Audra McDonald helps Carnegie Hall celebrate its 120th birthday as part of an all-star gala benefit concert tonight featuring the New York Philharmonic, performing songs by Duke Ellington. Pianist Emanuel Ax, violinist Gil Shaham, and cellist Yo-Yo Ma join the Philharmonic as guest soloists in Beethoven’s Triple Concerto, and the orchestra performs Dvorák’s Carnival Overture and Gershwin’s An American in Paris. The concert will air on PBS’s Great Performances on May 31.

k.d. lang and the Siss Boom Bang are musical guests on Jimmy Kimmel Live! tonight on ABC and will perform a song off their new album, Sing it Loud. Tonight's performance comes one night after lang and the band closed out the Stagecoach festival at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California. They launch their summer tour at the end of this month, starting in the UK, then return home for a North American tour in June. The Ottawa Citizen gives the new album four stars, saying: "Rarely has lang sounded more engaged and been more engaging than on this collection of pop and country-inflected tunes."

Emmylou Harris performed "Six White Cadillacs," off her new album, Hard Bargain, on the Late Show with David Letterman last night. Letterman called her "an icon, one of the greats, if not the best in country music and, just generally, popular music as far as a composer and a singer and an artist." She performed the album's title track on the Today show this morning. Yahoo! Music's Ram Country series features a video interview with Harris and performances of three songs off the album: "Six White Cadillacs," "Home Sweet Home," and "Darlin' Kate." Watch all of these videos here.

Emmylou Harris celebrated the release of her new album, Hard Bargain, with a special performance of the complete album at NY's Bowery Ballroom last night. She performs "Six White Cadillacs" on the Late Show with David Letterman tonight and will appear on the Today show tomorrow morning. NPR's Fresh Air calls the new album "the most eclectic and loose-fitting album Emmylou Harris has made in a long time," one that "deserves a wider audience." WNYC's Soundcheck names it a Pick of the Week.

Emmylou Harris performed songs from her forthcoming album, Hard Bargain, at LA's El Rey Theatre last night, with Ryan Adams offering a surprise guest opening set. She performs at New York's Bowery Ballroom with another surprise special guest opener on Tuesday. Harris appeared on PBS's Tavis Smiley show earlier this week. "Harris is admired as much for her straightforward songwriting as for her expressive singing," says the show. "Forty years into her career, she's still doing both with ... Hard Bargain." Watch the show here.

k.d. lang and the Siss Boom Bang bring to a close their weeklong celebration of the UK release of their new album, Sing it Loud, with an appearance from lang on The Graham Norton Show tonight on BBC One and an encore presentation of their performance on Later ... With Jools Holland tonight on BBC Two. Last night, BBC Radio 2 In Concert aired a full concert from lang and the band; watch "I Confess" from the show here and see a whole gallery of photos from the event at nonesuch.com/media.

Emmylou Harris's will appear on PBS's Tavis Smiley tonight to discuss her career and her new album, Hard Bargain, out Tuesday. "Harris is admired as much for her straightforward songwriting as for her expressive singing," says the show. "Forty years into her career, she's still doing both with ... Hard Bargain." She performs on three BBC Radio shows in the coming days. The Daily Mail gives the album four stars, calling it " a wonderfully immediate collection." Billboard says she still "a still-luminous voice that can make the phone book sound like Puccini." Fans in the US can enter to win an Epiphone EJ-200 signed by Harris.

k.d. lang and her new album, Sing it Loud, were featured on NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday this past weekend. lang spoke with host Liane Hansen about the making of the album and collaborating with co-writer and producer Joe Pisapia. "The second everybody walked into the room, the energy was palpable. It was an amazing session," says lang, of the July 4th recording session, with her band in Nashville with her band, the Siss Boom Bang. k.d. lang is currently in London celebrating the local release of Sing it Loud, with live interviews on television, and a review in the Observer describes the album as "jazz and country-flecked songs [that] brim with confidence."

k.d. lang and the Siss Boom Bang round out a week of celebrations marking the release of their new album, Sing it Loud, with a performance of the album's opening track, "I Confess," on ABC's The View this morning; watch it here. The song is today's Free Song of the Day at Amazon. They stop by WFUV to talk with host Rita Houston this evening and head next to the UK for a week of appearances marking the release of the new record there.

Carolina Chocolate Drops were featured on Wisconsin Public Television's 30-Minute Music Hour last Saturday. You can watch the performance here. The band is launching a worldwide campaign to find the perfect Carolina Chocolate Drops logo to be included in their new summer merchandise. Everyone is encouraged to enter; fans will be able to vote on the top five designs.

k.d. lang and the Siss Boom Bang have moved the celebration of their new album's release to the East Coast, performing "I Confess," the opening track to Sing it Loud, on Good Morning America this morning, which you can watch here, and appearing on The View tomorrow. They perform the entire album at New York's Poisson Rouge tonight. USA Today says "lang ranks among our finest purveyors of dreamy, creamy, country-tinged torch songs, picking up the mantle from Roy Orbison and Peggy Lee with these perfect vehicles for her vibrant voice." KCRW named the album's title track yesterday's Top Tune, saying lang "sounds as strong as ever." The Arts Desk has named Sing it Loud Album of the Day, and MusicOMH gives it four stars.

Emmylou Harris's new album, Hard Bargain, is due out on Nonesuch April 26, less than two weeks away. A deluxe edition includes a DVD featuring six performances interspersed with interviews. The video for "Goodnight Old World," from the deluxe edition of the album, received its exclusive world premiere on CMT this morning. You can watch the video, directed by Jack Spencer, here.