As Björk continues her Biophilia residency at the Manchester International Festival, with performances at Manchester's Campfield Market Hall this weekend and into next, the Icelandic artist has released details of the next Biophilia residency: six intimate shows at Harpa Concert Hall in her hometown of Reykjavik, from October 12 through 28. The first two performances are part of the Iceland Airwaves festival. In this week's New York Times Popcast, writer Jon Pareles recaps his trip to Manchester to see this "new multimedia extravaganza by Björk."

Brad Mehldau and Joshua Redman, longtime friends and frequent collaborators, head out for a three-week duo tour of Europe, heading to Norway, Denmark, Netherlands, Italy, and France. Following a solo tour for Mehldau and shows with James Farm for Redman, the two reunite for additional duo dates in the US and Europe this fall. Reviewing the duo's set at the Ottawa Jazz Festival, the Ottawa Citizen says they make "music of uncommon depth and simpatico." All About Jazz says they "delivered a performance that will be remembered by those lucky enough to be there, for a long time to come."

As Björk's Biophilia residency at the Manchester International Festival continues, so too does the critical acclaim for her. The Guardian says as a pop innovator, "Björk is peerless" and "remains an icon: tiny but titanic, thanks to the size of her voice and the scope of her imagination." The Daily Telegraph gives the performances four stars, citing the music's "transcendent beauty." The Financial Times says "Biophilia’s songs are some of the best Björk has written for a long time." Independent on Sunday calls it "brilliantly original and ambitious." The Quietus calls her "an international treasure." Björk is the guest editor of the entire 200th issue of Dazed & Confused, out Thursday.

AfroCubism has come to North America for a rare and all too brief four-city tour stopping in Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, and Quebec. The Seattle Times, previewing tonight's tour-opening concert, calls the band's music "vivid, exciting, piquant stuff." The Financial Times gave four stars to the band's recent performance before "a jubilant audience" at Royal Albert Hall in London.

Chris Thile and Sara Watkins are guests on A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor, live from Tanglewood ... Cincinnati Opera performs Adams's A Flowering Tree ... Björk continues Manchester Biophilia residency ... The Black Keys tours Canada, Midwest ... Carolina Chocolate Drops play free set in Dayton ... Wanda Jackson rocks the Montreal Jazz Fest ... k.d. lang celebrates both Canada Day and July 4 in concert ... Jessica Lea Mayfield tours the Midwest ... and more ...

The Cincinnati Opera performs John Adams's opera A Flowering Tree tonight and Saturday, reuniting the world-premiere cast featured on the Nonesuch recording of the opera: soprano Jessica Rivera, tenor Russell Thomas, and bass-baritone Eric Owens. The Cincinnati Enquirer says "Adams takes a striking new path" with A Flowering Tree, "combining an exotic story of magical transformation and love with ravishing music ... lyrical, lush and dreamlike." Watch a preview of the production and go backstage in videos here.

Laurie Anderson gives a free performance with bassist/producer Bill Laswell at Castle Clinton in NYC's Battery Park tonight as part of the River to River Festival. "Many musicians might bill a performance as a chance to 'build on new ideas and forms,'" says the Wall Street Journal, "but few could make as good on the prospect as Laurie Anderson and Bill Laswell." The New York Times describes the performers as "unusually fearless; expect something high-concept and possibly explosive."

The Black Keys kicked off their trans-Canadian summer tour with sold-out shows in Vancouver and Calgary. There are several more sold-out Canadian dates to follow in the coming weeks, plus a few select shows in the US. Band mates Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney are "in top shape," says the Vancouver Sun of Monday's tour launch. "The Black Keys are a better band than they've ever been ... Auerbach and Carney just nailed it." Vancouver's Straight calls it "a blistering, glorious motherf*cker of a set."

Four-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald and her fellow stars of the American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) production of the Gershwins' Porgy and Bess, Norm Lewis and David Alan Grier, are coming to Broadway following the A.R.T. run in Cambridge and McDonald's own US fall concert tour. The Broadway production will open at the Richard Rodgers Theater on January 12, with previews beginning on December 17.

Jessica Lea Mayfield kicks off her extensive US summer tour with a free set in Chicago's Grant Park this evening for Taste of Chicago. The tour will take Mayfield across the States, including several shows out West with the Avett Brothers, a performance with Punch Brothers, sets at Bumbershoot and the Philadelphia Folk Festival, and a concert supporting John Prine. Metromix names her one of the 25 hottest artists under 25, saying her new album, Tell Me, is "like Loretta Lynn fronting the Bad Seeds."

The Black Keys kick off their trans-Canadian summer tour with a sold-out show outside Vancouver tonight and several more sold-out Canadian dates to follow, plus a few select shows in the States. “Canada loves The Black Keys,” exclaims the Vancouver Sun. Dan Auerbach tells the Toronto Sun: “I’m really excited. We’ve got sort of a big set up, bigger than we’ve ever had.” Following their recent MuchMusic Video Awards performance, the Vancouver Sun proclaimed their set the best of the night, calling the band a “refreshing change of pace.” Check out the video of how tonight's tour poster was made.

The Opera Theatre of Saint Louis concludes its production of John Adams's "gripping and eerily beautiful" (AP) The Death of Klinghoffer ... Punch Brothers, Carolina Chocolate Drops, Emmylou Harris perform at the ROMP festival in Kentucky ... Punch Brothers and Chocolate Drops play DMB Caravan in Atlantic City ... Laurie Anderson brings Transitory Life to the Cork Midsummer Fest ... Wanda Jackson performs on NPR's Mountain Stage ... k.d. lang plays the Ottawa Jazz Fest ... The Low Anthem hits the European festival circuit ... Brad Mehldau, Joshua Redman duo at Montreal Jazz ... Allen Toussaint plays Stanford Jazz Fest ... and more ...