It's Bonnaroo weekend! AfroCubism, Punch Brothers, Sara Watkins will be there to perform; Punch Brothers' set will be webcast live on YouTube ... John Adams's Nixon in China makes San Francisco Opera debut ... Timothy Andres makes London debut ... Carolina Chocolate Drops play free Pittsburgh festival ... Dr. John joins Gov't Mule in Charlotte, Iron & Wine at Ravinia ... Philip Glass's Einstein on the Beach is at Toronto's Luminato Festival ... The Low Anthem heads to the UK ... Audra McDonald performs at the Tonys ... Natalie Merchant joins Cincinnati Pops ... Allen Toussaint celebrates New Orleans at Wolf Trap's Louisiana Swap Romp ... and more ...
It's Bonnaroo weekend! The 11th annual Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival kicked off yesterday in Manchester, Tennessee, and continues through the weekend with performances from AfroCubism, Punch Brothers, and Sara Watkins.
AfroCubism, the all-star Cuban/Malian group featuring Toumani Diabaté, Eliades Ochoa (of Buena Vista Social Club), and Bassekou Kouyate, is up first with a 2 PM CT set on the Which Stage. Punch Brothers are up next with an all-covers set on the Sonic Stage set at 4:45 PM. AfroCubism follows suit, returning to perform on the Sonic Stage at 6:15 PM. Sara Watkins closes out the day with an 8 PM show in the Great Taste Lounge.
Punch Brothers are back on Saturday for their main set: on the Which Stage at 4 PM CT. For folks who can't make it to Manchester, the performance will be streaming live on the Bonnaroo YouTube channel.
AfroCubism's Bonnaroo sets mark the start of a rare four-stop North American tour for the group, which heads next to New York City for a free set at Brooklyn's Prospect Park Bandshell Saturday for the Celebrate Brooklyn! series, followed by a Sunday night show at the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh.
Sara Watkins continues her US tour featuring music from her new album, Sun Midnight Sun, at Smith’s Olde Bar in Atlanta on Saturday and The Melting Point in Athens, Georgia, opening for Dawes, on Sunday.
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As noted earlier today in the Nonesuch Journal, John Adams's first opera, Nixon in China, makes its San Francisco Opera debut tonight at the War Memorial Opera House, the opening night of the Opera's Summer Season and the first of seven performances of Adams's piece. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the landmark work and the 40th anniversary of Nixon's visit to China. Watch a preview video here. Also this weekend, Adams's latest opera, A Flowering Tree, will be performed by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra with the three principals who originated their roles.
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Alarm Will Sound performs John Cage’s “Song Books,” one of Cage’s largest music-theater works, at the Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ in Amsterdam tomorrow as part of the Holland Festival. The ensemble is presenting the world premiere of its new, multimedia production of the piece in honor of Cage's centenary. Later that night, Alarm Will Sound gives a free late-night concert as part of the festival as well.
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As noted in today's Nonesuch Journal, Timothy Andres makes his London debut at Wigmore Hall tonight with a concert that marks the opening of the venue’s latest summer Late Night Series. The solo recital—a Time Out London Critics' Choice—includes Andres’s own music and works by Ted Hearne, Ingram Marshall, Brahms, and Schumann. He discussed the concert and performed live on BBC Radio 3's In Tune this afternoon, which is available online at bbc.co.uk.
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Carolina Chocolate Drops, recent nominees for Duo/Group of the Year for the 2012 Americana Honors and Awards, are playing a free performance today at Point State Park in Pittsburgh, for the Three Rivers Arts Festival.
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Dr. John continues his US tour as special guest of two group's this weekend: at the Uptown Amphitheatre in Charlotte, North Carolina, with Gov’t Mule, and at the Ravinia Festival in Highland Park, outside Chicago, with Iron & Wine.
Time Out Chicago, previewing Sunday's show at Ravinia, writes of Dr. John's latest album, Locked Down, produced by The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach and released this spring on Nonesuch: "What Auerbach does on Locked Down is rekindle the vitality of his early catalog and, backed by a younger fleet of musicians, steer the Dr. beyond barrelhouse and blues, branching out to siphon elements of Ethio-jazz and Afrobeat ... Elegant yet in the pocket."
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The international tour of composer Philip Glass and director Robert Wilson's Einstein on the Beach, widely credited as one of the greatest artistic achievements of the 20th century, arrives in Toronto for three performances this weekend at the Luminato Festival. This follows the UK premiere of the piece at the Barbican last month and precedes performances at the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House in Brooklyn this September. Next week, Glass will partake in a three-night residency at Brooklyn's Issue Project Room, inviting as special guests Stephin Merritt, Laurie Anderson, and more.
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The Low Anthem, which concluded its four-show run supporting Feist in the US earlier this week, has made its way to the UK for the European summer festival season. First up: the No Direction Home festival at Welbeck Abbey in Nottinghamshire today.
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Tune in to the Tony Awards this Sunday night at 8 PM ET on CBS to watch Audra McDonald perform with her cast mates of The Gerswhins' Porgy & Bess. She has been nominated Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical for her performance as Bess. She recently won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical for the role. McDonald has previously won four Tony Awards; this would be her first win for Leading Actress.
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Natalie Merchant joins conductor John Morris Russell and the Cincinnati Pops for a performance of songs from her Nonesuch debut album, Leave Your Sleep, at Cincinnati's Riverbend Music Center tomorrow night.
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Fernando Otero and his Electric Sextet perform at Nublu in New York City as part of the month-long celebration of the venue's tenth anniversary.
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Allen Toussaint brings the music of his native New Orleans—which he celebrated on his Nonesuch debut album, The Bright Mississippi—to Wolf Trap’s Filene Center in Vienna, Virginia, for the 23rd Annual Louisiana Swamp Romp on Sunday. The day also includes performances from the Dirty Dozen Brass Band and Big Sam's Funky Nation and a genuine Cajun crawfish boil.
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