On Saturday, the 40th anniversary of Steve Reich's seminal work Drumming—a piece the New York Times' Allan Kozinn describes as "monumental"—will be celebrated at the 19th annual Woodstock Beat Concert at the Maverick Concert Hall in Woodstock, New York. The concert, a benefit event for the Woostock Byrdcliffe Guild, will feature the composer along with percussion specialists NEXUS and So Percussion performing a rare complete performance of the work. The all-Steve Reich program also includes the composer's Clapping Music, Music for Pieces of Wood, Music for Mallets, Voices, and Organ, and Nagoya Marimbas.

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Tune in to BBC Radio 4's Saturday Live tomorrow morning at 9 AM GMT to hear Laurie Anderson discuss her picks for the show's "Inheritance Tracks" segment, where guests choose a song they've inherited from their parents and one that they would pass on to the next generation. You can listen online at bbc.co.uk. The Scripps Howard News Service says of Anderson's latest Nonesuch release, Homeland: "There's nothing didactic here—just brilliant vocals, thought-provoking narratives, hypnotic violins and the most finely attuned poetic sensibility in rock." Read more at post-gazette.com.

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The Black Keys, aving kicked off their North American tour featuring songs from their latest Nonesuch release, Brothers, follow up their three recent sold-out New York City shows with a performance tonight at the Great Plaza at Penn's Landing in Philadelphia. On Saturday, the band travels to Boston to play the Bank of America Pavilion. The Morning Benders, who opened for the Keys at their two shows at Central Park's SummerStage, provide support at this weekend's shows as well and will continue to do so through the initial leg of the tour. On Sunday, The Black Keys take part in the Osheaga Music Festival in Montreal, Canada, performing a late-afternoon set on the BlackBerry Stage.

Previewing tonight's show, Philadelphia Weekly's Michael Alan Goldberg exclaims: "the Ohio duo’s latest fiery garage-blues opus isn’t just their best LP (and given the quality of the five previous ones, that’s no small feat), it’s one of the best rock ’n roll albums to come along in years." Goldberg concludes that "on Brothers, they’ve seamlessly integrated funk grooves, Motown soul, and even synthetic beats for a total sound that’s astounding and career-defining." The Philadelphia City Paper calls Brothers "a triumphant, swampy burner" and "a return to the Keys' trademark hard-boiled honky-blues."

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The Carolina Chocolate Drops make several European festival appearances this weekend, beginning at the Perth Concert Hall in Perth, Scotland, tonight, with the opening concert of the Southern Fried Festival, which also features the Holmes Brothers. The Drops then travel to Cambridge, England, for consecutive shows on Saturday and Sunday as part of the Cambridge Folk Festival, which also features fellow Nonesuch artists Natalie Merchant and Rokia Traoré. The Drops will take a brief break from touring following their final European festival dates next week then resumes touring in the United States at the end of August.
 
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Christina Courtin performs tonight at New York City's City Winery as part of the third and final night of Reclaim the Coast: Gulf Coast Oil Spill Benefit, helping to raise funds for rebuilding and restoration relief along the Gulf Coast. Additional artists performing include Martin Rivas, Jay Nash, and Among the Oak & Ash.

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Bill Frisell, performing with Steve Moore and Rudy Royston, appears at Horning's Hideout in North Plains, Oregon, as part of a four-day festival at the Hideout headlined by the String Cheese Incident, who perform on three nights. Frisell plays on the Main Stage on Saturday.
 
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The Vivid Unknown, a new cello concerto composed and conducted by Philip Glass, receives its Latin American premiere tonight in Quito, Ecuador, at the Foundation Philharmonic House of Music. Cellist Wendy Sutter performs the piece with the Orquesta de las Américas.
 
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Gidon Kremer continues to tour Europe with his chamber ensemble Kremerata Baltica with a performance at Salle de Conservatoire in Brussels tonight alongside special guest, pianist Khatia Buniatishvili. Kremer and his ensemble then travel to Český Krumlov, Czech Republic, to participate in the Český Krumlov International Music Festival with a Saturday night performance at Castle Riding Hall. 

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Kronos Quartet performs Sunday in the comfortably casual dinner setting as part of the "BBQ on the Lawn" dinner theme at Rancho Nicasio Restaurant and Bar in Nicasio, California. Reviewing the Quartet's recent performance of Philip Glass's score for Dracula with the composer in London, the Guardian said, "The Kronos Quartet give a faultless performance of this fastidious yet emotional piece."

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As reported earlier today in the Nonesuch Journal, The Low Anthem continues to tour the US East Coast, performing alongside The Swell Season tonight in Brooklyn, New York, at the Prospect Park Bandshell in a free set as part of the ongoing Celebrate Brooklyn! concert series. The band returns to its home state of Rhode Island on Saturday to perform an early afternoon set at the Newport Folk Festival, which also features label mates Punch Brothers, who play on Sunday. The Low Anthem wrap up their North American tour next week before heading to Europe, where they will be touring through September.

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Natalie Merchant joins fellow Nonesuch artists Carolina Chocolate Drops and Rokia Traoré at the Cambridge Folk Festival in Cambridge, England. Merchant performs Saturday at Cherry Hinton Hall, headlining the third night of the festival, while Traoré performs at the Hall on Sunday as part of the festival's final night. Following the festival, Merchant resumes her North American tour next week with a string of shows in the Midwest and West Coast, including a sold-out show at Salt Lake City's Red Butte Garden.

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Punch Brothers perform at Cain Park's Evans Amphitheater in Cleveland, Ohio, tonight. The band then heads to Newport, Rhode Island, on Sunday to take part in the Newport Folk Festival following label mates The Low Anthem. In addition to NPR.org's coverage of their Newport performance, Punch Brothers are due to be featured on NPR’s Weekend Edition Saturday. Next week, the band will again open for Steve Martin & the Canyon Rangers before heading to the West Coast for the next leg of their summer tour.

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Stephen Sondheim celebrated his 80th birthday in March in a Lincoln Center concert that will be broadcast on PBS this fall. As noted earlier today in the Nonesuch Journal, the festivities continue this weekend as Sondheim is the focus of two birthday concerts on the same day, nearly 4,000 miles apart, Saturday night: at the Ravinia Festival Pavilion outside Chicago, featuring Audra McDonald, Patti LuPone, Michael Cerveris, and George Hearn with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra; and at London's Royal Albert Hall for BBC Proms, featuring Judi Dench and Bryn Terfel, among others, with the BBC Concert Orchestra. The latter will be broadcast live on BBC Two and online at bbc.co.uk; Sondheim is the BBC Radio 3 Composer of the Week.

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Sara Watkins and her brother Sean perform tonight at the Clay Center in Charleston, West Virginia, as the special guests of Ricky Skaggs and his band Kentucky Tunder.