Last week came word that The Black Keys would be touring with Kings of Leon for a dozen dates this September. The band has now added several additional dates, following the release of its new album, Brothers, including headlining shows with The Morning Benders, The Whigs, and Nicole Atkins. Patrick Carney talks with Billboard about the upcoming record and recent projects he and Dan Auerbach have taken on.

The Carolina Chocolate Drops kicked off their North American tour with what the New York Times called an "end-to-end display of excellence," during a free concert in Harlem presented by Carnegie Hall on Saturday. "They make short work of their instructive mission and spend their energy on things that require it: flatfoot dancing, jug playing, shouting." The trio next takes that infectious exuberance up north for two shows in Ontario.

Bill Frisell is in New York City this week to begin a two-week residency at the Village Vanguard. This week's line-up features the Bill Frisell Trio, with Eyvind Kang on violin and Rudy Royston on drums. Next week, Frisell leads his 858 Quartet, with Kang returning on violin, Jenny Scheinman on violin as well, and Hank Roberts joining on cello. Tonight, Portrait of a Man, a new documentary film featuring Frisell's music, receives its international premiere at the Hot Docs film festival in Toronto.

Randy Newman tours Scandinavia and blogs about it ... John Adams hosts SF film screening ... Björk DJs in Brooklyn ... Carolina Chocolate Drops offer free shows in NYC ... Richard Goode solos in NYC ... Kronos plays for SF families ... The Low Anthem winds down tour ... Natalie Merchant plays PEN Festival Cabaret ... Pat Metheny plays Pacific Northwest ... Punch Brothers are in Baton Rouge ... Joshua Redman, Brad Mehldau duo ... Allen Toussaint does double sets at Jazz Fest ... Rokia Traoré tours UK ... Dawn Upshaw performs Knoxville in St. Paul ... Wilco awes Australia ... and more ...

The Black Keys' schedule looked to be pretty well full up following the May 18 release of their latest Nonesuch album, Brothers, opening for Pearl Jam at Madison Square Garden, back-to-back spots on late-night TV for Letterman and Fallon, and US and European tours through the summer. Now comes word that the band will open for Kings of Leon throughout September. Also, it seems Frank the Puppet Dinosaur is back with a crass new music video.

The Carolina Chocolate Drops begin a months-long spring and summer North American tour this weekend with a free shows in New York City as part of Carnegie Hall's Neighborhood Concert Series. The Knoxville News Sentinel says "the trio reclaims string band music with a sense of passion and fun that is infectious ... The members trade banjos, fiddles, guitars, other instruments and vocal duties with ease."

Brad Mehldau and Joshua Redman kick off a two-and-a-half-week tour of duo performances in Burlington, Vermont, tonight. At one recent duo date, "the twosome played with an unerring touch," says the Albany Times Union. All About Jazz insists that anyone with "the opportunity to see these two jazz masters should not pass it up." Mehldau spoke with PBS NewsHour about his new album, Highway Rider, which also features Redman.

Audra McDonald performed with the San Francisco Symphony Monday night and brought out "one gem-like number after the next," says the San Jose Mercury News, which describes her voice as "Full and mellow, elegant and sexy, lush, plush, brassy, growling, howling across her gigantic range, or expressing starry-eyed enchantment." This summer, she will reprise her role in 110 in the Shade, for a limited run in Utah; make her Tanglewood debut; and perform at Aspen and at the Ravinia Festival's Sondheim celebration.

Natalie Merchant and her new album, Leave Your Sleep, were featured on the PBS NewsHour. The Daily Beast chose the album for its Yes List, saying "Merchant’s voice is both soothing and electric on the album." Pop Matters says "this labor of love (so exhaustively researched, so musically collaborative, so many years in the making) is ... just beautiful and special." The LAist says "Merchant's voice was in top form" at a recent tour stop in LA.

Rokia Traoré kicks off a ten-day UK tour in London tonight, with Sweet Billy Pilgrim opening all along the tour. Traoré spoke with The Times, which calls her latest album, Tchamantché, "easily one of the best albums of 2008," and the Evening Standard, which calls it "a wondeful work" that "deserves to belong in every home." Time Out recommends the live show, as does the Guardian, which calls her band "both intricate and melodically accessible, her impressive singing voice pointing the way."

The CBS Sunday Morning profile of Pat Metheny and his Orchestrion album and tour, scheduled to air on yesterday's episode of the program, has been postponed to an unspecified later date. In the mean time, Metheny's Orchestrion tour continues its western run this week. The Santa Cruz Sentinel, in a preview of tonight's show, says "Metheny's one-of-a-kind genius takes another evolutionary step forward with his latest project."

The Black Keys are on a bill with Snoop Dogg ... Shawn Colvin, Allen Toussaint are in New Orleans ... Christina Courtin opens for Mike Doughty in NYC ... Bill Frisell, Punch Brothers play Seattle ... Richard Goode, Joshua Redman play in Chicago ... Kronos Quartet comes to Carmel ... The Low Anthem plays Portland, Maine ... Natalie Merchant takes Leave Your Sleep to eTown ... Pat Metheny's Orchestrion tour continues in California ... Sara Watkins guests with Garrison Keillor in NYC ... Wilco tours Tokyo ... and more ...