Donnacha Dennehy's Grá Agus Bás will be featured in the Opening Night concert of the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival (HCMF), the UK's largest contemporary music festival, in November. The all-Dennehy program will be performed by Crash Ensemble, with Alan Pierson conducting and featuring vocalist Iarla Ó Lionáird, all of whom performed Grá Agus Bás on Dennehy's Nonesuch debut album of of the same name. Crash, an ensemble in residence at HCMF, will also bring Grá Agus Bás to the US next year for performances with Dawn Upshaw at The Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall.

Brad Mehldau Trio performs at Denver's Newman Center for the Performing Arts with an opening performance from Timothy Andres ... The Black Keys continue their North American arena tour in Calgary and Edmonton ... Laurie Anderson's first-ever NYC painting exhibition opens ... Carolina Chocolate Drops are in Richmond ... Shawn Colvin closes out duo tour with Mary Chapin Carpenter in Washington ... Einstein on the Beach concludes UK run at the Barbican ... Emmylou Harris performs at the Ryman ... Kronos Quartet showcases Women’s Voices in San Francisco ... k.d. lang takes tour to Milwaukee and Chicago ... and more ...

Kronos Quartet has announced its late-spring and summer tour schedule, adding a number of dates throughout Europe. The Quartet kicks things off this weekend with two concerts at home in San Francisco, then heads to Europe for the first of two trips, featuring performances of Dracula with Philip Glass. In July, Kronos returns to the UK for several events in the Cultural Olympiad and the group's debut at BBC Proms.

NPR has premiered the new video for Dr. John's "Revolution" from the New Orleans legend's universally-lauded collaboration with The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach, Locked Down. Directed by Reid Long, the video offers a behind-the-scenes look at Dr. John's recent three weekend residency at BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music). Watch the video here. Dr. John will take songs from Locked Down across the US and Europe, appearing with his band The Lower 911 featuring Jon Cleary as well as Iron & Wine, Gov't Mule, and more.

Amadou & Mariam will tour North America this summer for the first time since 2009, stopping at festivals including Lollapalooza, Central Park SummerStage, Outside Lands, and Osheaga, in addition to headlining theaters and clubs. On the tour, Amadou & Mariam will perform songs from Folila, the duo’s critically acclaimed new album.

Punch Brothers perform at the third-annual L.A. Bluegrass Situation curated by Ed Helms at Largo ... Timothy Andres joins NOW Ensemble at BAM ... The Black Keys play two shows in California ... Billy Bragg celebrates Woody Guthrie in Suffolk ... Carolina Chocolate Drops play Madison and Chicago ... Shawn Colvin joins Mary Chapin Carpenter in the Southwest ...  New Orleans favorite sons Dr. John and Allen Toussaint play Jazz Fest ... Philip Glass and Robert Wilson's Einstein on the Beach receives UK premiere at the Barbican ... Gidon Kremer and his Kremerata Baltica are in Austria ... and more ...

The Black Keys take their North American arena tour to the West Coast, starting with two shows in California this weekend, in Oakland and Sacramento, followed by shows in Portland and Seattle, following recent successes in the Rockies and in Tulsa. The band "surpassed the lofty heights they had achieved on their most recent album, El Camino, by unleashing a beat-heavy, surprisingly groovy set that resonated in the concrete under your feet," says the Salt Lake Tribune. Their Denver show proved "a voluminous triumph," Reverb raves. "A Black Keys concert radiates with what every rock show should," says Tulsa World: "very nearly blasphemous, raw, unbridled energy." The Black Keys will appear on an upcoming episode of Comedy Central's Workaholics.

Philip Glass and Robert Wilson's Einstein on the Beach, widely credited as one of the greatest artistic achievements of the 20th century, opens at the Barbican Theatre in London tonight, marking its UK premiere. It is the first of eight performances at the Barbican and part of a major international tour. Glass and Wilson recently spoke with the Guardian about the making of the piece and were interviewed on BBC Radio 4's Today. Philip Glass is featured in The Fader's Icon Issue, which includes Wilson's reflections on Einstein on the Beach, an oral history of Glass's work, a look at his legacy, a photo essay of recent Glass performances around the world, and an interview with the composer.

Steve Reich made a rare visit to Australia for a residency at the Sydney Opera House that culminated in an all-Reich concert Sunday night. His Pulitzer Prize-winning Double Sextet was performed "with brilliant edginess" by eighth blackbird, says the Sydney Morning Herald in a four-star review, and with "tight-knit playing and incisive attack," says The Australian. Of Reich's seminal Music for 18 Musicians, the latter paper writes: "Performed by a collective of Australia's finest contemporary music performers, this compelling account captured its exuberance while simultaneously revealing its inventive instrumental colours." On Monday, Reich participated in a conversation and concert at the Melbourne Recital Centre.

Shawn Colvin, whose new album, All Fall Down, is due out June 5, will preview tracks from the album at NYC’s City Winery on June 4. The show will be broadcast live on New York's WFUV, 90.7 FM, streaming live at wfuv.org. A consummate, natural and engaging performer, Colvin has a run of live shows leading up to and following the album’s release, including headlining shows, duo dates with Mary Chapin Carpenter, and shows as very special guest of Chris Isaak. Fans can expect to hear much loved favorites as well as songs from the new album. 

Carolina Chocolate Drops, who joined The Chieftains for a performance on Later ... with Jools Holland on BBC Two last Tuesday, were also featured on  Friday's full episode of Later. That show included an encore broadcast of The Chieftains performance as well as a solo performance from the Chocolate Drops of the song "No Man's Mama," off of their new album, Leaving Eden. Watch the performance here. Following the weekend's "joyous, emotionally committed show" (Times-Picayune) at New Orleans Jazz Fest, the band performs in the Midwest this week.

For the first time since his 1980 release 80/81, Pat Metheny has recorded with a band that features tenor saxophone. Unity Band, due out June 12, introduces a new Metheny ensemble with Chris Potter on sax and bass clarinet, longtime collaborator Antonio Sanchez on drums, and the up-and-coming Ben Williams on bass. The album features nine new Metheny compositions. The Pat Metheny Unity Band will tour the US this summer and fall, with stops in 39 cities. Pre-orders of Unity Band are available now in the Nonesuch Store with a signed print and an instant download of the opening track, “New Year.”