Rhiannon Giddens begins Swimming in Dark Waters: Other Voices of the American Experience tour with Leyla McCalla, Bhi Bhiman … John Adams's Scheherazade.2 is performed by St. Louis Symphony, Leila Josefowicz ... Timo Andres joins Phillip Glass to perform Glass’s piano études … David Byrne celebrates carnaval in Montreal to support Haiti … Richard Goode performs in Missouri … Kronos Quartet is in Seattle … Audra McDonald gives a TimesTalk in NYC … and more …

Kronos Performing Arts Association (KPAA) has announced the ten composers—five women and five men—who participating in Year Two of Kronos's Fifty for the Future project in the 2016/17 concert season, including Laurie Anderson and Philip Glass. They join the Year One artists, like label mate Rhiannon Giddens, in creating new works, which Kronos will then premiere around the world. Companion materials for each piece, including scores, will be made available online at no charge. In addition to Anderson and Glass, the Year Two composers include Raven Chacon, Guillermo Galindo, Aleksander Kościów, Nicole Lizée, Anna Meredith, Kala Ramnath, Karin Rehnqvist, and Trey Spruance.

Lianne La Havas was the musical guest on The Late, Late Show with James Corden last night on CBS, performing the song "Green & Gold," from her new album Blood and her new EP, Blood Solo. You can watch the performance here.

Rokia Traoré has unveiled the official music video for "Ilé," a song from her newly released album Né So. The video was directed by Romain Carciofo. You can watch it here. The Times says of Né So: "Traoré has made the album of her career."

Rhiannon Giddens's debut solo album, Tomorrow Is My Turn, has been named Album of the Year at the inaugural International Folk Music Awards. The winner was announced at the awards ceremony held last night at the 28th Folk Alliance International conference in Kansas City. Giddens is joined by cellist Leyla McCalla and singer-songwriter Bhi Bhiman for a week of US concerts titled Swimming in Dark Waters: Other Voices of the American Experience starting at Oberlin Conservatory this Saturday.

The full program for the 50th Brighton Festival (May 7–29, 2016) in England has been unveiled, with Laurie Anderson as Guest Director. Anderson's own events include the UK premiere of her Music for Dogs, a screening of her film Heart of a Dog, an exclusive new performance monologue about place and places called Slideshow; and Song Conversation, a freewheeling walk through sonic spaces with pianist Nik Bärtsch and guitarist Eivind Aarset. The festival also brings the UK premiere of Lou Reed Drones, an installation of her late husband's guitars and amps in feedback mode.

Rokia Traoré performed two songs from her new album, Né So, on the French TV show Le Grand Journal last night: "Ilé" and "Obiké." You can watch here. She was also a guest on the French show Le Grand 8 on Monday, performing "Mayé" from the new album. Traoré tours several cities across France starting in Paris on Thursday, February 25, followed by stops in Amsterdam, Brussels, and Geneva. She heads to the US in late March for shows in NYC, DC, and Savannah.

Rokia Traoré spoke with NPR's Weekend Edition Saturday about her new album, Né So (Home). Speaking about the civil war in her home country of Mali and the impact music can have in shining a light on the world's ills and offering hope as well, Traoré says: "That simply changes your life, and you're no longer naive in your way of seeing and thinking. Everything changes. And Mali is still what it is. You know, music there is so important, and culture is an important part of our life, of our social life. And in such a situation, I think that culture is even more important." You can hear the conversation here. Traoré will perform live on Le Grand Journal in France tonight.

Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman's latest musical, Road Show, begins a month-long DC-area run at the Signature Theatre in Arlington, VA, tonight. Director Gary Griffin brings his Chicago Shakespeare Theater staging of the musical, which the Chicago Sun-Times called "funny, fierce, lean, and heartbreaking," to the Signature. Performances continue through March 13. Nonesuch Records and PS Classics released the original cast recording of Road Show in 2009.

Rokia Traoré's sixth album, Né So (Home), is out now. Produced by John Parish (PJ Harvey, Tracy Chapman), it comprises 10 original songs plus a cover of Billie Holiday's "Strange Fruit" and features guest performances by John Paul Jones and Devendra Banhart. NPR calls Né So a "gorgeous new album" from a "fantastically gifted" artist. The Times says: "Traoré has made the album of her career." Uncut exclaims: "Brave, challenging and arrestingly original, Traoré may just have gone and made the finest indie-rock album to emerge from arguably the world's most musical continent."

Lianne La Havas's new EP, Blood Solo, is out now. The EP is a collection of five tracks and an interlude from her Grammy-nominated album Blood plus a new song, "Fairytale," performed solo. She will perform from the new EP on The Late Late Show with James Corden next week. Tickets for La Havas's US tour with Leon Bridges this fall are on sale now.

The Staves return to the US and to Eau Claire, WI, the town where they recorded their album If I Was, to perform at the second-annual Eaux Claires Festival. The festival, helmed by Justin Vernon, who produced the album, takes place August 12 and 13; tickets are on sale now. To celebrate the announcement, The Staves have unveiled a video for the album track "Horizons" set at last year's festival. Watch it here. "It was a truly humbling experience to be a part of something so pure, so human, so musical, and ultimately so inspiring," says the trio of the festival. "Bring on August!"