The UK summer festival season is in full swing, as Rhiannon Giddens, Punch Brothers play Southern Fried Fest and Cambridge Folk Fest, where Olivia Chaney performs as well ... Sam Amidon plays Pickathon near Portland, OR ... The Black Keys close out Osheaga Fest in Montreal ... Jeremy Denk joins Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra at Lincoln Center ... Audra McDonald sings at Sun Valley, ID, gala ... Emmylou Harris, Rodney Crowell play Pacific Northwest ... Robert Plant performs at Notodden Blues Fest in Norway ... and more ...

Lianne La Havas's new album, Blood, is out now. "The album demands, and rewards, all the attention you can give it," raves Rolling Stone. "[W]hat comes across first is the sheer grace of her voice," says the New York Times. "La Havas remains confident and strong to the core in her new music," says NPR, "a powerhouse with a full heart, creating music that's sweeping, inspiring and downright fun." "Blood cuts straight to the heart," says The Daily Beast, "a seductive blend of poetic lyricism, sultry vocals, and strong yet understated musicianship." Pitchfork calls it "an almost seamless album." It's "nearly flawless," raves PopMatters. "The steps forward here are borderline transcendent."

Newly formed Congolese seven-piece band Mbongwana Star's debut full-length album, From Kinshasa, released in May via World Circuit, distributed in North America by Nonesuch Records, is now available on vinyl. The LP edition is pressed on 140-gram, audiophile vinyl and includes a download of the complete album. It's a "wonderful kind of collaboration," says NPR. "The sound is out of this world." Chicago Reader says the "album is a blast ... stunning." Says Noisey: "It's time to press play and immerse yourself in another world."

Audra McDonald, a board member of Covenant House International, has embarked on a campaign to raise $25,000 or more for the organization in its 2015 Broadway Sleep Out fundraising campaign to serve homeless young people in need. She is offering an array of one-of-a-kind prizes in exchange for donations made between now and Wednesday, August 5, including personalized Tweets, signed CDs, singing telegrams, video messages, and a chance to join her for hot chocolate at Sardi's.

Lianne La Havas's song "What You Don't Do," from her new album, Blood, and The Staves' "Black and White," from their new album, If I Was, have made NPR's Heavy Rotation, the monthly list of Songs Public Radio Can't Stop Playing. La Havas is "glowing, her voice as rich as ever," says KCRW's Anne Litt. "There's no doubt that Lianne La Havas is a powerhouse with a full heart, creating music that's sweeping, inspiring and downright fun." The Staves "are incredible performers with unmatched harmonies," says WFUV's Russ Borris. The album "is a stunning piece of work with a beauty that connects and cuts at the same time," with this song "exemplifying what makes this band unique and impressive."

Lianne La Havas's new album, Blood, is out this Friday, July 31. But you don't need to wait till then to hear it: the album is streaming in full all this week in the US as an NPR First Listen. Her 2012 debut album, Is Your Love Big Enough?, was "wonderfully refreshing," says NPR's Tom Moon. And on the new album, she's created songs like the single "What You Don't Do," which features "the kind of stunning, kinetic performance we rarely hear on the radio these days." Blood showcases an eclectic range of songs and moods, and it's "unusual to hear a singer so confident in her ability to bring the extremes (particularly the quiet ones) across so vividly."

The Nonesuch Journal is taking a bit of a break for a summer holiday, ready to return with all the latest Nonesuch news on Monday, July 27. Until then, the summer concert season remains in full swing, of course, and with plenty of great music being made around the world, here's a look at some of the many events featuring Nonesuch artists in the coming days, hopefully reaching wherever your summer travels may take you. For additional details and tickets links for these and other upcoming shows, head to nonesuch.com/on-tour.

Nonesuch releases the late Henryk Górecki’s final composition, Symphony No. 4, Tansman Episodes, on January 22, 2016. The recording was made during the 2014 world premiere performance at Royal Festival Hall with London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Andrey Boreyko. The piece was incomplete at the time of Górecki’s 2010 death; however the score had precise indications for orchestration, which Górecki’s son Mikolaj, also a composer, used to complete it. Symphony No. 4 will be released individually and as part of Henryk Górecki: A Nonesuch Retrospective, a seven-disc box set of all Nonesuch recordings of Górecki works. The first vinyl LP of the beloved 1992 Nonesuch recording of his Symphony No. 3 also will be released. Pre-orders are available in the Nonesuch Store.

Lianne La Havas recently stopped by the Spotify studios in London to perform three songs from her forthcoming album, Blood—"Unstoppable," "Green & Gold," and "Midnight"—and the alt-J tune "Warm Foothills." You can hear the session and more here. La Havas recently performed "Midnight" for Nylon in a rather different venue: the shower. "In 2015, there are few artists with the ability to evoke soulful, serious emotions in a light, accessible way," says the magazine. "Lianna La Havas is one of them ... Prepare for goosebumps." 

Rhiannon Giddens has written a new song, entitled "Cry No More," in response to the tragic shooting of nine parishioners at the Emanuel AME church in Charleston, SC, in June. She brought together friends and band members to film a video for the song, which she co-wrote with her sister Lalenja Harrington, at the United Congregational Church in her home town of Greensboro, NC. The video, directed by filmmaker Harvey Robinson, premiered via NPR Music. You can watch it here.

John Adams and Jeremy Denk will take part in a new weekend festival at the Barbican in London: Sound Unbound: The Barbican Classical Weekender, October 31 and November 1, 2015. This event will take over the Barbican Centre and surrounding venues featuring over 50 concerts across 48 hours in different locations, with performances from Jeremy Denk, a concert from the London Symphony Orchestra led by John Adams, and music by Adams, Steve Reich, Philip Glass, Beethoven, Mozart, and more. Tickets go on sale Friday, July 17.

Lianne La Havas made a brief trip to the US for a set at the Essence Festival and sold-out shows in LA and NYC last week. "[W]hat comes across first is the sheer grace of her voice," says the New York Times review of the NYC show. "It can be a breathy purr, a lilting tease, a liquid confession or a torchy declaration ... She was already distinctive on her 2012 debut album, Is Your Love Big Enough?, which fused neo-soul, folk and jazz in songs built around her briskly syncopated guitar playing, often juggling three-against-two patterns behind supple tunes ... Her music pushes further in the songs on [her new album,] Blood." La Havas returns to North America to tour this fall.