Dawn Upshaw and Crash Ensemble perform Donnacha Dennehy's That the Night Come at Kilkenny Arts Festival ... Sam Amidon, Bombino play Lowlands Festival in Netherlands ... Laurie Anderson performs in East Hampton ... Kremerata Baltica closes out Costa Rica festival ... Carolina Chocolate Drops are in Pennsylvania ... Dr. John performs in his hometown of New Orleans ... Jeremy Denk joins Australian Chamber Orchestra in Sydney ... Fatoumata Diawara concludes North American tour ... Lianne La Havas plays UK's V Festival ... Joshua Redman is in Reykjavik ... Chris Thile and the Goat Rodeo goes to Bethel Woods and Ravinia ... and more ...

Nonesuch releases pianist Jeremy Denk's recording of Bach's Goldberg Variations on September 30 (October 21 internationally), available for pre-order now in the Nonesuch Store. The album includes a companion DVD with video "liner notes," on which Denk demonstrates passages on the piano as he explains certain details of the iconic piece. Watch an excerpt here. The New York Times has remarked on Denk's "profound affinity with Bach," and the Philadelphia Inquirer has called his performance of the Goldberg Variations "mesmerizing." Denk plays in 15 US cities this fall including a performance of the Goldberg Variations in Boston, Chicago, and DC and concerts with the San Francisco Symphony at Davies Hall, Carnegie Hall, and the Krannert Center.

Singer-songwriter Martha Wainwright was the guest on NPR's World Cafe yesterday to discuss the double-disc set Sing Me the Songs: Celebrating the Works of Kate McGarrigle, which features highlights from three tribute concerts Kate's children, Martha and her brother Rufus Wainwright led with McGarrigle's sister Anna in honor of the late singer and Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame member. On World Cafe, Wainwright shares stories of her mother and gives intimate performances of two McGarrigle tunes: "I Am a Diamond" and "Talk to Me of Mendocino." 

Fatoumata Diawara, whose North American summer tour comes to a close in British Columbia this weekend, is the subject of a captivating feature profile on CNN's African Voices program. Diawara spoke with CNN for an in-depth discussion of her life, from her early days in Mali to an acting career that led to world travel and her career in music, as heard on her critically acclaimed debut album, Fatou, and her recent efforts in support of peace in Mali. You can watch the profile here.

Sam Amidon’s Nonesuch debut album, Bright Sunny South, released this spring to critical acclaim, will be released on vinyl on September 24 with a download of the album and a bonus vinyl 7” disc featuring two previously unreleased recordings; it is available to pre-order now in the Nonesuch Store. Amidon will tour North America throughout September including two nights at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City with Bill Frisell. 

Randy Newman will open the 2013–2014 season of free concerts from the Library of Congress in Washington, DC. His performance in the Thomas Jefferson Building's Coolidge Auditorium will take place on Saturday, October 5, followed by a conversation with the Music Division’s Mark Horowitz about the art of songwriting. Audra McDonald will spotlight songs from the Library’s American musical theater collections in her October 10 Coolidge Auditorium concert. Tickets will be available starting September 4.

Chris Thile was featured on NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday yesterday. The mandolin virtuoso spoke with host Rachel Martin about his new album, Bach: Sonatas and Partitas, Vol. 1, on which he performs three Bach works written for solo violin. "There's the mandolin and then there's the mandolin when Chris Thile puts it to work," says Martin. "Chris Thile is stretching the limits of his instrument yet again, this time taking on Bach." Thile kicks off a US tour with his fellow Goat Rodeo Sessions musicians this week.

Kronos Quartet helped close out the opening day of the Outside Lands festival in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park on Friday night with a flourish: first performing with The National (pictured here with Bob Weir, who joined for a song), then returning to the stage for the closing act, Sir Paul McCartney, for his encore, a performance of "Yesterday." Rolling Stone reports the performance "moved virtually every single person in the field, including security guards and food vendors." Watch it here.

Stephen Sondheim was awarded the Edward MacDowell Medal in a public ceremony at The MacDowell Colony in Petersborough, New Hampshire, yesterday. Sondheim joins a notable list of past Medal recipients, including Robert Frost, Georgia O’Keeffe, and Leonard Bernstein; this marks the first time in the medal's history a luminary has been chosen from the realm of musical theatre. "I am not only humbled and privileged," says Sondheim, "I am astonished to be in the company." Writer Frank Rich, chairman of the medal selection committee, says: "No artist has made a larger contribution to this quintessential American art form in the modern era than Sondheim has, and no artist could be more deserving of this accolade."

Kronos Quartet joins The National and Bombino plays his own set at Outside Lands festival in San Francisco ... Sam Amidon plays Haldern Pop Fest ... Laurie Anderson brings Dirtday! to Oslo ... Carolina Chocolate Drops, Fatoumata Diawara, Sara Watkins play Edmonton Folk Fest ... Shawn Colvin, Mary Chapin Carpenter tour South, as does Dr. John ... Kremerata Baltica tours Costa Rica ... Randy Newman performs in Kentucky ... Joshua Redman, Rokia Traoré perform at Festival Au Grès du Jazz in France ... Chris Thile celebrates Elliott Smith in NYC ... Allen Toussaint closes out Lincoln Center Out of Doors ... and more ...

Chris Thile stopped by the studios of New York public radio station WNYC to perform some music from his new album, Bach: Sonatas and Partitas, Vol. 1, on Soundcheck and talk with host John Schaefer about the album. "Chris Thile plays well with others," says the show. "But on his latest recording, Thile stands alone, translating the works of Bach—originally composed for solo violin—with exceptional precision on mandolin." Listen to the Soundcheck episode here.

Pianist Jeremy Denk makes his Australian debut with a performance at Newcastle City Hall on Monday, August 12, kicking off a two-week tour of the country with the Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO) led by conductor, artistic director, and lead violinist Richard Tognetti. The tour—featuring works by Bach, Ligeti, Ives, and Brahms—continues with performances in Adelaide and Perth, followed by several stops in Sydney, and rounds out with dates in Wollongong and Melbourne.