Nataly Dawn continues her tour of the western United States with a set at the Uptown Theatre in Napa, California, opening for Clint Black, and a set supporting Ben Folds Five at South Shore Room, Harrah's Lake Tahoe in Stateline, Nevada, on Saturday. Dawn's tour with Ben Folds Five concludes next week with performances at Showbox at the Market in Seattle on Monday and Roseland in Portland on Tuesday.

Dawn spoke with the hometown paper the San Francisco Chronicle in advance of her northern California performances this week. She discusses her development as a songwriter, her recordings as one half of the duo Pomplamoose, and the inspiration behind the songs on her forthcoming Nonesuch debut solo album, How I Knew Her, due out February 12. Read the article at sfgate.com.

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As noted earlier today in the Nonesuch Journal, Laurie Anderson and Kronos Quartet give the world premiere of Scenes From My New Novel, a new work composed by Anderson, in the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center's Kay Theatre at the University of Maryland in College Park tonight and Saturday.

“These are stories with tempos,” says Anderson. "Much of the music is generated from software we designed for the viola. It creates harmonies and delays that are then interpreted and expanded by Kronos. Additional performances are scheduled for the coming months in Australia, California, New Jersey, and London.

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Shawn Colvin has a two-night run of shows outside of Chicago at SPACE in Evanston tonight and Saturday. On Sunday, Colvin heads to New York City to perform at City Winery, a show rescheduled from October 28 due to Hurricane Sandy.

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Pianist Jeremy Denk joints cellist Steven Isserlis and oboist James Austin Smith for a Family Music program at the 92nd Street Y's Weill Art Gallery in New York City Sunday afternoon. Isserlis leads the event as artistic director and narrator in an exploration of the life and music of Saint-Saëns.

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Dr. John kicked off a four-night residency featuring his new band at Dimitriou's Jazz Alley in Seattle last night. The concerts continue through the weekend with two sets tonight and Saturday and a final show on Sunday.

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Punch Brothers set sail with Mountain Song at Sea, a four-day musical journey from Miami to Great Stirrup Cay. Among the other artists performing aboard the ship are Del McCoury Band, Steep Canyon Rangers, Peter Rowan, and more.

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As noted earlier this week in the Nonesuch Journal, Steve Reich is the Distinguished Guest Composer at the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra's 2013 New Music Festival this week. The festival, which has celebrated Reich's music over concerts, discussions, and more, concludes this weekend with two additional concerts featuring the composer's works, both at Centennial Concert Hall in Winnipeg.

Tonight, the WSO performs Reich's Tehillim along with the North American premieres of Jonny Greenwood's Suite from There Will Be Blood and a piece by New Zealand composer Gareth Farr. On Saturday, the Winnipeg Singers join the WSO in a performance of Reich's The Desert Music and the world premiere of a piece from Canadian composer Vincent Ho. Reich will participate in an "up close and personal" event after Saturday's show.

Reich recently spoke with The Globe and Mail about the festival and his connection with Greenwood's band, Radiohead. (The London Sinfonietta will give the world premiere of Reich's new Radiohead-inspired piece, Radio Rewrite, in London this March.) Read the article at theglobeandmail.com.

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Sara Watkins continues her tour of the UK and Ireland with two performances in Ireland, at Róisín Dubh in Galway tonight and Whelan's in Dublin on Saturday, followed by a Sunday night show at the Black Box in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

As she hit the halfway mark of her current tour earlier in the week, Watkins was featured in the Guardian. In addition to the article, Watkins gives journalist Emma John a bluegrass fiddle master class in an accompanying video at guardian.co.uk.