Laurie Anderson takes her latest work, Homeland, across the United States over the next month, starting with its New York premiere in Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall this Wednesday. Homeland takes an in-depth look at modern-day America and the interplay between freedom and fear in a time of ongoing war; the Guardian called the piece "breathtaking" upon its performance at the Melbourne International Arts Festival last year. The New York premiere comes on the heels of last week's sold-out event, co-organized by Laurie, at St. Ann's Warehouse in Brooklyn marking the fifth anniversary of the war in Iraq.

In an interview for the website wowowow.com posted last week, Laurie describes Homeland this way:

As I wrote more and more songs, it became clear to me that Homeland was

getting more and more political. Several of the songs focus on the

seismic changes in the United States in the last few years, and include

subjects ranging from the war to the media, the environment, and the

creation of a surveillance culture.

Ticket availability for Wednesday's event is limited. For more information, visit carnegiehall.org. The tour continues in Boston this weekend with a performance at the city's Opera House. For information on that event, visit worldmusic.org.