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.

Thousands of music, film, and new-media types from across the world are converging on Austin, Texas, this week for SXSW. Among the participating artists will be Steve Reich, whose music will be performed with that of John Adams's at a showcase tomorrow night, and who will join Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore for a discussion the following afternoon; and The Black Keys, who will perform late-night tomorrow and at the Village Voice party on Friday. Next week, David Simon, the creator of The Wire, will speak at the University of Texas.

Tune in to Seattle public radio station KEXP, 90.3 FM, today at 3 PM PT / 6 PM ET, to hear an in-studio performance from and conversation with Stephin Merritt. The Magnetic Fields were in Seattle last week to play two nights at Town Hall; they'll close out their Distortion tour with three nights---six shows---at Chicago's Old Town School of Folk Music this weekend.