Rhiannon Giddens begins Swimming in Dark Waters: Other Voices of the American Experience tour with Leyla McCalla, Bhi Bhiman … John Adams's Scheherazade.2 is performed by St. Louis Symphony, Leila Josefowicz ... Timo Andres joins Phillip Glass to perform Glass’s piano études … David Byrne celebrates carnaval in Montreal to support Haiti … Richard Goode performs in Missouri … Kronos Quartet is in Seattle … Audra McDonald gives a TimesTalk in NYC … and more …

The full program for the 50th Brighton Festival (May 7–29, 2016) in England has been unveiled, with Laurie Anderson as Guest Director. Anderson's own events include the UK premiere of her Music for Dogs, a screening of her film Heart of a Dog, an exclusive new performance monologue about place and places called Slideshow; and Song Conversation, a freewheeling walk through sonic spaces with pianist Nik Bärtsch and guitarist Eivind Aarset. The festival also brings the UK premiere of Lou Reed Drones, an installation of her late husband's guitars and amps in feedback mode.

The Staves return to the US and to Eau Claire, WI, the town where they recorded their album If I Was, to perform at the second-annual Eaux Claires Festival. The festival, helmed by Justin Vernon, who produced the album, takes place August 12 and 13; tickets are on sale now. To celebrate the announcement, The Staves have unveiled a video for the album track "Horizons" set at last year's festival. Watch it here. "It was a truly humbling experience to be a part of something so pure, so human, so musical, and ultimately so inspiring," says the trio of the festival. "Bring on August!"

Louis Andriessen's six decades of music-making are being celebrated at the Barbican in London, broadcast on BBC Radio 3 … Timo Andres premieres new piece in NY … Jeremy Denk plays the Goldberg Variations in London … Kronos Quartet plays Riley and more in Montana … Brad Mehldau goes solo in Europe … Joshua Redman is in Budapest … Rokia Traoré celebrates release of her new album with in-store showcase in Paris … and more ...

Lianne La Havas will release Blood Solo, a collection of five tracks and an interlude from her Grammy-nominated album Blood plus a new song, "Fairytale," performed solo, on February 12. In celebration of the EP's release, La Havas performs two of the solo songs on Conan and The Late Late Show with James Corden in the coming week. Additionally, Leon Bridges has announced that La Havas will open for him during his autumn US tour. Tickets go on sale this Friday. "I'm so excited to go on the road with Leon because I am a fan," says La Havas. "It will also be a great chance to see many parts of the USA that I've not yet had the pleasure of visiting."

Kronos Quartet presents its second-annual hometown festival in San Francisco all weekend … Sam Amidon plays three shows in Belgium … Jeremy Denk performs Bach's Goldberg Variations in Europe … Rhiannon Giddens concludes UK tour with Transatlantic Sessions … Richard Goode performs Beethoven in Michigan … Lianne La Havas plays Brooklyn and Philadelphia … Chris Thile guest hosts A Prairie Home Companion … Rokia Traoré kicks off 2016 tour in London … and more ...

Rokia Traoré's new album, Né So, is out February 12. But you don't need to wait till then to hear it: the album is streaming in full till then as an NPR First Listen. NPR's Anastasia Tsioulcas, who calls Traoré "fantastically gifted," notes that "the idea of refuge ... serves as a central catalyst to Traoré's gorgeous new album." She concludes: "Né So is a sonically beautiful project, for sure, and it's easy to get lost in the lilting rhythms and Traoré's smoky voice. But if you're simply sitting back with this album, you may have missed her point." Hear Né So in full here. Traoré kicks off a tour in London on Saturday, followed by stops throughout Europe in the weeks ahead. She heads to the US in late March for performances in NYC, DC, and Savannah.

Punch Brothers have announced a US tour in May. The two-week headline tour kicks off with a concert at Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville and makes stops in Birmingham, Athens, Cambridge, and Milwaukee, culminating in two nights at Chicago's Thalia Hall on May 13 and 14. Those dates follow a concert with Dave Rawlings Machine in Charleston on April 29 and a set at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on May 1. The band will also take part in the MusicNOW, Huck Finn Jubilee, Telluride Bluegrass, Oregon Bach, and RockyGrass festivals in the months ahead.

Lianne La Havas kicks off a fully sold-out US tour at The McKittrick Hotel in New York City tonight. It's the first in a series of intimate solo club dates stopping in Boston, DC, Brooklyn, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Oakland, and culminating with a show at Largo at the Coronet in Los Angeles on February 11. The tour features music from La Havas's second album, Blood, which has been nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Urban Contemporary Album.

Olivia Chaney will tour the United Kingdom this spring, including six shows as special guest of Ben Folds on his tour of England with yMusic. Chaney will perform in two UK festivals—ATP Festival in North Wales in April and the London Festival of Baroque Music in May—before joining Folds and the ensemble for concerts in Manchester, Gateshead, Brighton, and Cambridge, as well as two nights at the London Palladium. Before then, she heads to the United States to perform at the Big Ears Festival in Knoxville in March.

Ry Cooder, Sharon White, Ricky Skaggs bring their tour to the Midwest … Jeremy Denk joins Kansas City Symphony for Beethoven's "Emperor" … Rhiannon Giddens joins Transatlantic Sessions at Glasgow's Celtic Connections … Kronos Quartet gives world premiere of My Lai in Chicago … Joshua Redman closes out Midwest run with Umphrey’s McGee … Chris Thile guest hosts A Prairie Home Companion with special guests Punch Brothers … and more …

The line-up for the 2016 MusicNOW Festival in Cincinnati has been announced, and among the performers are Kronos Quartet, Punch Brothers, Chris Thile, and Sam Amidon. The three-day festival, founded by artistic director Bryce Dessner, will take place March 18–20. Kronos Quartet will join the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra for performances at Cincinnati's Music Hall the first two nights of the festival, performing works by Julia Wolfe and Terry Riley. Chris Thile closes out Friday night's program with a solo set and joins his fellow Punch Brothers to close out the weekend at the Cincinnati Masonic Center Auditorium on Sunday with Sam Amidon.