Punch Brothers have announced their summer plans, with dozens of tour dates planned to take them across the United States through September. "Spring is here (!!) and summer's just around the corner," says the band. "And that means it's festival season. We're excited to be playing a bunch of great festivals and other shows including Bonnaroo, Newport Folk Festival, Mile High Music Festival, Telluride Bluegrass Festival, Targhee Bluegrass Festival, and others."

Wilco has announced the launch of the Solid Sound Festival, a new festival the band will curate, August 13-15, at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA), featuring music, art, comedy, interactivity, and more. Wilco headlines the weekend, in the band's only East Coast performance of the summer. The festival also presents individual performances by all the Wilco members' side projects.

Here Lies Love, David Byrne's song-cycle collaboration with Fatboy Slim, is out now. Byrne discussed the project on the BBC World Service program The Strand, which calls it "wonderful"; it was also Album of the Day on BBC Radio 6 Music. Newsday gives the album an A-, calling it "an amazing piece of work" and "a thrilling success." The AP describes the album as "a magnificent sonic treat ... an epic, thrilling tale brimming with hair-raising harmonies, sumptuous beats and unexpected duets." It receives four stars from the Daily Mirror and Daily Express, which calls it "excitingly original."

The Nonesuch Records / PS Classics release of the new Broadway cast recording of Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler's A Little Night Music is out now. To mark the occasion, Sondheim and the cast signed copies of the album on release day at the Walter Kerr Theatre for 250-plus lucky fans. In the photo at left, Sondheim, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Angela Lansbury are seen hard at work. You'll find interviews with Zeta-Jones and Lansbury at nonesuch.com/media.

NPR's All Songs Considered unveils its Spring Music Preview, showcasing "a whole new batch of amazing music" coming soon, starting with "Howlin' for You," off The Black Keys' Brothers. "I just heard this cut and a few others," says producer Robin Hilton, "and loved it immediately. This is gonna be a great record." Host Bob Boilen plays "Only an Expert" off Laurie Anderson's Homeland. "I like her work a lot," he says. "I think she's one of America's great storytellers and has a way of insight into very ordinary, day-to-day stuff."

Pat Metheny begins the North American leg of his world Orchestrion tour today, just as the album releases on vinyl. The Wall Street Journal's Ashley Kahn takes a look at the orchestrion in action, calling the performance "surprisingly fluid and nuanced," with "Metheny's trademark guitar sound: fluid, with a clear melodic sense, flitting between a bright, pop approach and a more moody effect." The album, says Kahn, contains "as beautiful a melody as any Mr. Metheny has written since his Question and Answer session."

David Byrne and Fatboy Slim's Here Lies Love is out now. The Financial Times calls it "both intelligent and highly entertaining." The Times (UK) gives it four stars, saying, "The pair's navigation of the narrative is impeccable." The Boston Globe calls it "a sumptuous two-disc feast of harmony, melody, and Latin-accented grooves." The Washington Post's Express Night Out cites "its considerable impact and surprising emotional resonance." The Star-Ledger calls it "instantly enjoyable." The Huffington Post proclaims: "The talent gathered here was spot-on."

Tomorrow marks the release of the new Broadway cast recording of Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler's A Little Night Music. To mark the occasion, Sondheim and the cast of A Little Night Music, including Catherine Zeta-Jones, Angela Lansbury, and Alexander Hanson, will sign copies of the album at the Walter Kerr Theatre. Tonight, Sondheim presents the O'Neill's Monte Cristo Award to director/producer Hal Prince. Next week, Lansbury will receive the Signature Theatre's Stephen Sondheim Award.

Wilco's current tour, An Evening with Wilco, may be fully sold-out, but that doesn't mean you'll have to go without. Tune in to the band site for live webcasts of Tuesday's show from Boston and Wednesday's show from Concord, New Hampshire. Relix described the tour opener as "a spirited rock-and-roll blowout." You can also enjoy Wilco live via the forthcoming vinyl release of Kicking Television: Live in Chicago.

Louis Andriessen is set to preside over several concerts he has curated as holder of Carnegie Hall's Richard and Barbara Debs Composer’s Chair, starting Friday. The New York Times recognizes Andriessen's "gift for embracing conflicting values, musical and otherwise, and making it seem as if they fit together naturally." Among the participants in these events are John Adams, Dawn Upshaw, Iva Bittová, Alan Pierson, and Nonesuch President Robert Hurwitz.

Tony Allen—best known for his work as drummer and musical director for Fela Kuti—makes his World Circuit / Nonesuch debut with next week's North American release of Secret Agent, on April 13. Now comes confirmation of Allen's North American tour this summer, with stops in Toronto, Madison, Chicago, Boston, New York, Brooklyn, Seattle, and Northern California.

After a pre-sale brought fans of The Black Keys early access to tickets for the band's summer tour and their forthcoming album, Brothers, tickets are now available direct from the venues, and the album is available for pre-order in the Nonesuch Store. Fans who got in on early tickets were able to download "Tighten Up," the first single off of Brothers. Now everyone can catch the video for the song and its undeniably charismatic star.