Nonesuch Records releases A Crimson Grail—Rhys Chatham’s work for large electric guitar orchestra—on September 14, 2010. Written in 2005 as a commission for the city of Paris, A Crimson Grail premiered at the basilica of Sacré-Coeur. It was created to work with the specific architecture of the basilica, making use of its natural 15-second reverberation time. Scored for as many as 400 guitarists, an orchestra of approximately 125 musicians performed the premiere, to great acclaim. The Dallas Observer said of a recording of that concert, “Beautifully intricate and harmonically dense, A Crimson Grail is nearly ambient in tone while pursuing a beauty that never seems beyond its scope.”

Punch Brothers' recent Tonight Show spot airs again; quintet plays Caramoor ... Laurie Anderson improvises with Lou Reed, John Zorn at Montreal Jazz Fest; Allen Toussaint brings Bright Mississipi there ... The Black Keys hit the European festivals ... Carolina Chocolate Drops play two sets at High Sierra Fest ... Brad Mehldau plays Traumzeit and Montreax Fests ... Pat Metheny Group tours Poland and Germany ... Joshua Redman plays Ottawa Jazz Fest ... Jeff Tweedy solos in Spain ... Sara Watkins tours Midwest with Dar Williams ... and more ...

The Barbican joins the Theatre Royal Stratford East in presenting a two-week run of performances of John Adams's 1995 music theatre piece I Was Looking at the Ceiling and Then I Saw the Sky at the Theatre Royal, opening tonight. The BBC previews the production, saying: "John Adams is arguably America's unofficial national composer." The London Philharmonic performs his Doctor Atomic Symphony at London's Royal Festival Hall.

Nonesuch releases an album with two Steve Reich compositions—Double Sextet and 2x5—on September 14, 2010. The Pulitzer Prize–winning piece Double Sextet, performed here by eighth blackbird, has been cited "among the finest pieces of our time" by the Philadelphia Inquirer. Bang on a Can perform 2x5, which premiered at the Manchester International Festival on a double bill with Kraftwerk and expands Reich's musical palate with rock instrumentation.

Steve Reich will be a special guest of the Jacob Burns Film Center in Pleasantville, New York, tonight, for a screening of the documentary Steve Reich, Phase to Face, and the Opening Night of the center's Sounds of Summer series of music documentaries. Reich will be interviewed by WNYC's John Schaefer, who chaired the jury that chose Reich's Double Sextet for the Pulitzer Prize. Nonesuch will release a recording of that piece, paired with 2x5, later this year.

Drowned in Sound gives Laurie Anderson's new album, Homeland, an 8 out of 10, citing its "glittering 11-minute centrepiece, ‘Another Day in America,'" featuring her male alter ego, Fenway Bergamot, as exemplary of Anderson's ability to address challenging subjects with wit. Homeland, the review concludes, is ultimately "a record made up of journeys, through poetry, morality, America, through sound itself."

Familial, the first solo record from Radiohead drummer Philip Selway, is due out on Nonesuch Records in the US and Canada on August 31. It is now up for pre-order on vinyl and CD in the Nonesuch Store, with an MP3 of the opening track, "By Some Miracle," available instantly with each pre-order. As with almost every album in the Nonesuch Store, orders also include 320 kbps MP3s of the complete album, available on release day.

The year has hit the halfway mark, giving music lovers the perfect opportunity to look back and reflect on their favorite albums of the year (so far). NPR listeners have done just that, placing The Black Keys' latest album, Brothers, at No. 3; rounding out the list at No. 50 is David Byrne's Here Lies Love. The Irish Times has picked its own 30 Best of 2010, including Carolina Chocolate Drops' Genuine Negro Jig.

MusicOMH spoke with Laurie Anderson about her new album, Homeland, and describes her point of view as "a refreshing one. She's playful, inquisitive, and sees far enough below the surface to know that glib solutions don't get us anywhere." Anderson also spoke with Filter, which concludes: "It’s almost impossible to fathom how many dull artistic clichés have been exploded in her path." Time Out says that "the riches of Homeland are manifold and durable, each phrase, texture and breathy pause a fresh example of the humane perspective facilitated by Anderson’s keen eye and sharp wit."

"Quicksand," the new single written and performed by Ry Cooder in response to Arizona law SB 1070 and the current immigration battle in the US, is now available, exclusively at iTunes. Cooder has chosen MALDEF, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, to receive all proceeds from sales of the single.

Laurie Anderson's new album, Homeland, is the subject of an online feature from Newsweek, which suggests that the album represents a change of tone for Anderson. "The good news is that Anderson’s newfound sense of polemic hasn’t poisoned her minimalist sensibility for arranging her music ... Homeland has an appealing amount of restraint to it." The Philadelphia Daily News says "Anderson is up to her dry, droll and creative best on Homeland."

Punch Brothers' Antifogmatic earns four stars from American Songwriter, which says the album's "celebratory, joyful feeling permeates the interplay between each of the band’s virtuoso members ... Antifogmatic also delivers quality songs [with] hummable melodies that stick with you." The A.V. Club says "Antifogmatic is as warm and welcoming as the bracing 19th-century drink that gave it its name."