Punch Brothers bring their US tour to Charlottesville, Virginia, tonight for the start of a ten-day stretch through the South. And to kick things off right, opening tonight's show is Christina Courtin, who begins her own tour with Mike Doughty. The Columbus Dispatch says Punch Brothers' set last Saturday "offered plenty of moments of pure aural pleasure."

k.d. lang's latest, Recollection, is out now. Just before the release, NPR.org published a profile of k.d. citing Tony Bennett, who compared her to Billie Holiday, Edith Piaf, and Hank Williams. NPR agreed: "It's prestigious company that k.d. lang deserves to keep." The statement was affirmed as NPR broadcast the profile on Morning Edition. The Calgary Herald says the new album "provides a great look at k.d. lang's artistry and her ambitious career arc."

Pat Metheny's Orchestrion continues through Europe, following a performance at the Barbican in London. The one-man band was revealed to "a gasp of wonder" from the crowd, says the Times four-star review, with Metheny giving "a highly original performance, full of delightful invention and an almost childlike imagination." Jazzwise calls it "a great achievement ... You’ll never see anything like it." Pat discussed the project on BBC Radio 3's Jazz on 3.

Wilco began its 2010 world tour this week, stopping in Portland Tuesday for a sold-out set where, says Rolling Stone, the band proved a "well-oiled rock machine." The Oregonian called it an "intense, beautiful, playful ... moving performance," concluding: "Wilco's a great band that played a great show." Seattle Weekly says that at last night's Seattle show, the band "somehow made the sold-out Paramount even more golden for two straight hours."

The Magnetic Fields' tour settles in for two nights in Boston. In the Toronto Star, Stephin Merritt ("one of indie-rock's most beloved songwriters") gives fans an idea of what to expect on tour: "If we played it last time we toured, we're not playing it this time." With The A.V. Club, he shares some secrets to writing a good love song, advising: "Keep it vague." And Strange Powers, a new documentary about Merritt and the band, will be given a sneak preview at San Francisco's Noise Pop Festival and premiere at South by Southwest.

Ali Farka Touré and Toumani Diabaté's last album together, Ali and Toumani, was recently named CD of the Week by WNYC's Soundcheck and has received a stellar 8.3 on Pitchfork. The site says the album's recordings "are uncommonly beautiful," captured with "uncompromising intimacy," giving "the feel of two of the world's greatest musicians in a room together, having a conversation and creating a document that will carry their legacy into the future."

Pat Metheny's Orchestrion tour continues to wind its way through Europe. In advance of a show at London's Barbican Hall in London, Pat spoke with the BBC Radio 3's Jazz Line-up and with Jazz FM about the album the Observer calls "extraordinary," with the music "gripping as usual." The Edmonton Journal gives the album 3 1/2 stars, citing Pat's "brilliant guitar playing."

The Magnetic Fields cross into Canada ... Carolina Chocolate Drops close out UK tour ... Christina Courtin opens for Josh Rouse in NYC, Philly ... Bill Frisell unveils his Baghdad/Seattle Suite in Minneapolis ... Richard Goode, Jonathan Biss give duo recital in Boston ... Kronos performs in Chicago, New Jersey ... The Low Anthem continues European tour ... Brad Mehldau goes solo at Harvard ... Pat Metheny sets up in Scandinavia ... Punch Brothers play benefit in LA ... Joshua Redman's James Farm plays Istanbul, Milan ... Sara Watkins winds down UK tour ... Wilco kicks off world tour in Montana ... and more ...

The Carolina Chocolate Drops' tour of the UK brings the band to London for a performance at Bush Hall tonight. The concert is a Critics' Choice from Time Out London, which finds the band "drawing on Carolina's vibrant musical heritage to play high energy bluegrass with a jazzy twist." The Guardian, in a four-star review of a recent show, says "it is the interaction between the members, swapping ­instruments and harmony lines on the fly, that makes them such a joy to watch."

The Magnetic Fields begins its two-month tour with music from Realism at DC's Lisner Auditorium Thursday. The album opener opens the latest edition of NPR's All Songs Considered. The Christian Science Monitor recommends the album, citing Stephin Merritt's "delicately crafted pop songs with wit and deft musicality"; the Cleveland Plain Dealer gives it an A-, calling it "a fun exercise in faux-folk." Merritt speaks with the CBC about his music and his thoughts on the singing skills of label mate k.d. lang.

Natalie Merchant was in Ireland and Scotland last week to perform songs from her forthcoming Nonesuch debut, Leave Your Sleep. The Scotsman gives four stars to her Glasgow Celtic Connections performance, saying the set "gave full rein to the mercurial potency" of her voice. The Irish Times says that through her set at Whelan's in Dublin, she remained "the apple of everyone’s eye—and rightly so." Chronogram says the new album's "genius is in how Merchant pairs the poems with just the right accompaniment."

Pat Metheny kicked off his Orchestrion tour in France this weekend and has now added stops in Asia in June. The New York Times calls Metheny "easily one of the most enterprising jazz musicians of his generation" and says of seeing it all in action that "the performance dazzled," not least the album's "shimmering, labyrinthine title track, an overture of palpable ambition." Billboard says Orchestrion "surprises and exhilarates." The Cleveland Plain Dealer gives it an A-; the Detroit Free Press says Metheny opens up "new avenues of creativity."