The Black Keys launched the UK leg of their European tour with sold-out shows in Nottingham Friday and Edinburgh on Saturday. Up next are more sold-out shows in Manchester, followed by a three-night run in London. The Keys got the "crowd rocking madly, a tight mass of bodies punching the air" at Friday's show, notes the Independent in a perfect five-star review. The band has "turned an old-fashioned sound into something timeless," says the Guardian in a four-star review. "As Nottingham roars its approval, it's another fine victory for pop's unlikely lads." STV calls Saturday's show "spectacular."

Björk launched her ten-show Biophilia residency in NYC with a performance Friday night at the New York Hall of Science in Queens. Five more shows at the unique venue are ahead, with four to follow at Roseland in Manhattan. Björk's "dazzling style" was on display on Friday's premiere, says NPR, which proved to be "a lesson in the scientific art of music, and how limitless it can be." Rolling Stone says of her voice: "Unearthly in its range and force, yet absolutely natural and frank in its ardor and hope, it is the vital human tissue connecting everything else." Fuse calls the show "jaw-dropping," explaining "it was evident that one of those special, unforgettable concert moments had just occurred."

k.d. lang has just confirmed a series of new shows in North America this spring and summer with her band the Siss Boom Bang. The band is featured on lang's latest album, Sing it Loud, and joined her on an extensive tour across the globe in support of the record all last year. The first date on the upcoming tour is slated for May 8 in Thunder Bay, Ontario, followed by stops across the Midwest, down South, on the East Coast, and back out West, as well as sets slated for festivals like Spoleto, Telluride, and more.

The Black Keys kick off the sold-out UK run of their European tour ... John Adams talks with BBC Radio 3 ... Laurie Anderson talks "Brain Bugs" in NYC ... Timothy Andres joins Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony in Iowa ... Björk launches NYC Biophilia residency ... Carolina Chocolate Drops, Luminescent Orchestrii play UNC ... Richard Goode performs in Scotland ... Gidon Kremer, Kremerata Baltica are in Germany, Netherlands ... Kronos Quartet plays Berkeley with Alim Qasimov Ensemble ... The Low Anthem, City and Colour take tour to Minneapolis ... Brad Mehldau plays NYC ... Joshua Redman Trio tours Germany ... Sara Watkins opens for John Prine then heads out on Cayamo Cruise ... and more ...

In partnership with The Creators Project and the New York Hall of Science, Björk has brought her live Biophilia show to New York City for a ten-show residency, starting tonight and running into March. The first six performances take place at the New York Hall of Science in Queens, followed by four at Roseland Ballroom in Manhattan. Björk gave a small taste of what's to come over the next month's residency in her performance on The Colbert Report earlier this week.

Punch Brothers—whose new album, Who's Feeling Young Now?, is due out on Valentine's Day—will be taking the show on the road across the United States starting the following Friday, February 17, in North Carolina. The band recently added another string of new East Coast dates to their tour schedule in April, including stops in New York City, Philadelphia, DC, Atlanta, Nashville, and more. All of these dates are now on sale, starting today. "I never flinch or hesitate to say the Punch Brothers are the tightest, most impressive live band I have ever seen," raves the Boston Globe's Mike Flanagan. "If you’re not sold yet, you’re reading the wrong blog."

Björk, whose ten-night Biophilia residency in New York City begins this Friday, will be the guest on tonight's episode of The Colbert Report. Tune in to Comedy Central starting at 11:30 PM ET tonight to see Björk perform "Cosmogony" from Biophilia and talk with host Stephen Colbert about the multimedia project: the album, the Apps, the educational series, and the residency, which includes six shows at the New York Hall of Science in Queens and four at Roseland Ballroom in Manhattan.

Nonesuch Records wishes Philip Glass a very happy 75th birthday today. The composer celebrates with the US premiere of his Ninth Symphony by the American Composers Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. He previews the performance on WNYC's Soundcheck today at 2 PM ET. He was the subject of a feature profile on NPR's Morning Edition earlier today. "Composer Philip Glass changed the landscape of American music," says NPR. "Glass came up with a new way to make music, and with it, brought a new audience to the concert halls."

Chris Thile—whose new album with Punch Brothers, Who's Feeling Young Now?, is due out in two weeks—is playing at Boston's House of Blues tonight with his fellow Goat Rodeo Sessions players: Yo-Yo Ma, Stuart Duncan, and Edgar Meyer. Fans across the US will have a chance to catch all of the string-virtuoso magic on the big screen as the concert is broadcast live to movie theaters in all 50 states. Thile will join his fellow Punch Brothers on their US tour in February.

The Black Keys' European tour brought the band to Germany over the weekend. Saturday's show in Berlin was "positively devoured by the German crowd," reports MTV News. "Drawing heavily from their breakout Brothers album and the equally successful El Camino, the duo, aided by backing band for extra oomph, tore through 90-plus minutes of sweaty, snarling stuff, a full-bore workout for their triumphant run of U.S. arena shows, which kicks off in March." Up next are shows in Italy, Switzerland, and the Netherlands before seven in the UK.

Carnegie Hall has announced its 2012–13 season, and featured among the performers taking the esteemed hall's stages are a number of artists familiar to readers of the Nonesuch Journal, including Kronos Quartet, Richard Goode, Dawn Upshaw, and Alarm Will Sound, as well as world and New York premiere performances of works by Steve Reich, Timothy Andres, and Donnacha Dennehy. In addition, John Adams will lead a Professional Training Workshop for emerging talents through Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute.

Kronos Quartet concludes week-long residency at the Barbican in London and celebrates Philip Glass's 75th in NYC ... Laurie Anderson is in Austria ... Timothy Andres plays "wordless songs" at 92YTribeca in NYC ... The Black Keys play two shows in Germany ... Carolina Chocolate Drops tour the Northeast ... Emmylou Harris plays the Midwest ... Gidon Kremer, Kremerata Baltica play Paris and Cologne ... The Low Anthem plays two shows in Calgary ... Brad Mehldau performs solo set in DC ... Pat Metheny concludes Tokyo residency ... Punch Brothers join Loudon Wainwright III down South ... and more ...