The Barbican in London has revealed the complete program for Reverberations: The Influence of Steve Reich, a two-day celebration of his music and his influence on generations of musicians, May 7 and 8. Highlights include performances of all the new music he has written since the Barbican celebrated his 70th birthday in October 2006, including Double Sextet, 2x5, and WTC 9/11, performed by Kronos Quartet. Carnegie Hall presents those works in Music of Steve Reich at the end of April.

Ben Folds continues his Lonely Avenue tour stops in Montclair, New Jersey, Charlotte, and Atlanta. The New York Times describes him as "a witty, engaging songwriter possessing both chops and humor, a rare combination." The Londonist, looking forward to February's UK tour, says his "live performances are full of energy, bite, irony and good humour." Folds spoke with Nashville Public Television about his upcoming benefit concert with the Nashville Symphony in a video you can watch here, along with a preview of the upcoming season of NBC's The Sing-Off.

Dawn Upshaw joined violinist Geoff Nutall for the European premiere of Kurtág's Kafka Fragments at the Barbican in London last week, directed by Peter Sellars. The Guardian gave it four stars, citing "Upshaw's emotional honesty and gripping presentation of music that tests a soprano's technique." She joins another Sellars collaborator, John Adams, in performances of Adams's El Niño with the San Francisco Symphony, led by the composer, in early December.

Punch Brothers continue the Southern swing of their US tour, following last night's show in Knoxville and a live Mountain Stage set that led the Charleston Gazette to say the band "can flat-out play music." Chris Thile spoke with Birmingham magazine's Carla Jean Whitley, who tells him: "Perhaps I'm reading too much in, but it just sounds like you're five guys having a great time creating music with friends." The band has just added new dates to their tour schedule in January.

Gidon Kremer and his Kremerata Baltica chamber orchestra closed out their tour of North America with performances at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall in New York and Boston's Jordan Hall, featuring works from their latest Nonesuch release, De Profundis. The New York Times describes one such work as an "alluring, reflective piece." The Boston Globe says Kremer's performance "carries an electric charge precisely because the ear is almost always being led somewhere unexpected," and the Kremerata Baltica "play with great sensitivity."

NY Phil performs Adams's Hamonielehre at Carnegie Hall ... Laurie Anderson does Delusion in Florence ... The Black Keys play Germany's Rolling Stone fest ... Carolina Chocolate Drops play Benelux ... Shawn Colvin has two shows in NYC ... Ben Folds hits Buffalo and Philadelphia ... Emmylou Harris, The Low Anthem play Montclair and Albany ... Gidon Kremer, Kremerata Baltica close US tour in Boston ... Kronos Quartet performs in Poland and Germany ... Jessica Lea Mayfield joins Jay Farrar in Kentucky and Ohio ... Brad Mehldau premieres Highway Rider in London ... Punch Brothers, Stephen Sondheim visit Strathmore  ... Allen Toussaint takes New Orleans Nights to New England ... Caetano Veloso joins Beck at MOCA benefit ... Sara Watkins tours UK ... and more ...

Punch Brothers continue their US tour with stops outside DC, and in Charleston, West Virginia, for a live Mountain Stage performance. The Washington Post calls their music "dazzling." Last week, Steve Martin awarded banjoist Noam Pikelny the Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass and performed with the band on The Late Show with David Letterman. Punch Brothers also performed at WFUV in New York. Watch videos of it all here.

Tune in to NPR's World Cafe today to hear Folds and Hornby discuss their new album, Lonely Avenue, and to hear Folds perform a few of its songs. Folds's US tour takes him to Buffalo tonight, where Artvoice says the unexpected collaboration behind Lonely Avenue is a success: "Folds flourishes on this album, and his curious choice to collaborate with an author, when Folds himself is recognized by fans for his words, is a trick that pays off." The duo is the subject of a new piece on the BBC News.

Brad Mehldau gave the New York premiere of his Highway Rider in Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall Tuesday night, performing with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and the musicians featured on the album. The New York Times says of all Mehldau's classically inspired works, Highway Rider "is his grandest effort yet," with its "ear-catching modal motif" and influences in Beethoven. At the same time, it remains "couched in jazz’s bluesy chromaticism and fluid rhythms." Highway Rider's European premiere is this Saturday at the Barbican in London.

Steve Reich's 2x5 receives its US premiere at Strathmore Hall outside of Washington, DC, tonight. The piece will be performed as part of an all-Reich program by the Bang on a Can All-Stars. Bang on a Can gave 2x5 its world premiere in Manchester, England, last summer and can be heard on the first recording of the piece, released this past September with Reich's Double Sextet, which is also on tonight's program. Voting has begun at Indaba Music to pick the Top ten 2x5 remixes.

Jessica Lea Mayfield’s Nonesuch Records debut, Tell Me, will be released February 8. Produced by The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach, the album follows Mayfield’s acclaimed 2008 release, With Blasphemy So Heartfelt, which Pitchfork gave an 8.2, calling it "fascinating and endlessly listenable." Tell Me is now available to pre-order in the Nonesuch Store, where the first 250 CD or vinyl copies include a signed 7” of the album’s first single, “Our Hearts Are Wrong.” Mayfield will tour throughout the fall, including dates with Jay Farrar and Justin Townes Earle.

Emmylou Harris, Kronos Quartet, and Philip Glass will be among the diverse array of artists performing at the Sydney Festival in Australia this January. Harris will give three shows, including a free set at the Festival First Night, marking her first time performing in Australia in a decade. Kronos gives the Australian premiere of A Chinese Home, with pipa virtuoso Wu Man, and performs Glass's Dracula with the composer. Glass also offers an evening of his chamber music with cellist Wendy Sutter. The Black Keys will be in Australia for the Big Day Out tour plus several newly added side shows.