Punch Brothers returns to Carnegie Hall for its first performance in Stern Auditorium this Friday, following the 2007 premiere of The Blind Leaving the Blind in Carnegie's Zankel Hall, the work later featured on the band's Nonesuch debut, Punch. To celebrate, Nonesuch is offering two free tickets to the show, plus a copy of the album Punch. Winners will also receive free entry into the concert's after party, courtesy of the makers of the forthcoming film about the Punch Brothers, How to Grow a Band.

Wilco's TransCanada tour doesn't take place till February 2010, but Toronto fans get a preview with two sold-out sets at Massey Hall tonight and Thursday, which John Stirratt previews in Canada's National Post. In A.V. Club Chicago, Jeff Tweedy responds to anonymous comments, both good and bad, left on sites around the web, ranging from his own hair care to fan expectations.

Bill Frisell and his trio are playing at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, on Friday, and the Prairie Center outside of Chicago, on Saturday. The Chicago Reader takes a look at the guitarist/composer with "an almost preternatural ability to evoke pensive, introspective moods of various flavors," and his latest Nonesuch release, Disfarmer, which "feels like a relatively unfettered expression of Frisell’s imagination."

Following a two-night set "stomping through songs from his fine solo debut, Keep It Hid" (New York Times) in Austin at Austin City Limits and an official ACL Aftershow, Dan Auerbach is set to begin a three-week North American tour with his band The Fast Five, beginning November 5 in Columbus, Ohio. Joining for the length of the tour are Justin Townes Earle and Jessica Lea Mayfield.

John Adams's Doctor Atomic Symphony "comes across as a tight, visceral ride that you won't want to miss," says New Music Box of the Nonesuch recording, and "the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra and conductor David Robertson light it on fire ... [I]t's as charmed a production as you could wish for." A new exhibit at the Dallas Museum of Art features a sculpture inspired by the opera Doctor Atomic.

Wilco's North American tour winds its way north after several stops in the South, including Friday night's show at the Palladium in Dallas, Texas. "Wilco (the album) has garnered considerable critical acclaim for bridging the extremes of this wonderfully ambitious group," says the Star-Telegram. "As Friday’s excellent performance demonstrated, letting in a little light—and calmness—cements Wilco’s standing as one of America’s finest rock bands."

Shawn Colvin begins a four-night residency at Yoshi's in San Francisco tonight. Part of a larger tour across the United States, this week's sets take on added meaning as they mark a return to the site where Colvin's recent Nonesuch release, Live, was recorded back in July 2008, featuring 15 tracks from throughout her career.

Carolina Chocolate Drops come home to NC ... Black Keys drummer Pat Carney's band Drummer does NYC ... Shawn Colvin closes three-night stint in San Diego ... Christina Courtin's US tour moves Midwest ... Phillip Glass solos in PA benefit ... Kronos Quartet plays for a hometown crowd in San Fran ... Youssou N'Dour doc opens in DC ... Punch Brothers play Ohio and PA ... Sara Watkins makes it three for three in the Midwest ... Wilco's on for sold-out sets in Dallas and Memphis ... and more ...

John Adams's City Noir was given its world premiere last night in the Opening Night performance of the Los Angeles Philharmonic season and the Inaugural Gala of new music director Gustavo Dudamel. It "was an exceptional and exciting concert by any standard," says the New York Times's Anthony Tommasini. "Moment to moment the music [of City Noir] is riveting." The Los Angeles Times's Mark Swed says: "I can’t imagine another orchestra that could sell such a piece so effectively on the first performance."

John Adams's City Noir receives its world premiere tonight in the Opening Night Concert of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Inaugural Gala for its new music director, Gustavo Dudamel, at Walt Disney Concert Hall. "I want to make my music an opportunity to extend myself, and my language," Adams tells the Los Angeles Times. The piece will be performed again this fall for the Philharmonic's Adams-curated West Coast, Left Coast festival.

Wilco is still in the midst of its fall tour through the United States, with a breach of the 49th Parallel for two shows in Toronto next week. Come February 2010, the tables will turn for a TransCanada tour, from British Columbia to Nova Scotia, with a half dozen stops planned for south of the border. The Canadian leg beings with a free concert for the "Live City" Vancouver celebration of the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Christina Courtin begins a three-week tour of the United States with Brooklyn trio Elizabeth & the Catapult in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, tomorrow night. Christina spoke with Glide magazine about self-titled Nonesuch debut album. "The truth is that Courtin’s voice and words often steal the show on her debut album," says Glide, featuring "ten songs that are able to sustain a magical level of wonder for the listener."