes Earle. Up next are three shows with the Avett Brothers. Watch Mayfield performs the song "Sometimes At Night," off of Tell Me, in a video here.

Nonesuch artists are up for several Grammys on Sunday ... John Adams's Nixon in China hits movie theaters via The Met: Live in HD ... The Black Keys are on The Tonight Show ... Wanda Jackson tours Germany ... Jessica Lea Mayfield tours the Midwest with Justin Townes Earle ... Randy Newman plays Louisiana and Florida ... Mandy Patinkin stars at New York's Public Theater ... Punch Brothers cover Colorado ... Allen Toussaint plays NYC ... Dawn Upshaw sings Britten in St. Paul ... Sara Watkins plays close to home with The Decemberists ... and more ...

The Metropolitan Opera's premiere production of John Adams's opera Nixon in China continues on Saturday afternoon, with the composer at the podium. Audiences both in and far outside of New York City will be able to watch the performance live in high-definition at their local movie theaters as part of the Met's Live in HD series, beginning at 1 PM ET. The newly reissued, Grammy-winning original cast recording of Nixon in China is available now from Nonesuch.

Wolf Trap, the National Park for the Performing Arts outside of Washington, DC, has announced is 2011 Summer Season. Included among the performers this summer at the Filene Center, Wolf Trap's outdoor amphitheater, are k.d. lang, Punch Brothers, and Gipsy Kings. The season will also include a performance of Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd by the Wolf Trap Opera Company. Tickets go on sale to the general public on March 12.