Kronos Quartet performs two concerts at the Walker Arts Center in Minneapolis this weekend, featuring works from their album Floodplain and Laurie Anderson's Grammy-nominated "Flow." "It's hard to hype the Kronos Quartet," says the Star Tribune. "The group ... really has transformed the face of chamber music; it still makes many younger rivals seem staid." The Winnipeg Free Press gives 4.5 stars to a recent concert by this "new music royalty," exclaiming: "Everything they touch seems to turn to gold."

The Carolina Chocolate Drops’ launch their 2011 tour with a special engagement on Lincoln Center’s prestigious American Songbook series at The Allen Room in New York City tonight. The show follows last week's release of their new four-song EP, a collaboration with the New York City–based Romanian gypsy punk band Luminescent Orchestrii, along with human beatboxer Adam Matta. Another 20 shows follow in the coming months, with Matta and multi-instrumentalist Hubby Jenkins joining the band on the road.

Chris Thile will appear on The Travel Channel's new series The Traveler’s Guide to Life tonight. On the series, guests share stories that shed insight on the important things in life, including, on tonight's episode, "Hometown," and on next week's episode, "Celebrations," also featuring Thile. His own travels continue with a performance of his Mandolin Concerto in Iowa this weekend, followed by a duo show with guitarist Michael Daves close to home in New York, and the next leg of his tour with Punch Brothers next week.

Ben Folds's US tour came to close one day earlier than expected when his concert in Tulsa tonight had to be postponed due to a major snowstorm blanketing the region. Throughout the tour, Folds has enlisted the help of audience members to perform an a cappella version of the song "Working Day" off Lonely Avenue, his collaboration with Nick Hornby. You can see this new a cappella work in progress come together in video clips on Folds's YouTube channel; watch the first one here.

Sara Watkins kicked off her tour with The Decemberists last week and continues through the coming months. Prior to the launch of the tour, Watkins was given the very special opportunity to serve as guest host of the beloved radio show A Prairie Home Companion. Her appearance on WNYC's Soundcheck, in which she discusses her guest-hosting gig, was originally slated to air last week but will air today instead.

There's just one more week to go before the release of Jessica Lea Mayfield's Nonesuch debut album, Tell Me, produced by The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach. "Auerbach brings out the best" in Mayfield, says the Cleveland Scene; "this is Mayfield’s strongest record, an alt-country torch storm that rivals Neko Case’s best." Pre-order here with an exclusive signed 7” of the album’s first single, “Our Hearts Are Wrong.” Mayfield kicks off a tour with Justin Townes Earle this weekend.

Joshua Rifkin celebrates 40th anniversary of Joplin's Piano Rags album in NYC ... Alarm Will Sound performs Reich's Tehillim for NYC's Ecstatic Music Festival ... Ben Folds tours Midwest ... Philip Glass goes solo in Colombia ... Wanda Jackson plays free hometown show in Oklahoma City .... Glenn Kotche, Bang on a Can play Reich in Kentucky ... The Low Anthem performs at Bowdoin ... Stockholm celebrates Reich ... Allen Toussaint continues NYC residency ... Sara Watkins plays Boston with The Decemberists ... Dawn Upshaw, Gilbert Kalish give recital in Connecticut ... and more ...

Wanda Jackson celebrates the release of her new Jack White-produced album, The Party Ain't Over, with a free show in her hometown of Oklahoma City tomorrow. She is featured on the latest edition of the New York Times Popcast. The Huffington Post calls her "every inch an Elvis," who, with the new album, is "cementing her status as royalty ... Wicked Good!" The Montreal Gazette gives the album four stars, calling the pairing of Jackson and White "an inspired one." ClashMusic exclaims: "The Queen of Rockabilly Wanda Jackson is back on her throne."

The Konserthuset in Stockholm kicks off Steve Reich's 75th birthday year with Tonsättarfestivalen: Steve Reich, five days of concerts, starting tonight, featuring the Stockholm Royal Philharmonic, Kroumata, Amadinda, Synergy Vocals, and the composer himself, who performs Clapping Music on tonight's program. The concerts will be broadcast on Swedish Radio P2. This week's festival is the first of a year's worth of events around the world honoring the composer's 75th birthday on October 3.

The Low Anthem is in Los Angeles to perform at The Wiltern with Iron and Wine tonight. The bands will be together again this spring when they launch a two-week tour in April. Before that, The Low Anthem will embark on a headlining tour in support of its forthcoming Nonesuch release, Smart Flesh, due out February 22. Salt Lake magazine listed the band's sets at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this week among the week's musical highlights.

The Carolina Chocolate Drops release a four-song EP today, a collaboration with the New York City–based Romanian gypsy punk band Luminescent Orchestrii and beatboxer Adam Matta. "More than anything, this collaboration is a tribute to the power of music to bring people together," says No Depression. The Chocolate Drops’ begin their tour next week on Lincoln Center’s prestigious American Songbook; Matta and multi-instrumentalist Hubby Jenkins join the band on the road.

The Barbican in London has announced its Classical Music 2011–12 season, which includes a Kronos Quartet residency with a program of American music and a special mediation on the anniversary of 9/11; two concerts from the LSO celebrating Steve Reich's 75th birthday; and the UK premiere of Philip Glass's Einstein on the Beach in conjunction with the Cultural Olympiad's London 2012 Festival.