Following in the tradition of the 2005 Nonesuch album The McGarrigle Christmas Hour, Anna McGarrigle, Rufus Wainwright, and Martha Wainwright lead A Not So Silent Night, holiday concerts at the Théâtre St-Denis in Montreal and The Town Hall in New York City, featuring special guests like Lou Reed, Laurie Anderson, Teddy Thompson, and Loudon Wainwright III. The concerts are a tribute to the late Kate McGarrigle; proceeds benefit the Kate McGarrigle Sarcoma Research Fund.

In January 2012, Kronos Quartet heads to the Barbican in London for an unprecedented week-long residency entitled Awakenings. Kronos performs three concerts in three different venues, gives the world premiere of a major new work by Valentin Silvestrov, collaborates with two London choirs, and engages with young musicians and the public in a series of creative learning events. Integral to Kronos’s work is a series of long-running, in-depth collaborations with many of the world’s foremost composers; these collaborations will take center stage throughout the concerts and events. 

Carolina Chocolate Drops and Luminescent Orchestrii come together for "a night full of high-energy and feet-stomping music" at Duke ... Laurie Anderson, Steve Reich celebrate WNYC host John Schaefer ... The Black Keys play Saturday Night Live ... Shawn Colvin is in the Midwest ... Richard Goode is in Oregon ... Kronos Quartet performs Reich in Northern California ... Jessica Lea Mayfield begins Ryan Adams tour in Philly ... Brad Mehldau joins Joe Henry in London, Jorge Rossy in Bilbao ... Pat Metheny Trio concludes Europe tour in Athens ... Randy Newman joins the Cleveland Orchestra ... and more ...

The Black Keys will embark on the first leg of their North American tour this March, with shows in arenas like New York’s Madison Square Garden, Boston’s TD Garden, and Chicago’s United Center. The shows are in support of their new album, El Camino, out this Tuesday, December 6. Concert ticket and album packages will be available via the band’s site. The band will perform on Saturday Night Live tomorrow, The Colbert Report on Tuesday, and the Late Show with David Letterman on Wednesday. MTV Hive will livestream their album release show at New York’s Webster Hall on Monday.

Punch Brothers have announced a North American tour for February and March of 2012 in support of their forthcoming album. The new run of shows begins with two nights at the Somerville Theatre outside of Boston on February 23 and 24 and includes stops in Burlington, Montreal, Toronto, Chicago, and Minneapolis, before heading out West for sets in Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Denver. The shows follow a previously announced European tour and Chris Thile's set with Michael Daves as part of Lincoln Center's American Songbook series.

Nonesuch Records wishes everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving in the US and a fruitful Black Friday. Remember: all CDs, LPs, and DVDs in the Nonesuch Store are currently 34% off the standard retail price as part of the store's ongoing anniversary sale. There are also a few special events and concerts in the coming days, including the Black Friday release of a Black Keys vinyl 12"; Björk's performance on Jools Holland; European tour dates from Gidon Kremer, Pat Metheny, and Joshua Redman & Brad Mehldau; Punch Brothers' tour closer with Paul Simon; a Steve Reich performance in London; and more.

k.d. lang and the Siss Boom Bang close out their three-week tour of Australia—and months-long world tour—at the Brisbane Riverstage tomorrow night. The Age, reviewing one tour stop, says: "lang's voice remains a marvel." While in Sydney for a sold-out, six-night residency, lang and the band took time out for a special invitation-only live performance and audience Q&A that aired on Channel 7's Sunday Night. Fans around the world can now watch online via the show's site.

Philip Glass's Satyagraha at the Met makes its way to movie theaters ... Carolina Chocolate Drops' Dom Flemons joins Pete Seeger in NJ ... Richard Goode plays with Boston Symphony Orchestra ... Wanda Jackson plays the Grand Ole Opry ... Gidon Kremer, Kremerata Baltica tour Germany ... k.d. lang closes out Sydney residency ... Cheikh Lô celebrates James Brown ... The Low Anthem tour Europe ... Jessica Lea Mayfield joins Drive-By Truckers ... Natalie Merchant joins Levon Helm upstate NY ... Pat Metheny Trio tours Spain ... Mandy Patinkin joins Patti LuPone on Broadway ... Punch Brothers tour Midwest with Paul Simon ... Joshua Redman, Brad Mehldau take duo show to Germany ... Allen Toussaint launches Joe's Pub residency in NYC ... Sara Watkins joins Blind Boys of Alabama in their home state ... and more ...

Last week, Björk concluded a nine-show residency in her hometown of Reykjavik, featuring music from her new album, Biophilia. Nonesuch teamed up with Icelandair to send two fans to the closing-night performance. The winners, Justin Allan and Adam Spencer of Seattle, also enjoyed a few welcome surprises along the way. You can read all about it in Justin's words here. "The whole Icelandic adventure was pretty damn amazing, from beginning to end," he says. "Just like magic. It was truly amazing and spectacular, in every sense of the word."

Senegalese singer/songwriter Cheikh Lô is back in North America for a ten-day tour with Still Black, Still Proud: An African Tribute to James Brown. Lô joins Brown's longtime band leader Pee Wee Ellis and a band the Boston Globe has called "a pancontinental funk-soul supergroup," featuring Maceo Parker and Vusi Mahlasela, to celebrate the music of the legendary Godfather of Soul. The tour begins tonight at the University of North Carolina and includes stops in Massachusetts, Vermont, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, and Ontario.

Randy Newman makes his Austin City Limits TV debut Saturday night on PBS ... Carolina Chocolate Drops are in Alabama ... Shawn Colvin is in Albany ... Philip Glass's Satyagraha continues at the Met ... Emmylou Harris joins Rodney Crowell for Nashville benefit ... k.d. lang continues Australia tour ... Jessica Lea Mayfield has two shows in Georgia ... Audra McDonald heads South ... Natalie Merchant joins the Nashville Symphony ... Pat Metheny Trio takes its European tour to Italy ... Punch Brothers play Wisconsin; Chris Thile goes solo in North Carolina ... Brad Mehldau, Joshua Redman launch European duo tour in Spain ... Sara Watkins joins Blind Boys of Alabama in Kansas City ... and more ... 

Brad Mehldau and Joshua Redman head out for a duo tour of Europe, starting with two shows in Spain this weekend, followed by stops in Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Luxembourg, with a return to Spain for a final tour stop at the Voll-Damm Barcelona International Jazz Festival. The duo head to Australia in January and resume their US duo tour in the spring. Mehldau has a number of solo gigs ahead as well, a duo show with Joe Henry in London, and a trio show with Joe Martin and original Brad Mehldau Trio dummer Jorge Rossy in Spain.