The Arcs will perform music from their forthcoming debut album, Yours, Dreamily, due Friday, September 4, at Housing Works Bookstore Cafe on Wednesday, September 9, in New York City as the first concert of the season in NPR Music's First Listen Live series. Tickets to this extremely intimate show will be available exclusively through a trivia contest on NPR Music's Twitter on Monday, August 31, and Tuesday, September 1. Follow @NPRMusic, @TheArcs, and @HousingWorksBKS on Twitter for details.

The Arcs' debut album, Yours, Dreamily, out next Friday, September 4, is streaming in full till then in various spots around the world. "Right from the drop, Yours, Dreamily, ignites like a cigarette flicked on a stream of gasoline," exclaims NPR. It's "one of [Dan] Auerbach's most ambitious and fully realized albums." "Dan Auerbach never fails to impress," writes NME, calling The Arcs "a laid back, gritty soul collective." CBC Music says: "Yours, Dreamily, feels off the cuff, inspired, and is a completely immersive experience."

Lianne La Havas's new album, Blood, is WFUV's New Dig. "Blood stretches La Havas’s scope as a songwriter, singer and guitarist, embracing neo-soul and jazz, while peppering the proceedings with dashes of R&B, reggae, and doo wop," says WFUV. "Her voice is wonderfully powerful and full; it rings clearly and soars majestically over her sunshine-dappled melodies." Blood was The Current's Album of the Week: "Blood showcases La Havas as a powerhouse vocalist, her voice lilting and floating like a butterfly over the music in one instant and slamming down with force and a gritty roughness the next moment ... It's an album you'll want to learn the lyrics of so you can sing along to it—loudly."

Lianne La Havas spoke with NPR's All Things Considered about her new album, Blood. "At 25, British singer Lianne La Havas has established herself as a musical triple threat: she's a guitarist, songwriter, and a soulful vocalist," says host Audie Cornish. "La Havas draws on her heritage for inspiration: Her father is Greek, her mother Jamaican, and it was a trip to Jamaica after her first tour that got her thinking about music in a new way." Hear their conversation here.

Rhiannon Giddens and Punch Brothers' double bill at the Southern Fried Festival in Perth, Scotland, on Friday was featured on a two-hour show of festival highlights on BBC Radio Scotland's Another Country with Ricky Ross. The first hour is devoted to Giddens, the second hour to Punch Brothers. You can hear it at bbc.co.uk. The concert earned perfect five star reviews from both the Scotsman and the Herald Scotland, which calls Giddens' set "sensational" and Punch Brothers' "breath-taking."

Lianne La Havas's song "What You Don't Do," from her new album, Blood, and The Staves' "Black and White," from their new album, If I Was, have made NPR's Heavy Rotation, the monthly list of Songs Public Radio Can't Stop Playing. La Havas is "glowing, her voice as rich as ever," says KCRW's Anne Litt. "There's no doubt that Lianne La Havas is a powerhouse with a full heart, creating music that's sweeping, inspiring and downright fun." The Staves "are incredible performers with unmatched harmonies," says WFUV's Russ Borris. The album "is a stunning piece of work with a beauty that connects and cuts at the same time," with this song "exemplifying what makes this band unique and impressive."

The Staves' new album, If I Was, "is perhaps the most achingly beautiful album released this year," exclaims New York NPR member station WFUV, which has named it New Dig of the week. "If I Was is a heavenly blend of soft, billowy folk and grand anthems of yearning, desire and heartbreak ... Discovering toughness and tenderness concurrently on this handsome release, The Staves are bright stars illuminating the pop music landscape." The trio will be at Justin Vernon's Eaux Claires Festival this weekend.

The Bad Plus Joshua Redman, which kicked off the European leg of its tour over the weekend, stopped by the KPLU-FM studios in Seattle during the recent US leg of the tour to discuss and perform from their just-released self-titled debut album, which host Abe Beeson calls "the jazz album of the year so far." Watch the band's KPLU performances of the album's first two tracks, "As This Moment Slips Away" and "Beauty Has It Hard," here.

In celebration of Father's Day, NPR's All Things Considered took at a look at the special nature of father-son collaborations in jazz and the unique music that can result from it. NPR's Audie Cornish spoke with bassist-composer Christian McBride, who is also a host of NPR's Jazz Night in America, about this, and their conversation began with a discussion of saxophonists Joshua Redman and his father Dewey Redman. The show opens with the father-son Redman duo performing John Coltrane's "India," from Joshua Redman's album Back East, released on Nonesuch Records in 2007. It was one of his father's last recordings before he died. "I loved hearing those two play together," says McBride. "It was something very, very special."

Mbongwana Star, whose debut full-length album, From Kinshasa, was released last month via World Circuit, is featured on PRI's The World. "The music from the Congolese band Mbongwana Star sounds like nothing else," says host Marco Werman. You can hear why in his interview with the album's Irish-born Parisian producer, Doctor L, here.

The Staves recently stopped by the WFUV studios in New York City to perform a live session of songs from their new album, If I Was, and talk with host Russ Borris about their music. You can watch their performances of "Steady" and "Black & White" here and listen to the complete session on WFUV. "The sisters are incredible performers with unmatched harmonies," Borris exclaims. "The trio’s new album, If I Was, produced by Justin Vernon, is a stunning piece of work ... The Staves brought those incredible harmonies to Studio A for an amazing session." He concludes: "Hands down, this is one of my favorite sessions of the year."

Olivia Chaney, who is currently touring North America, recently stopped by WNYC in New York City to perform four songs from her debut album, The Longest River, on Soundcheck—"Swimming in the Longest River," "Kings Horses," "Waxwing," and "Cassiopeia"—and talk with host John Schaefer, who notes her "strikingly pure vocal tone." You can hear the show here.