Vinicio Capossela, one of Italy’s most celebrated and best-selling artists, releases his latest album, The Story-Faced Man, now available digitally from the Nonesuch Store. This compendium offers American audiences an introduction to the music of the man described by the Sunday Times as "Italy’s greatest rock star" and by Mojo as "Italy’s most intriguing musical traveler." Renowned for concerts that fuse rock, theatre, and performance art, Capossela brings the show to North America for one week in March.

Laurie Anderson's Delusion received its world premiere in Vancouver last night as part of the Cultural Olympiad. In an interview with the CBC, she jokingly refers to the piece as "a poor man's Avatar." She tells the Globe and Mail it's "a collection of stories about identity ... and ancestors and relatives and where you come from, where you’re going. Those small questions." The Vancouver Sun calls her "one of those rare artists who have moved from the avant-garde into the world of pop culture and celebrity while still retaining her creative and experimental edge."

The Los Angeles Philharmonic has announced its 2010-2011 concert season. John Adams, the orchestra's creative chair, will oversee its famed Green Umbrella new-music series, with music by Michael Gordon, George Crumb, and others, concluding with a concert led by Adams. His Slonimsky's Earbox will be featured on the LA Phil's European tour. Brad Mehldau will perform Highway Rider at Disney Hall with musicians from the album, including Joshua Redman.

The Carolina Chocolate Drops' Nonesuch debut, Genuine Negro Jig, is in stores around the world today, not least the Nonesuch Store, where CD orders include an instant download of the album with seven exclusive bonus tracks recorded live. The band was featured on NPR's All Things Considered yesterday, discussing and performing three tunes off the new album. The US tour begins next week.

Following The Magnetic Fields' sold-out show at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, NPR's Carrie Brownstein reported that she "left the concert feeling lucky that The Magnetic Fields exist." That same night, the band's latest Nonesuch release, Realism, was the subject of a feature on NPR's All Things Considered including an interview with the band's Stephin Merritt and Claudia Gonson and a solo performance from Merritt.

As all of Brazil celebrates Carnival today, Nonesuch marks the occasion by introducing Caetano Veloso's 41st album, zii e zie, now available for pre-order in the Nonesuch Store. Released last year in South America and Europe, the album earned a 2009 Latin Grammy for Best Singer-Songwriter Album and four stars from The Guardian and The Times (UK), which declared, “The Brazilian master remains in a league of his own.” Veloso tours the US this April.

Kronos Quartet has added four dates to its tour schedule next week at San Francisco's Z Space @ Artaud, with a different program each night, each featuring Jon Rose's Music from 4 Fences, along with a work by Terry Riley, pieces by composers from the Kronos: Under 30 Project, and works by Damon Albarn, John Zorn, Bryce Dessner, and Clint Mansell.

Punch Brothers bring their US tour to Charlottesville, Virginia, tonight for the start of a ten-day stretch through the South. And to kick things off right, opening tonight's show is Christina Courtin, who begins her own tour with Mike Doughty. The Columbus Dispatch says Punch Brothers' set last Saturday "offered plenty of moments of pure aural pleasure."

The Magnetic Fields takes its "delicate, sublime sound" (Boston Herald) to sold-out set at BAM ... Shawn Colvin sings in Southern California ... Robin Holcomb scores a silent film in NYC ... Kronos Quartet, Wu Man play A Chinese Home in snow-covered Maryland ... Natalie Merchant confers at TED ... Pat Metheny plays Paris ... Mandy Patinkin, Patti Lupone continue "can't miss" show (Toronto Star) in Toronto ... Punch Brothers play the Midwest ... Allen Toussaint takes "Southern Nights" to Northern Lights ... Wilco plays free set for Vancouver Olympic Winter Games ... 

The Carolina Chocolate Drops, whose Nonesuch debut, Genuine Negro Jig, is out worldwide on Tuesday, is the subject on an extensive profile on NPR's All Things Considered due to air Monday. The band, having just completed a UK tour, returns to the States to tour the US. Today, the Drops announce they'll return to the UK to play the Cambridge Folk Festival this summer.

Pat Metheny's Orchestrion continues through Europe, following a performance at the Barbican in London. The one-man band was revealed to "a gasp of wonder" from the crowd, says the Times four-star review, with Metheny giving "a highly original performance, full of delightful invention and an almost childlike imagination." Jazzwise calls it "a great achievement ... You’ll never see anything like it." Pat discussed the project on BBC Radio 3's Jazz on 3.

Wilco began its 2010 world tour this week, stopping in Portland Tuesday for a sold-out set where, says Rolling Stone, the band proved a "well-oiled rock machine." The Oregonian called it an "intense, beautiful, playful ... moving performance," concluding: "Wilco's a great band that played a great show." Seattle Weekly says that at last night's Seattle show, the band "somehow made the sold-out Paramount even more golden for two straight hours."