Kronos Quartet performs two concerts at the Walker Arts Center in Minneapolis this weekend, featuring works from their album Floodplain and Laurie Anderson's Grammy-nominated "Flow." "It's hard to hype the Kronos Quartet," says the Star Tribune. "The group ... really has transformed the face of chamber music; it still makes many younger rivals seem staid." The Winnipeg Free Press gives 4.5 stars to a recent concert by this "new music royalty," exclaiming: "Everything they touch seems to turn to gold."

John Adams's groundbreaking 1987 opera, Nixon in China, received what the Associated Press calls its "long-overdue premiere" at the Metropolitan Opera last night. The AP describes Nixon in China as "perhaps the greatest American opera of the last quarter-century" and the Met production "a testament to its enduring power." The New York Times sees the premiere not as overdue but rather arriving "at just the right time to comprehend the continuing resonances of this audacious and moving opera."

Jessica Lea Mayfield's forthcoming Nonesuch debut album, Tell Me, produced by The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach, receives four stars from MusicOMH. "Tell Me is a deliciously dark album," reads the review. "Every track on this album is elevated beyond simple country-pop singer-songwriter territory ... This album will prove to be as addictive listening come the end of the year as it is right now."

There's just one more week to go before the release of Jessica Lea Mayfield's Nonesuch debut album, Tell Me, produced by The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach. "Auerbach brings out the best" in Mayfield, says the Cleveland Scene; "this is Mayfield’s strongest record, an alt-country torch storm that rivals Neko Case’s best." Pre-order here with an exclusive signed 7” of the album’s first single, “Our Hearts Are Wrong.” Mayfield kicks off a tour with Justin Townes Earle this weekend.

Wanda Jackson gave a free hometown show in Oklahoma City on Friday. "The enduring power of the 73-year-old's voice was on full display," says the Oklahoman. "And yes, by all accounts, Wanda Jackson ripped it up. Ripped it to shreds." Clash Music has made her take on Dylan's "Thunder on the Mountain" today's Track of the Day, calling the album "a stunning return." PopMatters says Jackson "is positively incendiary." The Ottawa Citizen gives four-and-a-half stars to "this outstanding comeback." Jackson opens the latest episode of public radio's Dinner Party Download.

Tune in to NPR's Fresh Air today to hear Wanda Jackson's 2003 interview on the show. Consequence of Sound gives Jackson's new Jack White-produced album four stars, saying "The Party Ain’t Over proves to be a bold success." The Louisville Courier-Journal calls Jackson "the hottest thing that ever came out of Oklahoma, counting oil-well fires and Wayne Coyne," and says with her new album, she "proves there's no age limit on fun." Jackson gives a free concert in her hometown of Oklahoma City tonight.

There's just one more day till the release of Wanda Jackson's new album, The Party Ain't Over, produced by Jack White; they'll celebrate as musical guests on Conan on Tuesday. Jackson is featured in the New York Times, which traces her influence on generations of performers. The Boston Globe cites "delicious and unexpected delights on her new album." The Washington Post calls it "wild fun." Vanity Fair calls it "inspired ... unmistakably and perfectly 'Wanda.'” The Detroit Free Press sees it as "a fun, feel-good achievement." The Independent names it CD of the Week, one that "cannot help but put a smile on your face." The Times of London calls it "extraordinary."

Brad Mehldau and the musicians featured on his 2010 Nonesuch release, Highway Rider, gave the final live performance of the album, at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles Friday night. The Los Angeles Times says: "It wasn't classical-jazz, jazz-pop or some other hyphenated hybrid. It was just a great ride." Mehldau gives a New York Times–recommended solo set at Carnegie Hall this week, featuring songs off Highway Rider and Mehldau's forthcoming Live in Marciac, as well as works by Brahms, Bach, Fauré, Radiohead, and Jeff Buckley.

The Low Anthem concluded a week of events in New York City—which included performances on the Late Show with David Letterman and WNYC's Soundcheck—with a sold-out show at the Allen Room as a part of Lincoln Center's American Songbook series. The show featured songs from the band's forthcoming album, Smart Flesh, and a number of lovely surprises. Brooklyn Vegan says "the unique venue and view ... seemingly prompted the band to up their game just a bit more." The band will return to New York City to perform at the Bowery Ballroom on March 8.

Ali and Toumani, the second and last album pairing kora master Toumani Diabaté with the late guitar virtuoso Ali Farka Touré, has made the Metacritic list of the best-reviewed, highest-scoring albums of 2010, coming in at No. 5. "On Metacritic, we consider 'great' albums—those we label as having 'universal acclaim' from critics—to be those with a Metascore of 81 or greater," says the site. Ali and Toumani received an 89.

Wanda Jackson's The Party Ain't Over isn't due out for two weeks still, set for release on January 25, but the BBC review is out now and calling the album "rich, warm, big-hearted and hilarious ... a sumptuous, brassy stew of country and blues." Producer Jack White "may, at this late stage, have brought the very best out of Jackson," says the BBC. Tune in to the Grand Ole Opry this Saturday to hear Jackson and the Third Man House Band, featuring White on guitar.

True Grit, the new film from Joel and Ethan Coen, has been winning over audiences since its release last month. The New York Times takes a look at the impact this popularity—its having "shocked Hollywood by burning up the box office"—might have at the Academy Awards. That the film score by Carter Burwell is ineligible for Oscar is a "shame," says the Los Angeles Times, "as Burwell’s work on True Grit is some of his grandest to date." It works "equally well for big-screen vistas and solitary contemplation."