Kronos Quartet, Alim Qasimov Ensemble perform from Floodplain in Paris ... Laurie Anderson brings Delusion to Berkeley ... Carolina Chocolate Drops stop at Oberlin's Spring Folkfest ...   Shawn Colvin plays the Birchmere ... Bill Frisell continues Village Vanguard residency ... Richard Goode begins Europe tour, as do Joshua Redman, Brad Mehldau; Randy Newman continues his, while Rokia Traoré closes hers ... Pat Metheny hits his hometown ... and more ...

Laurie Anderson brings her latest piece, Delusion, to Berkeley's Zellerbach Auditorium tonight and Saturday. It follows a performance at Stanford to which the San Francisco Chronicle gives its highest rating, describing Delusion as "one story, quip or rumination after another, to comic, provocative and deeply touching effect ... As much as Anderson's beguiling presence and creative mastery, it's the tension between its playful and somber sides that gives Delusion its poignant weight."

Rokia Traoré concludes her UK tour in Coventry tonight. The tour began ten days ago at Koko in London, a performance to which The Guardian, The Independent, and the Evening Standard all give four stars. The Guardian calls it "an exhilarating performance." The Independent says Traoré was "a captivating performer" throughout. The Evening Standard says, "when she rocked, she really rocked."

The Low Anthem is up for two awards open to fan votes. Those in the UK can make the most of today's election momentum and vote in the Mojo Honours List, where The Low Anthem is nominated for Breakthrough Act of the Year. The band has also been nominated in The Phoenix Best Music Poll for Local Superstars and National Roots/Americana, up against Wilco in the latter; Bill Frisell is up for Best Jazz and Stephen Merritt for Best Singer/Songwriter.

Following their US tour, Joshua Redman and Brad Mehldau have brought their duo set to Europe for the coming week, with performances in Norway, Italy, Turkey, Belgium, France, and Switzerland. Mehldau was featured on BBC Radio 3's Radio 3 Requests, which played the Mehldau Trio's take on Oasis' "Wonderwall" from Live and spoke with Mehldau about his Guest Request Choice for the week.

Laurie Anderson is in the Bay Area this week, performing her latest piece, Delusion, at Stanford tonight and Berkeley this weekend. Anderson spoke with San Francisco Chronicle about Delusion and her forthcoming album, Homeland. She heads to Lublin, Poland, next week for the CODES festival and to Sydney, Australia, at the end of the month, where she is curating the Vivid Live Festival with Lou Reed.

Dawn Upshaw has been named Music Director for the 2011 Ojai Music Festival. Next year's gathering, June 9–12, 2011, will mark the soprano's fourth appearance at the festival. Among those already signed on to participate are Richard Tognetti, Maria Schneider, and Peter Sellars. Upshaw makes her debut with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra later this month, performing works written for her by Osvaldo Golijov.

Sara Watkins's late-summer plans are already in order, with the month-long Summer Love Tour with Garrison Keillor's A Prairie Home Companion starting in August. There's more music to come in the first half of the summer too, as Watkins starts the season at Joe's Pub in New York City on June 21, then heads on tour for two weeks with Dar Williams.

Congratulations to A Little Night Music, the recipient of four Tony Award nominations. The Broadway revival of the Stephen Sondheim / Hugh Wheeler musical has been nominated for Best Revival of a Musical, Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical for Catherine Zeta-Jones, Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical for Angela Lansbury, and Best Sound Design of a Musical. It has also been nominated for three Drama Desk Awards and three Outer Critics Circle Awards.

Now that Natalie Merchant's brief spring tour of select US cities introducing music from her new album, Leave Your Sleep, has come to a close, Merchant has announced that, following her upcoming European tour, she will return to the States for a wide-scale, nationwide summer tour. Beginning July 12, the seven-week tour will be her first major outing in seven years. Merchant and her band will perform new material as well as favorites from throughout her career.

Celebrate Brooklyn!—one of New York City's longest-running free, outdoor performing arts festivals—has announced the complete line-up for this summer's concert series in in Brooklyn's Prospect Park. Among the featured performers this year are Allen Toussaint, The Low Anthem, and the Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club, featuring Omara Portuondo.

Last week came word that The Black Keys would be touring with Kings of Leon for a dozen dates this September. The band has now added several additional dates, following the release of its new album, Brothers, including headlining shows with The Morning Benders, The Whigs, and Nicole Atkins. Patrick Carney talks with Billboard about the upcoming record and recent projects he and Dan Auerbach have taken on.