The Black Keys launched their Australian tour at the Newcastle Entertainment Centre Sunday night. The tour continues with two nights at the Sydney Entertainment Centre, followed by shows in Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide, and two nights in Melbourne. The Black Keys head to New Zealand next for tour stops in Auckland and Wellington. Their new digital EP, Tour Rehearsal Tapes, is now available in the Nonesuch Store as MP3 and FLAC. The Independent says the tracks "underscore the explosive musical energy between guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney."

k.d. lang performs at Neil Young's Bridge School Benefit Concert in California, streaming live online ... Laurie Anderson brings Dirtday! to Seattle ... The Black Keys and Billy Bragg kick off tours of Australia ... Carolina Chocolate Drops are in the Netherlands ... Shawn Colvin tours UK with Mary Chapin Carpenter ... Dr. John, Blind Boys of Alabama are in Kansas and Nebraska ... Emmylou Harris plays Magnolia Fest ... Gidon Kremer, Kremerata Baltica tour South Korea ... Kronos Quartet performs Reich's WTC 9/11 in Italy ... Punch Brothers close out US tour in Alabama ... Sara Watkins joins Jackson Browne in Midwest ... and much more ...

Nonesuch Records releases Punch Brothers’ five-song EP, Ahoy!, on November 13, 2012. Recorded during the Nashville sessions for their critically acclaimed 2012 album Who’s Feeling Young Now?, these tracks also were produced by Jacquire King. The EP includes songs by Josh Ritter, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, Punch Brothers, and Mclusky, along with one traditional tune, arranged by Punch Brothers. Pre-orders include an instant download of the track “Another New World,” which you can preview here; a limited number of CDs will be signed by the band.

Lianne La Havas was recently featured in a "Spotlight" profile on NBC's Last Call with Carson Daly. During a recent trip to the US to celebrate the release of her debut album, Is Your Love Big Enough?, the London-based singer/songwriter stopped by LA's Greystone Manor Supperclub to talk with the show about her musical inspirations, share the stories behind some of the songs on the album, and perform in the intimate venue. Watch it here.

Sara Watkins launched the fall leg of her tour as special guest on Jackson Browne's Acoustic Tour of the United States. The tour, which began this summer with shows throughout July and August, picked up again with a concert at West Virginia University on Monday and continues through November 18 with a concert in Northridge, California, to benefit 88.5 KCSN FM. In December, Watkins leads a headline tour of the West Coast with Aoife O'Donovan.

Fatoumata Diawara recently concluded a US tour featuring music from her debut album, Fatou. The Malian-raised, Parisian singer/songwriter made stops across the country, including NYC, where she performed at Pace University’s Michael Schimmel Center for the Arts. There, Diawara spoke with NBC 4 New York’s Nonstop Sound about her tour, her time in the city, and her strong connection to the cultural traditions of Mali. Watch the piece here.

Kronos Quartet will be honored by MATA, a nonprofit organization dedicated to commissioning and presenting works by young composers from around the world, in the organization's 15th Annual Benefit Gala at the Tibet House in New York City Tuesday night. The evening will feature remarks by Philip Glass and Steve Reich and by Jennifer Bilfield of Stanford Live, as well as performances by Pannonia Quartet and Jacob Garchik's The Heavens. Kronos performs in Iowa City this week, then launches a tour of Europe that features several performances of Reich's WTC 9/11.

Gidon Kremer and his Kremerata Baltica chamber orchestra kicked off their tour of Asia with a performance at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Monday night, followed by concerts in Korea (Seoul, Goyang, and Daejeon), China (Guangzhou and Shenzhen), and Japan (Nagoya, Kobe, Tokyo, and Kurume). Additionally, Kremer will perofrm with smaller chamber ensembles in Japan. The CBC calls the group's latest album, The Art of Instrumentation: Homage to Glenn Gould, "a haunting, highly personal homage from one great musician to another and a deeply affecting tribute to Gould's enduring genius."

Shawn Colvin and Mary Chapin Carpenter kick off a series of tour dates in the UK and Ireland with a performance at the Sage Gateshead tonight, followed by shows in Dublin, Derby, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Liverpool, London, and Cambridge. These special shows will feature the acclaimed songwriters (and longtime friends) performing as an intimate duo and will include material spanning their vast catalogs as well as some of their favorite songs.

The Black Keys and Punch Brothers play the sold-out Austin City Limits Festival ... Laurie Anderson brings Dirtday! to Long Island ... Billy Bragg launches New Zealand tour ... Carolina Chocolate Drops take show from UK to France ... Ry Cooder celebrates Woody Guthrie at The Kennedy Center ... Jeremy Denk tours with Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center ... Dr. John & Blind Boys of Alabama take Spirituals to Funk tour to San Diego ... Pat Metheny's Unity Band closes out tour in NYC, Boston ... Sara Watkins tours Virginia and Ohio ... and more ...

London-based singer/songwriter Lianne La Havas returns to the US next month for three headlining shows: in the DC area, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. La Havas also makes her debut performance on the Late Show with David Letterman on November 8 and on Conan November 14. Nonesuch has just released an iTunes-exclusive live EP, featuring La Havas' performance at London’s iTunes Festival last month, with five songs from her set opening for Alicia Keys.

Billy Bragg launches a tour of New Zealand and Australia this Friday, October 12, in celebration of the life and legacy of Woody Guthrie, on the 100th anniversary of the folk legend’s birth. The shows will feature songs from the Mermaid Avenue albums, in which Bragg and Wilco's Jeff Tweedy set Guthrie's words to music, as well as songs from throughout Bragg's career. The New Zealand leg includes stops in Auckland, Wellington, Dunedin, and Christchurch; the Australia leg in Melbourne, Hobart, Canberra, Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide, and Perth.