Steve Reich's music was a focal point of the South by Southwest festival's first-ever classical music showcase, Reich, Rags, & Road Movies: Music by Steve Reich & Friends, Wednesday night. Austin360 says it was "a hit." The first half of the program included works by Reich, John Adams, and Elliott Carter; the second was all Reich. In Austin, the Wall Street Journal spoke with Reich about his forthcoming Nonesuch CD, Daniel Variations.

The tour continues for k.d. lang with two stops on the East Coast this weekend before heading west for two nights in Seattle. The Seattle Times says her new album, Watershed, "feels both reverent and fresh." A culmination of the many styles of music k.d. has incorporated into her repertoire over the years, Watershed also features k.d.'s famous voice, here "delicately restrained, smoky and intimate," says the Times. "The result is faintly nostalgic, incredibly lovely and seemingly effortless." The Seattle Post-Intelligencer calls Watershed "a dreamy, laid-back exploration of romance and passion."

The schedule for the 2008 Ravinia Festival has been announced, and among the 150 events to be held during its run this summer will be performances by Punch Brothers (July 21), The Gipsy Kings (August 2), and Kronos Quartet featuring Glenn Kotche (September 3). Kronos Quartet perform John Adams's Fellow Traveler, which they recently premiered at Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall, and will give the Ravinia premiere of Glenn Kotche's Anomaly, with Glenn joining the Quartet for the event. 

The Black Keys are scheduled to perform an artist showcase at the South by Southwest festival tonight at 1 AM at Emo's Main Room, 603 Red River Street. They'll also be playing at the Village Voice party this Friday at La Zona Rosa, 612 West 4th Street, along with the bands And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, Cribs, Soundtrack of Our Lives, and Health.

Steve Reich and John Adams will be among the composers whose works will be featured in the first-ever South by Southwest (SXSW) festival showcase from music publisher Boosey & Hawkes, titled Reich, Rags, & Road Movies: Music by Steve Reich & Friends. Reich will also participate in a discussion with Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore tomorrow.