The Big Ears Festival in Knoxville, Tennessee, kicked off yesterday, and continues through the weekend with appearances from Nonesuch artists Sam Amidon, Rhiannon Giddens, and Rostam.

Sam Amidon brings music from his latest album, The Following Mountain, to the Bijou Theatre this evening, beginning a North American spring tour that continues at The Burl in Lexington, Kentucky, on Sunday. The Irish Times gives The Following Mountain four stars, calling it “breathtaking … a fascinating signpost to the future.”

Rhiannon Giddens delivers the Big Ear Festival’s Keynote Address at the historic Tennessee Theatre on Saturday afternoon. (You can read the powerful Keynote Address she gave to the IBMA Conference last fall here.) She heads to Los Angeles for the Woman in Music Festival on Sunday, leading a masterclass and Q&A at Mount Saint Mary's University in the afternoon, and performing a concert at the First AME Zion Church in the evening.

Rostam launches the spring leg of his US Half-Light tour on the festival’s final day, with a set at The Mill & Mine on Sunday afternoon. The New Yorker calls Half-Light “a wondrous album, full of coy dreams and quiet yearning.” Tickets for his newly announced shows in New York City and Los Angeles go on sale today here.

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Dan Auerbach launched the latest leg of his Easy Eye Sound Revue this week, continuing with a sold-out show at Union Transfer in Philadelphia on Saturday and a concert at House of Blues in Boston on Sunday. Auerbach spoke with the Boston Globe ahead of Sunday’s show; you can read the interview here. He brings the revue to New York City next week, with a performance at Brooklyn Steel on Tuesday.

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David Byrne has brought his American Utopia world tour to Brazil, performing at Autódromo de Interlagos in São Paulo on Saturday for Lollapalooza Brasil. He has several “Lollaside” shows throughout the country through next week.

Released earlier this month, American Utopia debuted at No. 1 on the Top Album Chart and No. 3 on the Billboard Top 200, the highest chart positions of Byrne’s career. “American Utopia is an album full of pulsating beats and rich textures,” says Stereogum. “The new album isn't a throwback; it feels like it could only exist right now.” Q says: “Byrne remains as playful and brilliant as ever.”

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Pianist Jeremy Denk joins violinist Stefan Jackiw in performing Ives’s Violin Sonatas Nos. 1–4 at Union College in Schenectady, New York, on Sunday afternoon. The Boston Globe, reviewing a performance of this program earlier this year, praises the duo’s “unapologetic—even celebratory—immersion” into the music of Ives.

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Tigran Hamasyan continues his European tour with performances at Paul B in Massy, France, tonight, and Teātra nams Jūras vārti in Ventspils, Latvia, on Saturday.

“Tigran Hamasyan is such a talent, and his new album is as good as anything he has ever done,” said BBC Radio 2’s Jamie Cullum when playing music from Hamasyan’s new EP, For Gyumri, on his show this week. “A beautiful piece of music. Incredible. Another amazing release on Nonesuch Records."

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k.d. lang continues her US Ingénue Redux Tour with a concert at Keswick Theatre in Glenside, Pennsylvania, outside Philadelphia, tonight, and a sold-out show at Music Center at Strathmore in North Bethesda, Maryland, on Sunday. The tour, celebrating the silver anniversary of her acclaimed album and the release of the two-disc 25th Anniversary Edition on Nonesuch, culminates with a performance at New York City’s Beacon Theatre on Monday. “Ingénue still dazzles, 25 years later,” exclaims Uncut. “A modern classic … Perfectly pitched, in pretty much every way.”

Ahead of the show at the Beacon, lang spoke with the New York Times about Ingénue, which the paper says "made Ms. lang a superstar." You can read what she had to say here.

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Audra McDonald is at Abravanel Hall in Salt Lake City this weekend, performing with The Utah Symphony, led by Eric Stern, tonight and Saturday.

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Robert Plant and his band the Sensational Space Shifters begin a run of Australian dates, featuring music from his new album, Carry Fire, with a sold-out show at State Theatre in Sydney tonight. The Evening Standard exclaims in a four-star review: "Inventive and exotic, Carry Fire proves Plant’s creative spark is still burning bright."

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Saxophonist Joshua Redman joins the Chicago Jazz Orchestra in “Sophisticated Giant”: A Tribute to Dexter Gordon, performing works by the late tenor saxophonist at Studebaker Theater on Sunday afternoon.

Nonesuch releases Still Dreaming, an album by Redman, drummer Brian Blade, bassist Scott Colley, and trumpeter Ron Miles, on May 25. The album, inspired by the band Old and New Dreams, of which Redman’s father Dewey Redman was an integral part, is available to pre-order from the Nonesuch Store and iTunes with an instant download of the track "Unanimity."

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Reminder: Nonesuch Records will take part in Come Together, a music festival and market presented by MoMA PS1 and Other Music, held at MoMA PS1 in Long Island City, New York, on Saturday, March 24. Stop by the Nonesuch table to say hello and pick up copies of your favorite Nonesuch vinyl, limited-edition prints, hats, and tote bags. Nonesuch will donate a portion of the proceeds to Everytown For Gun Safety.