As all of Brazil celebrates Carnival today, Nonesuch marks the occasion by introducing Caetano Veloso's 41st album, zii e zie, now available for pre-order in the Nonesuch Store. Released last year in South America and Europe, the album earned a 2009 Latin Grammy for Best Singer-Songwriter Album and four stars from The Guardian and The Times (UK), which declared, “The Brazilian master remains in a league of his own.” Veloso tours the US this April.

Kronos Quartet has added four dates to its tour schedule next week at San Francisco's Z Space @ Artaud, with a different program each night, each featuring Jon Rose's Music from 4 Fences, along with a work by Terry Riley, pieces by composers from the Kronos: Under 30 Project, and works by Damon Albarn, John Zorn, Bryce Dessner, and Clint Mansell.

Punch Brothers bring their US tour to Charlottesville, Virginia, tonight for the start of a ten-day stretch through the South. And to kick things off right, opening tonight's show is Christina Courtin, who begins her own tour with Mike Doughty. The Columbus Dispatch says Punch Brothers' set last Saturday "offered plenty of moments of pure aural pleasure."

The Magnetic Fields takes its "delicate, sublime sound" (Boston Herald) to sold-out set at BAM ... Shawn Colvin sings in Southern California ... Robin Holcomb scores a silent film in NYC ... Kronos Quartet, Wu Man play A Chinese Home in snow-covered Maryland ... Natalie Merchant confers at TED ... Pat Metheny plays Paris ... Mandy Patinkin, Patti Lupone continue "can't miss" show (Toronto Star) in Toronto ... Punch Brothers play the Midwest ... Allen Toussaint takes "Southern Nights" to Northern Lights ... Wilco plays free set for Vancouver Olympic Winter Games ... 

The Carolina Chocolate Drops, whose Nonesuch debut, Genuine Negro Jig, is out worldwide on Tuesday, is the subject on an extensive profile on NPR's All Things Considered due to air Monday. The band, having just completed a UK tour, returns to the States to tour the US. Today, the Drops announce they'll return to the UK to play the Cambridge Folk Festival this summer.

Pat Metheny's Orchestrion continues through Europe, following a performance at the Barbican in London. The one-man band was revealed to "a gasp of wonder" from the crowd, says the Times four-star review, with Metheny giving "a highly original performance, full of delightful invention and an almost childlike imagination." Jazzwise calls it "a great achievement ... You’ll never see anything like it." Pat discussed the project on BBC Radio 3's Jazz on 3.

Wilco began its 2010 world tour this week, stopping in Portland Tuesday for a sold-out set where, says Rolling Stone, the band proved a "well-oiled rock machine." The Oregonian called it an "intense, beautiful, playful ... moving performance," concluding: "Wilco's a great band that played a great show." Seattle Weekly says that at last night's Seattle show, the band "somehow made the sold-out Paramount even more golden for two straight hours."

The Low Anthem closes out its European tour with a bang tonight, playing its biggest headline show ever at Shepherd's Bush Empire in London. There's more to come, as the band returns to the States for tours with The Avett Brothers and others, plus a stop at SXSW. The group's new radio show on WOXY, The Trala-lala Radio Hour, is now two episodes in, featuring music by the likes of Dylan, Cohen, Guthrie, Waits, Randy Newman, and Wilco.

The Magnetic Fields' tour settles in for two nights in Boston. In the Toronto Star, Stephin Merritt ("one of indie-rock's most beloved songwriters") gives fans an idea of what to expect on tour: "If we played it last time we toured, we're not playing it this time." With The A.V. Club, he shares some secrets to writing a good love song, advising: "Keep it vague." And Strange Powers, a new documentary about Merritt and the band, will be given a sneak preview at San Francisco's Noise Pop Festival and premiere at South by Southwest.

The wait is over. The official line-up for the 2010 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Manchester, Tennessee, has been announced. The festival will be held from Thursday, June 10, through Sunday, June 13, and among this year's artists are three Nonesuch groups: The Black Keys, Punch Brothers, and Carolina Chocolate Drops. All three groups will be on tour in the coming months.

Christina Courtin, having just completed a short tour with Josh Rouse, is now set to hit the road again for two weeks with Mike Doughty, the former front man of the band Soul Coughing. Courtin will join Doughty starting a week from Saturday, at Poor David's Pub in Dallas, Texas, on February 20, then head through the Southwest and into California, rounding things out at Slim's in San Francisco on March 6.

Pat Metheny's Orchestrion tour continues to wind its way through Europe. In advance of a show at London's Barbican Hall in London, Pat spoke with the BBC Radio 3's Jazz Line-up and with Jazz FM about the album the Observer calls "extraordinary," with the music "gripping as usual." The Edmonton Journal gives the album 3 1/2 stars, citing Pat's "brilliant guitar playing."