Kronos Quartet, fresh off their multi-concert run at the Sydney Festival, is slated to be featured in a mini-festival of their own: Kronos in Glasgow. From May 12 through 15, Glasgow’s Concert Halls will welcome Kronos Quartet and some very special guest collaborators, hand-picked by Kronos, for a world exclusive international program of events across Glasgow, including the Scottish premiere of Steve Reich's new work WTC 9/11.

Wanda Jackson's new Jack White-produced album, The Party Ain't Over, is due out January 25; until then, you can listen to the album streaming in its entirety as an NPR First Listen on npr.org. "Jackson's partnership with White proves to be exciting and imaginative, but also entirely appropriate," says NPR. "Both musicians are true innovators who set a new standard for cool. It's like hearing a collaboration between 1958 and 2011, and they get along great."

Wanda Jackson will be premiering a brand new retro-style video of the Bob Dylan great “Thunder on the Mountain” on Tuesday, January 18, on AOL Music. Check out a teaser to the hip-shakin, bone-rattlin’ video here. Jackson will also be performing live at Third Man Records in Nashville that same day, with Jack White and The Third Man House Band. Their special record release shows in New York and Los Angeles are fully sold-out, but Nonesuch is giving away a pair of tickets to each. Enter here.

Kronos Quartet, Philip Glass do Dracula at Sydney Festival ... Laurie Anderson performs Delusion in Ann Arbor ... Timothy Andres joins in at the Ecastatic Music Festival Marathon in NYC ... Wanda Jackson, Jack White play Grand Ole Opry ... Magnetic Fields documentary opens in Chicago ... Fernando Otero performs in NYC ... Punch Brothers sell out NYC's Bowery Ballroom for p-Bingo night ... Allen Toussaint turns 73, plays The Bright Mississippi with Don Byron, Nicholas Payton at Chicago's Symphony Center ... Sara Watkins hosts A Prairie Home Companion ... and more ... 

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.

Jessica Lea Mayfield has been named New Band of the Day by the Guardian. Mayfield "deftly moves between country, folk and soul on Tell Me," her forthcoming Nonesuch debut, "but there's more to her than zealously guarding antique genres," says the Guardian. Uncut includes Tell Me in its preview of “hot” 2011 releases, saying it "announces the arrival of a major talent." Rolling Stone includes the album's opening track on its Hot List.

Sara Watkins is no stranger to NPR's A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor. She has appeared as a guest on the show several times and joined Keillor and cast on tour last summer. This weekend, Watkins embarks on a historic first for both her and the show as its first-ever guest host. "I've never gotten to see the show myself," says Keillor. "I've always been standing in the wings and thinking about what I'm supposed to do next. For once in my life, I want to stand in the back of the hall and watch for a few minutes. And Sara is a smart and funny and hugely gifted young woman." Watkins calls it "a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

The Black Keys are sorry to announce the cancellation of the New Zealand and Australian tour including all appearances at the Big Day Out touring festival as well as a portion of the European tour in March. An arduous year of touring and promotion has drained the band and necessitated time off. The band thanks everyone who has shown such incredible support since the release of Brothers and have helped make the album a success.

The Low Anthem were the musical guests on the Late Show with David Letterman last night, performing "Ghost Woman Blues," the opening track off their forthcoming album, Smart Flesh. The band gathered close with Ben Knox Miller on guitar, Jocie Adams on clarinet, Jeff Prystowsky on jaw harp, Mat Davidson on hammer dulcimer, and all four on vocals. Watch it here. The band plays a sold-out show tonight in The Allen Room as a part of Lincoln Center's American Songbook series.

Four decades ago, Nonesuch Records released Joshua Rifkin's recordings of Scott Joplin's Piano Rags that went on to ignite a national passion for ragtime jazz and "created, almost alone, the Scott Joplin revival," as New York magazine wrote. On January 30, Rifkin will make his debut at New York's (Le) Poisson Rouge performing the music of Joplin and J.S. Bach in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the album.

Punch Brothers kick off their 2011 tour schedule with a sold-out show at the Somerville Theater outside Boston. The Secret Sisters join tonight and at this weekend's concerts in Burlington, Vermont, and New York City. The Improper Bostonian spoke with Chris Thile about the band's efforts to "cross bluegrass borders in search of transcendence." Time Out New York calls the band "jaw-dropping" and lists Saturday's show as a critics' pick. Chef Mario Batali includes the band's album Antifogmatic among his favorite listens.

Congratulations to The Black Keys: their latest album, Brothers, has just been certified Gold! The band stopped by the Nonesuch offices in New York  yesterday to receive their Gold records. While in the city, band mates Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney have kept themselves busy, performing on Saturday Night Live and the Late Show with David Letterman. Last night, they stopped by The Colbert Report as "leading scholars on The Black Keys" to help Stephen fill out his Grammy ballot for Best Alternative Music Album, one of six categories in which the band is nominated. Watch the segment here.