Jessica Lea Mayfield, whose debut Nonesuch album, Tell Me, is due out February 8, has just announced several new US tour dates in February with Justin Townes Earle. In fact, the tour will bring her back to her hometown of Kent, Ohio, on the record's release date. The tour kicks off in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and includes stops in Burlington, Buffalo, Detroit, Chicago, Bloomington, Madison, and Minneapolis. The two will play previously scheduled shows in Philadelphia, Boston, New York, and DC next month.

AfroCubism is currently on tour in Europe, where this group of Malian and Cuban greats played a sold-out show at the Barbican in London on Sunday. The Arts Desk called it "one of the most transporting and life-affirming gigs of the year." The Evening Standard gave it a perfect five stars, saying: "The musical links are real and there’s a clear physical delight in throwing round the exuberant solos." Band member Toumani Diabaté gave the BBC World Service a brief tutorial on the kora and how this traditional Malian instrument worked so well with the sounds of Cuba on AfroCubism.

Emmylou Harris, The Low Anthem close out their tour together ... John Adams conducts Dutch premiere of City Noir ... Laurie Anderson and her dog perform at Art for Animals benefit ... Carolina Chocolate Drops continue French tour ... Shawn Colvin tours Midwest with Loudon Wainwright ... Ben Folds takes Lonely Avenue South ... Bill Frisell does Disfarmer ... Kronos Quartet plays Portugal ... Brad Mehldau continues Highway Rider Europe tour ... Punch Brothers play the South ... Oumou Sangare is in the Bronx ... Allen Toussaint, Nicholas Payton celebrate New Orleans ... Sara Watkins concludes European tour ... and more ...

The Barbican in London has revealed the complete program for Reverberations: The Influence of Steve Reich, a two-day celebration of his music and his influence on generations of musicians, May 7 and 8. Highlights include performances of all the new music he has written since the Barbican celebrated his 70th birthday in October 2006, including Double Sextet, 2x5, and WTC 9/11, performed by Kronos Quartet. Carnegie Hall presents those works in Music of Steve Reich at the end of April.

Ben Folds continues his Lonely Avenue tour stops in Montclair, New Jersey, Charlotte, and Atlanta. The New York Times describes him as "a witty, engaging songwriter possessing both chops and humor, a rare combination." The Londonist, looking forward to February's UK tour, says his "live performances are full of energy, bite, irony and good humour." Folds spoke with Nashville Public Television about his upcoming benefit concert with the Nashville Symphony in a video you can watch here, along with a preview of the upcoming season of NBC's The Sing-Off.

Dawn Upshaw joined violinist Geoff Nutall for the European premiere of Kurtág's Kafka Fragments at the Barbican in London last week, directed by Peter Sellars. The Guardian gave it four stars, citing "Upshaw's emotional honesty and gripping presentation of music that tests a soprano's technique." She joins another Sellars collaborator, John Adams, in performances of Adams's El Niño with the San Francisco Symphony, led by the composer, in early December.

Punch Brothers continue the Southern swing of their US tour, following last night's show in Knoxville and a live Mountain Stage set that led the Charleston Gazette to say the band "can flat-out play music." Chris Thile spoke with Birmingham magazine's Carla Jean Whitley, who tells him: "Perhaps I'm reading too much in, but it just sounds like you're five guys having a great time creating music with friends." The band has just added new dates to their tour schedule in January.

Gidon Kremer and his Kremerata Baltica chamber orchestra closed out their tour of North America with performances at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall in New York and Boston's Jordan Hall, featuring works from their latest Nonesuch release, De Profundis. The New York Times describes one such work as an "alluring, reflective piece." The Boston Globe says Kremer's performance "carries an electric charge precisely because the ear is almost always being led somewhere unexpected," and the Kremerata Baltica "play with great sensitivity."

NY Phil performs Adams's Hamonielehre at Carnegie Hall ... Laurie Anderson does Delusion in Florence ... The Black Keys play Germany's Rolling Stone fest ... Carolina Chocolate Drops play Benelux ... Shawn Colvin has two shows in NYC ... Ben Folds hits Buffalo and Philadelphia ... Emmylou Harris, The Low Anthem play Montclair and Albany ... Gidon Kremer, Kremerata Baltica close US tour in Boston ... Kronos Quartet performs in Poland and Germany ... Jessica Lea Mayfield joins Jay Farrar in Kentucky and Ohio ... Brad Mehldau premieres Highway Rider in London ... Punch Brothers, Stephen Sondheim visit Strathmore  ... Allen Toussaint takes New Orleans Nights to New England ... Caetano Veloso joins Beck at MOCA benefit ... Sara Watkins tours UK ... and more ...

Punch Brothers continue their US tour with stops outside DC, and in Charleston, West Virginia, for a live Mountain Stage performance. The Washington Post calls their music "dazzling." Last week, Steve Martin awarded banjoist Noam Pikelny the Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass and performed with the band on The Late Show with David Letterman. Punch Brothers also performed at WFUV in New York. Watch videos of it all here.

Tune in to NPR's World Cafe today to hear Folds and Hornby discuss their new album, Lonely Avenue, and to hear Folds perform a few of its songs. Folds's US tour takes him to Buffalo tonight, where Artvoice says the unexpected collaboration behind Lonely Avenue is a success: "Folds flourishes on this album, and his curious choice to collaborate with an author, when Folds himself is recognized by fans for his words, is a trick that pays off." The duo is the subject of a new piece on the BBC News.

Brad Mehldau gave the New York premiere of his Highway Rider in Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall Tuesday night, performing with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and the musicians featured on the album. The New York Times says of all Mehldau's classically inspired works, Highway Rider "is his grandest effort yet," with its "ear-catching modal motif" and influences in Beethoven. At the same time, it remains "couched in jazz’s bluesy chromaticism and fluid rhythms." Highway Rider's European premiere is this Saturday at the Barbican in London.