Lake Street Dive, whose Nonesuch Records debut album, Side Pony, will be released on February 19, 2016, have just announced a three-week tour of Europe and the UK for April. The shows begin at the Trix Club in Antwerp on April 8 and includes stops in the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Switzerland, and the UK, culminating in a night at Whelans in Dublin on April 28. Tickets go on sale this Friday This tour follows the band's previously announced North American tour in February and March. Tickets for the North American tour go on sale on Thursday.

Paul Thomas Anderson's film Junun gets LA premiere … The Arcs play Paris … Ry Cooder plays Carnegie Hall with Ricky Skaggs, Sharon White … Rhiannon Giddens tours US Northeast … Tigran Hamasyan performs in France … James Farm tours Europe, UK … Brad Mehldau Trio plays Pacific Northwest … Youssou N’Dour concludes North American tour … Chris Thile plays California ... and more ...

Kronos Quartet and Kronos Performing Arts Association (KPAA) will present its second-annual hometown music festival, Kronos Festival 2016: Explorer Series, at SFJAZZ Center in San Francisco, February 4–7, 2016. The festival features seven concerts over four days connecting area audiences to a wide range of musical voices and traditions from around the world. With virtuoso pipa player Wu Man as its artist-in-residence, the festival includes more than a dozen works, including four world premieres, two US premieres, four West Coast premieres, and two SF premieres.

Lake Street Dive's Nonesuch Records debut album, Side Pony, will be released on February 19, 2016. The four band members worked with Nashville-based producer Dave Cobb (Sturgill Simpson, Chris Stapleton, Secret Sisters) on the record, which is available to pre-order now with an instant download of the album track "Call off Your Dogs"; you can hear the track here. Tour dates to support Side Pony begin February 22 in Phoenix and include stops in Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, New York, and more; tickets go on sale Thursday, November 19.

St Germain, whose new, self-titled album—his first in 15 years—was released last month, embarks on an extensive tour, beginning this week in Europe and coming to North America in the spring. The latter starts at the 9:30 Club in Washington, DC, on March 31, 2016, and includes stops in Philadelphia, New York, Boston, Quebec, Montreal, Toronto, Detroit, Chicago, St. Paul, Denver, and Vancouver, with more to be announced soon; tickets go on sale this Friday, November 13. St Germain has also unveiled a video for the album track "Sittin' Here," which you can watch here.

The Arcs tour Europe, perform on Jools Holland … Sam Amidon, Nels Cline tour Midwest … Laurie Anderson is in LA for Heart of a Dog opening … Timo Andres joins violinist Tim Fain in NYC … Tyondai Braxton gives solo set at Boston Hassle Fest … Rhiannon Giddens resumes tour … Richard Goode plays Glasgow … Tigran Hamasyan tours Europe … James Farm is in the Netherlands … Lake Street Dive concludes California tour … Audra McDonald closes out Sydney Opera House residency … Brad Mehldau Trio tours California … Randy Newman plays Basel … Youssou N’Dour visits West Coast … Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club plays Puerto Rico … Chris Thile heads West ... and more ...

The Arcs—Dan Auerbach, Leon Michels, Richard Swift, Homer Steinweiss, Nick Movshon and special guests Mariachi Flor de Toloache—kick off their Yours, Dreamily, tour with a performance at Kantine in Cologne, Germany, tonight, followed by stops in Berlin, Zurich, Brussels, London, Amsterdam, Paris, and Milan. The North American leg of the tour begins at First Ave in Minneapolis on December 1. The band was on BBC Two's Later… With Jools Holland live show on Tuesday and will be on this Friday night's episode performing "Outta My Mind," "Pistol Made of Bones," and "Put a Flower in Your Pocket." The Arcs talk about that last song on the Song Exploder podcast, which you can hear here.

Sam Amidon was the guest on WBEZ's Morning Shift in Chicago this morning. He discussed and performed songs from his album Lily-O, and more. "When it comes to his interpretations of classic American music," says host Tony Sarabia, "Amidon has walked that tightrope between admiration and exploration—and he hasn’t fallen off yet." Hear the set here. Amidon kicked off a four-night run of shows with Wilco guitarist Nels Cline in Des Moines last night. The tour continues at SPACE in Evanston tonight, followed by shows in Milwaukee and Minneapolis this weekend. In December, Amidon will supporting the band San Fermin on several shows in North America.

Rhiannon Giddens kicks off the next leg of her tour at the Silver Creek Event Center in New Buffalo, Michigan, this Friday, followed by stops in Canada and throughout the US Northeast in the weeks ahead. Before hitting the road, she sat down with Kyle Meredith of WFPK radio in Louisville, Kentucky. The two discussed her solo debut album, Tomorrow Is My Turn, her work as a founding member of Carolina Chocolate Drops, and more. You can watch the interview here.

Lake Street Dive has just announced "The Memory Lane Tour," a series of intimate performances on the US East Coast, starting with two nights at Rockwood Music Hall in NYC, next Wednesday and Thursday, followed by a show at The Parlor Room in Northampton, MA, and three shows in Cambridge: two nights at Club Passim and one at The Lizard Lounge. Tickets go on sale this Friday. "We're coming back to some of our fave small venues on the East Coast so we can play for you right in your face, up close and personal," says the band. From each ticket purchased, three dollars will be donated to support Oxfam's Syria program, helping Syrian families get the essential supplies they need. 

The Arcs will perform on BBC Two's Later… With Jools Holland live show tonight at 10 PM. Fans in the UK can tune in then to see the band perform "Outta My Mind" from Yours, Dreamily, their recently released debut album. Then, tune in to BBC Two again this Friday night for the full, one-hour episode of Later to see that and "Pistol Made of Bones" and "Put a Flower in Your Pocket." The Arcs kick off their first tour in Cologne, Germany, this Thursday, followed by stops in Berlin, Zurich, Brussels, London, Amsterdam, Paris, and Milan. The North American leg of the tour begins December 1.

The Brad Mehldau Trio kicks off a 10-day tour of North America with a free show at the George and Joyce Wein Jazz & Heritage Center in New Orleans tonight, followed by stops in San Antonio, Mexico City, San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Vancouver, Seattle, and Portland. From there, the Trio heads to Europe for a three-week tour, stopping in several cities in the Netherlands—Groningen, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Tilburg, Maastricht, and Utrecht—and in Germany, France, Hungary, Romania, and Italy.