"Here's a song dedicated to a great world leader," Randy Newman says of his new song. "I hope all of you like it. I know he will." You can hear it here.

Caetano Veloso and Teresa Cristina have brought their world tour to the US for four shows. The concerts, in which Cristina's opening set features music from her new album and DVD, Canta Cartola, begin with a sold-out show at The Town Hall in NYC tonight, followed by a second night there on Thursday and shows at Symphony Center in Chicago on Sunday and Broward Center in Fort Lauderdale on Tuesday. Veloso and Cristina will bring the music back home to Brazil in November, with newly added shows in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo.

Robert Plant returns to the Austin City Limits stage for the first time in more than a decade when his set airs on PBS stations across the US this weekend. The full-hour set, which he and his band the Sensational Space Shifters taped on tour in March, includes songs from his 2014 Nonesuch debut album, lullaby and... The Ceaseless Roar, Led Zeppelin favorites, and tunes from Plant's earlier solo album, like "In the Mood"; you can watch that performance below. Plant joins Emmylou Harris and others on the Lampedusa: Concerts for Refugees tour tomorrow, October 12, through October 21.

Steve Reich turned 80 years old last week, an occasion that is being celebrated in concerts across the globe. NPR marked the milestone with a feature on Weekend Edition Sunday yesterday, in which Anastasia Tsioulcas spoke with the composer and examines works that span his career. "When he began, Reich was an outsider," Tsioulcas concludes. "Now his work is embraced by temples of high culture around the world." You can hear the piece here.

Brad Mehldau brings Highway Rider to SFJAZZ … John Adams’s Nixon in China is performed by Royal Swedish Opera … Sam Amidon, Nico Muhly perform in London … Laurie Anderson honored at Hammer Museum in LA … Jeremy Denk joins Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra … Rhiannon Giddens makes Austin City Limits debut … Emmylou Harris is in Midwest … Kronos Quartet brings multimedia work to UCLA … Lake Street Dive plays Radio City … Conor Oberst plays Austin City Limits fest … Robert Plant plays David Lynch fest in LA … Caetano Veloso, Teresa Cristina tour Japan … and more …

Emmylou Harris begins Lampedusa: Concerts for Refugees with Steve Earle, Patty Griffin, Buddy Miller, and The Milk Carton Kids in Boulder tonight; Robert Plant will join starting October 12. The tour, which benefits Jesuit Refugee Service/USA's educational programs for refugees around the world, will stop in Kansas City, Lincoln, St. Louis, Milwaukee, Chicago, Toronto, Boston, NYC, Philadelphia, and DC. "After witnessing firsthand the work of JRS in Ethiopia this past June, I have never been more inspired to champion such a critical cause," said Harris. "The better angels of our nature call upon us to act with compassion and not with fear in the face of so much suffering."

The initial music line-up for the 2017 Big Ears Festival has been announced, and among the artists are Stephin Merritt and the Magnetic Fields, performing the forthcoming Nonesuch Records album 50 Song Memoir, and Shye Ben Tzur and the Rajasthan Express, performing music of their 2015 Nonesuch album, Junun. The Big Ears Festival will return to Knoxville, Tennessee, expanding to four days, March 23–26, 2017. Among the other performers are Wilco, Glenn Kotche, Punch Brothers' Chris Eldridge, and composer/pianist Frederic Rzewski. Weekend passes are on sale now.

Rhiannon Giddens will make her Austin City Limits debut this weekend. The set, premiering on PBS stations across this US this Saturday, October 8, includes songs from her solo debut album, Tomorrow Is My Turn. She also performs "Spanish Mary," from The New Basement Tapes, which you can watch here. "The breadth of musical vision on Tomorrow is My Turn incorporates gospel, jazz, blues and country, plus a hint of proto-rock and roll," says Austin City Limits, "and Giddens displays an emotional range to match her dazzling vocal prowess throughout."

John Adams's dramatic symphony Scheherazade.2 is out now. His "cinematic music goes a long way in unfolding a potent drama, masterfully illuminated by conductor David Robertson and the St. Louis Symphony," says NPR. "The fierceness and vulnerability [violinist] Leila Josefowicz expresses contributes to an award-caliber performance." Scheherazade.2 "sets a whole new standard for narrative and theatrical vibrancy," exclaims the San Francisco Chronicle.

Conor Oberst, Emmylou Harris play free Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival in San Francisco … John Adams conducts LA Phil New Music Group, Timo Andres … Sam Amidon, The Staves play Berlin festival … David Byrne headlines Roots Picnic in NYC … Kronos Quartet performs in Oregon … Lianne La Havas hits Midwest with Leon Bridges … Lake Street Dive takes US tour east … Joshua Redman, Brad Mehldau are in NYC, LA … and more …

Conor Oberst's new album, Ruminations, is due out in two weeks, on Friday, October 14. But you don't need to wait till then to hear it: the album is streaming in full here as an NPR First Listen. "Oberst's distinctive warble is set against a spare patchwork of acoustic guitar, piano and the occasional harmonica, drawing most of the attention squarely to his words," writes NPR's Stephen Thompson. His "songwriting remains on point ... [T]hese are some of Oberst's darkest and most personal songs ... That unsparing quality helps Ruminations stand out, no matter how simple its adornment."

Nonesuch Records releases the Metropolitan Opera's performance of Alban Berg's Lulu on Blu-ray and DVD together in one package on October 28, 2016. The Met's new production, directed by acclaimed South African visual artist William Kentridge, premiered in 2015 and starred Marlis Petersen in her final performances as Lulu, a role she has made "hers and almost hers alone" (Opera News) in ten different productions over eighteen years. The New York Times called it "a stunning and searing production." The production will be presented at English National Opera in November 2016.