The Low Anthem brings its US winter tour to a close this week before heading to Europe, with shows in Portland, New York, and in the abandoned pasta sauce factory where they recorded their new album, Smart Flesh. The Boston Globe says The Low Anthem hit "a high note" in its Friday show at the Old South Church, "a galvanizing 90-minute performance that was masterful and even magical at times."

The Low Anthem performs two sold-out shows in Massachusetts with hand-screened shirts on hand ... John Adams makes Toronto Symphony Orchestra debut ... Timothy Andres joins Gabriel Kahane for Ives-inspired evening ... Carolina Chocolate Drops play two shows in PA ... Ben Folds continues European tour ... Emmylou Harris, John Prine play Alabama ... Fred Hersch, Joshua Redman do duo in NYC ... Kronos Quartet tours Taiwan ... Brad Mehldau holds master classes in NYC ... Natalie Merchant performs Bard benefit ... Randy Newman hits NYC ... Punch Brothers play Utah ... and more ...

k.d. lang and the Siss Boom Bang will perform at the eighth-annual Stuart House benefit held at the John Varvatos store in West Hollywood, on Sunday, March 13. Varvatos closes the street and opens the door of his boutique for an afternoon of live music, shopping, auctions, great food, and kids’ activities. Proceeds benefit Stuart House, a program serving the special needs of child victims of sexual abuse and their families.

Jessica Lea Mayfield is in the UK this week, bringing the music of her new album, Tell Me, to the British airwaves—on BBC 6 Music's Marc Riley and Nemone earlier this week, XFM's X-Posure tonight, and BBC Radio 4's Loose Ends on Saturday—and a live in-store performance today in London. Mayfield then returns to the States to launch her extensive US tour, which includes several events at SXSW and has now been extended into May with some 18 new dates added.

John Adams's music will be front and center at the Toronto Symphony Orchestra's New Creations Festival, which kicks off tonight with a performance of his Harmonielehre and Short Ride in a Fast Machine. The composer makes his TSO debut when he conducts the orchestra in the Canadian premiere of his City Noir on Saturday. Today at noon, Adams hosts a free concert featuring selections from his operas. On Thursday, he gives a free lecture at the University of Toronto.

k.d. lang and the Siss Boom Bang will celebrate the release of Sing it Loud by playing the complete album live at two intimate shows the week the album is released: at the Troubadour in Los Angeles on Monday, April 11, and at (Le) Poisson Rouge in New York City on Thursday, April 14. They will be performing material from Sing it Loud and songs from throughout lang’s career on their North American run, which will keep them on the road into the fall.

Kronos Quartet and k.d. lang and the Siss Boom Bang will be among the artists performing at this summer's Luminato, the Toronto Festival of Arts and Creativity, this June. The Kronos Quartet Residency at Luminato will feature four concerts, including a free outdoor concert in Toronto's Metro Square, and initiatives with Luminato’s Education and Outreach programs. k.d. lang and the Siss Boom Bang will also perform a free concert in Metro Square.

Steve Reich is at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, today for Reich at 75: The Music and Jewish Faith of Steve Reich, a two-day event presented by the Baylor School of Music and Center for Jewish Studies that will include lectures, a Q&A, and a concert with the composer and the Baylor Percussion Group, all of which are free and open to the public. The celebrations of the composer's 75th birthday continue throughout the year, including the world premiere performance of Reich's WTC 9/11 by Kronos Quartet later this month.

Brad Mehldau's follows the release of his new solo album, Live in Marciac, with a free solo show at the Library of Congress in DC and NYC shows with Chris Thile, Gabe Kahane, Joshua Redman, and Timothy Andres. Mehldau includes Andres's Nonesuch debut album, Shy and Mighty, in his New York Times Playlist, saying it's "not like anything I’ve heard." Mehldau's takes on Radiohead songs, on Live in Marciac and with his trio, are the subject of an NPR Music blog piece, which calls him "the most influential" jazz interpreter of the band's music.

Randy Newman performs at the Oscars ... Adams’s Doctor Atomic Symphony receives Canadian premiere ... Carolina Chocolate Drops sell out in Charlottesville ... Ben Folds closes out UK leg of European tour ... Wanda Jackson plays DC and Dallas ... The Low Anthem play Philly, Pittsburgh, and Mountain Stage ... Jessica Lea Mayfield's on the Late Show ... Brad Mehldau, Anne Sofie von Otter close out duo tour ... Joshua Redman is in Oregon for PDX Jazz Fest ... Chris Thile joins Great Falls Symphony on his Mandolin Concerto ... Allen Toussaint's on Austin City Limits ... Sara Watkins is on A Prairie Home Companion ... and more ...

Jessica Lea Mayfield will be the musical guest on the Late Show with David Letterman tonight, performing "Our Hearts Are Wrong," off her Nonesuch debut album, Tell Me. Also on tonight's show are Glee's Matthew Morrison and comedian Jeff Altman. Mayfield is set to tour Europe in May and June, following her US tour. The tour begins in Belgium on May 27 and includes concerts in Ireland, UK, France, Germany, and Holland.

Ben Folds's Lonely Avenue tour of Europe got off to a smashing good start in Ireland and the UK this past week. The Independent gives a perfect five stars to the "monumental" London show, with Folds "amazing the audience time and again ... It's an absolute joy to watch someone so gifted perform." MusicOMH gives the concert five stars as well, calling it "a performance that doesn't set a foot wrong, from an artist who systematically matches storytelling with perfect orchestration and harmony. Impeccable." The Evening Standard says Folds's "musicianship shone through with jazzy interludes from his band and beautiful harmonies."