Ben Folds continues his Lonely Avenue tour of Asia in Japan ... Amadou & Mariam are in NYC ... Laurie Anderson performs Delusion in Spain and Portugal ... Shawn Colvin plays in Virginia and Pennsylvania ... Emmylou Harris's European tour heads to Amsterdam ... k.d. lang continues UK tour in London, Nottingham ... Kronos Quartet performs A Chinese Home close to home in San Francisco ... The Low Anthem launches US tour ... Jessica Lea Mayfield concludes her European tour in Amsterdam ... Pat Metheny talks music and science in NYC ... Allen Toussaint plays in Oregon ... and more ...

Chris Thile and Michael Daves have just been added to the line-up of the 2011 Newport Folk Festival, taking place July 30 and 31 at Fort Adams State Park in Newport, Rhode Island. They join three fellow Nonesuch artists on the lineup, all performing on Sunday: Emmylou Harris, Carolina Chocolate Drops, and Wanda Jackson. In addition, The Low Anthem co-hosts a backstage hootenanny Saturday night to benefit the Newport Festivals Foundation.

k.d. lang and the Siss Boom Bang kicked off their UK tour with a performance in Birmingham to which the Times of London gives four stars, describing "lang's gorgeous voice" as "a versatile weapon of mass seduction." The tour hits London tonight for the first of two nights at the Royal Festival Hall. The North American tour begins in two weeks. lang recently spoke with the Huffington Post about her new album, Sing it Loud, to which Canada's StarPhoenix gives five stars, calling it "a winning amalgam of lang's many, many musical influences."

The New York City Ballet begins a six-show run of George Balanchine's Jewels, featuring music by Fauré, Stravinsky, and Tchaikovsky, at Lincoln Center tonight. Two selections from Jewels—"Emeralds" and "Diamonds"—are included in the Nonesuch DVD of the New York City Ballet's 1977 performance from the acclaimed PBS series Dance in America. The Los Angeles Times says the works became "instant classics" when filmed for the series.

Shawn Colvin, who is currently on tour, recently appeared on an episode of HBO's Treme. On the show, from David Simon, creator of The Wire, Colvin performs her song "I'm Gone," off her 2006 Nonesuch debut album, These Four Walls, with violinist Lucia Micarelli, who plays Annie on the series. You can watch some of their performance and see Colvin and Micarelli discuss how it all fits into the series in a video here.

The Fourth Annual World Science Fair gets under way in New York City today. Pat Metheny will join the proceedings Saturday night for Music and the Spark of Spontaneity, a performance and panel discussion, moderated by WNYC's John Schaefer, examining what goes on inside the brain as music is being created. The event offers a live tour of Metheny's masterful musical mind at work as he performs and engages in discussion with leading scientist/musicians.

The Metropolitan Opera's premiere production of John Adams's Nixon in China, conducted by the composer and staged by director Peter Sellars in their Met debuts, airs on PBS tonight at 9 PM ET, as part of THIRTEEN's Great Performances at the Met series. To coincide with the Met premiere of Nixon in China, Nonesuch Records reissued the Grammy-winning original cast recording in a newly redesigned three-CD set, available now.

John Adams's new album, featuring his Son of Chamber Symphony and String Quartet, is out today. The first piece, deemed "dangerously exhilarating" by the Financial Times, is performed on the album by the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), led by the composer. The second, which the Philadelphia Inquirer calls "a knockout," is performed by the St. Lawrence String Quartet. Audiophile Audition gives the album a perfect five stars: "This is a magnificent addition to the Adams’ discography that will win him new fans. The performance and recording are exemplary, a real feast for the ears and your stereo system."

Audra McDonald helped Carnegie Hall celebrate its 120th birthday as part of an all-star gala benefit concert with the New York Philharmonic earlier this month. McDonald performs songs by Duke Ellington; also on the program are works by Beethoven, Dvořák, and Gershwin. The Carnegie Hall 120th Anniversary Gala Concert will be broadcast on PBS tonight as part of WNET’s Great Performances. New York classical radio station 105.9 FM WQXR will also broadcast the concert.

Randy Newman played two shows at the Arizona Biltmore this weekend, performing songs from throughout his career, including his latest album, Songbook Vol. 2. "Newman isn't just a songwriter, he's an entertainer," says the Phoenix New Times. "He knows how to tug the heartstrings, knows when to crack a smile, and knows that satire is often the best way to drive a point home." Newman discussed the new album with the Huffington Post, which calls it "wonderful," and with the A.V. Club, which cites his "penchant for deft, multivalent satire." The Irish Times gives the album five stars.

This Memorial Day weekend, Jessica Lea Mayfield kicks off a week-long European tour ... Laurie Anderson brings Delusion to Germany ... James Farm continues its European tour in France, Netherlands ... Ben Folds launches Japan tour ... Emmylou Harris plays Ireland, UK ... Wanda Jackson is in Knoxville ... Gidon Kremer, Kremerata Baltica are in Germany ... Natalie Merchant celebrates Levon Helm's 71st birthday in NY ... Randy Newman performs in Phoenix ... Punch Brothers play two festival sets ... and more ...