The David Byrne–curated Meltdown festival gets under way at the Southbank Centre in London tonight, continuing through Sunday, August 30. Among Meltdown's many special events, Byrne and band celebrate African funk master William Onyeabor, he joins Young Jean Lee for the London debut of We’re Gonna Die, and Jonny Greenwood and LCO perform his score to There Will Be Blood at a screening of the film. BBC Radio 6 Music celebrates with a series of programs featuring Byrne, including his debut as a 6 Music presenter. "It’s a lot of fun when you do these kind of things you can introduce music," says Byrne, "and people will give you the benefit of the doubt and give it a listen which is a little bit of what’s it’s about."

Jeremy Denk performs Beethoven and Scriabin sonatas in the Northeast ... Rhiannon Giddens heads from Colorado to Canada ... Emmylou Harris, Rodney Crowell play Sweden's Way Out West fest ... Randy Newman is in Northern California ... Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club takes "Adios" tour to California ... Punch Brothers play Hot August Music Fest in Maryland ... and more ...

Following the recent release of Buena Vista Social Club’s Lost and Found—a new collection of previously unreleased tracks—Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club, a core band featuring several of the original musicians, kicks off a North American farewell "Adios" tour at the Ravinia Festival outside Chicago on Wednesday. The "Adios" tour includes extensive dates in the US and Canada, culminating in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on November 7.

Kronos Quartet performs Terry Riley, Laurie Anderson, more at Cabrillo Festival in Santa Cruz ... Louis Andriessen’s La Commedia is featured on BBC Radio 3’s Hear & Now ... The Arcs play first show in LA ... The Black Keys headline Outside Lands in San Francisco ... Tyondai Braxton, Deerhoof play Portsmouth, NH ... Donnacha Dennehy’s new chamber opera premieres at Edinburgh International Festival ... Rhiannon Giddens plays Mountain Stage ... James Farm is in Richmond ... Robert Plant tours Europe ... and more ...

Randy Newman, Emmylou Harris, and Rodney Crowell will take part in two intimate evenings of music in truly special settings as only New Orleans could offer. As part of the tenth-anniversary commemoration of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Nonesuch Records, Warner Bros. Records, and New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity (NOAHH) will present an evening with Newman on August 24 and an evening with Harris and Crowell on August 26 to help NOAHH build homes for and with those who need them. Each event will offer music in a spectacular private residence, memorable food and good company. 

Rhiannon Giddens, Punch Brothers, and Olivia Chaney all performed at the Cambridge Folk Festival this weekend, and judging by the Guardian review, all went well, to say the least. "Giddens was a revelation" and "Chaney showed how it should be sung," says the Guardian's Robin Denselow of their Saturday sets, and "the finest performance of the night came from one of the most inventive acoustic bands on the planet," says Denselow of Punch Brothers' "magnificent" Sunday set. Giddens and Chaney also performed for BBC Radio 2's coverage from Cambridge, which can be heard at bbc.co.uk.

The UK summer festival season is in full swing, as Rhiannon Giddens, Punch Brothers play Southern Fried Fest and Cambridge Folk Fest, where Olivia Chaney performs as well ... Sam Amidon plays Pickathon near Portland, OR ... The Black Keys close out Osheaga Fest in Montreal ... Jeremy Denk joins Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra at Lincoln Center ... Audra McDonald sings at Sun Valley, ID, gala ... Emmylou Harris, Rodney Crowell play Pacific Northwest ... Robert Plant performs at Notodden Blues Fest in Norway ... and more ...

The Nonesuch Journal is taking a bit of a break for a summer holiday, ready to return with all the latest Nonesuch news on Monday, July 27. Until then, the summer concert season remains in full swing, of course, and with plenty of great music being made around the world, here's a look at some of the many events featuring Nonesuch artists in the coming days, hopefully reaching wherever your summer travels may take you. For additional details and tickets links for these and other upcoming shows, head to nonesuch.com/on-tour.

John Adams and Jeremy Denk will take part in a new weekend festival at the Barbican in London: Sound Unbound: The Barbican Classical Weekender, October 31 and November 1, 2015. This event will take over the Barbican Centre and surrounding venues featuring over 50 concerts across 48 hours in different locations, with performances from Jeremy Denk, a concert from the London Symphony Orchestra led by John Adams, and music by Adams, Steve Reich, Philip Glass, Beethoven, Mozart, and more. Tickets go on sale Friday, July 17.

Lianne La Havas made a brief trip to the US for a set at the Essence Festival and sold-out shows in LA and NYC last week. "[W]hat comes across first is the sheer grace of her voice," says the New York Times review of the NYC show. "It can be a breathy purr, a lilting tease, a liquid confession or a torchy declaration ... She was already distinctive on her 2012 debut album, Is Your Love Big Enough?, which fused neo-soul, folk and jazz in songs built around her briskly syncopated guitar playing, often juggling three-against-two patterns behind supple tunes ... Her music pushes further in the songs on [her new album,] Blood." La Havas returns to North America to tour this fall.

Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell return to Europe; their Austin City Limits set re-airs on PBS ... The Bad Plus Joshua Redman plays jazz fests in Turkey and Netherlands ... Jeremy Denk plays Mozart in Quebec ... Rhiannon Giddens performs at festivals in Germany and Netherlands ... Tigran Hamasyan is in France ... Brad Mehldau Trio plays in Poland and Italy ... Robert Plant kicks off European tour in the UK ... Punch Brothers tour East Coast ... and more ...

This July 4th weekend, The Bad Plus Joshua Redman tours Europe ... Sam Amidon has two nights at Montreal Jazz Fest ... Jeremy Denk plays Mozart in Santa Barbara ... Jonny Greenwood performs his film scores in Poland ... Lianne La Havas is at Essence Festival in New Orleans ... Brad Mehldau Trio tours Europe ... and more ...