There's just under a week to go before the release of Ry Cooder's new album, Pull Up Some Dust and Sit Down, on August 30. Until then, you can listen to the album in its entirety exclusively on Slate. MOJO and Q give the album four stars; Uncut gives it a perfect five, calling it "one of his best albums ever." Cooder is the subject of a feature article in the magazine, which calls the new album "an impassioned portrait of 21st century America and its injustices" in which Cooder is "remade as a modern-day Woody Guthrie, fearless and funny, for like Guthrie he nails his targets with droll humour while empathising with society's underdogs."

Björk will be recognized with the Outstanding Contribution to Music Award at the inaugural AIM Independent Music Awards, taking place this November in London. The award, selected by a judging panel of UK music critics and tastemakers, recognizes an artist who continues to influence and inspire with their work. Says AIM, the UK's Association of Independent Music: "Björk continues to push boundaries with her work and continues to create music that inspires and influences music fans, other artists and the wider music business."

It was 25 years ago this fall that Caetano Veloso's self-titled album was released in the US on Nonesuch Records. That acoustic guitar set launched a relationship that has since brought more than a dozen unforgettable albums, most recently last year's zii e zie, of which the Times of London declared: "The Brazilian master remains in a league of his own." Now, Veloso's Nonesuch catalog is available digitally, in the Nonesuch Store and on iTunes and Amazon. Veloso is Guest Director of the 2011 Telluride Film Festival, which will be held over Labor Day weekend.

Steve Reich's 75th birthday celebrations continue with a free concert in Chicago's Pritzker Pavilion at Millennium Park tonight. The concert features performances by Chicago's own eighth blackbird and Third Coast Percussion and an all-Reich program comprising what the Chicago Tribune counts among "some of his finest pieces": Double Sextet, Mallet Quartet, and Music for 18 Musicians. Chicagoist calls it "the most anticipated show of the summer." Catch a video preview here.

Wanda Jackson joins Adele in Las Vegas and Salt Lake City ... The Carolina Chocolate Drops head west to the Oregon Zoo and the Rocky Mountain Folk Festival ... Ben Folds plays Birmingham ... The Low Anthem hit two festivals in the UK ... Jessica Lea Mayfield continues her summer tour in Philadelphia ... Allen Toussaint continues his run of festivals in northern Europe ...  Sara Watkins is joined by her brother Sean and others for the Watkins Family Hour at Largo ... and more ...

Composer Steve Reich's music has recently been celebrated with an all-Reich program at the BBC Proms in London, and more praise from the UK arrived this week, with the announcement that Reich's album Double Sextet / 2x5 is on the shortlist for this year's Gramophone Classical Music Awards in the Contemporary category. In a review of last week's Proms, the Observer reported that Reich "received a rock star's welcome at a late-night concert held to honour his 75th birthday later this year," and according to the Guardian, "Steve Reich gets cooler every year, just as his music gets more relevant."

Björk has revealed the cover of Biophilia, her forthcoming album. Björk’s most interdisciplinary project to date, Biophilia comprises a studio album, an app, a new website, custom-made musical instruments, live shows, and educational workshops. She has collaborated with app developers, scientists, writers, inventors, musicians, and instrument makers to create a unique multimedia exploration of the universe and its physical forces—particularly those where music, nature and technology meet. The Guardian calls "Virus," the latest app component, "an an innovative and important app. But crucially, also a fun one."

The Carolina Chocolate Drops are collaborating on their first theater piece, which will be performed at Chicago's Old Town School of Folk Music this November. Keep a Song in Your Soul: The Black Roots of Vaudeville was commissioned by Old Town and explores songs written and performed by African Americans between 1830 and 1930. The band is working with jazz composer-pianist Reginald R. Robinson and the Old Town School's Reggio "The Hoofer" Laughlin on the production. Bandmember Dom Flemons tells the Willamette Week, “There’s so much stuff that people just don’t know about in terms of music ... we want to reach back and grab that stuff and make it live again.”

Music and culture website Pitchfork.com launched 15 years ago this summer, in 1996, and in honor of this anniversary, the site is taking a look at artists "who've left a mark on the musical landscape over the past 15 years"; Björk was chosen for the first feature in the series. Writer Brandon Stosuy talks to the artist about her career and her work since 1996 through her upcoming album, Biophilia. As the release of Biophilia draws closer, Björk's "Crystalline Series"—four 12" vinyl imports from the UK featuring variations on music from Biophilia—have been made available. The series includes remixes from Grammy-winning engineer Serban Ghenea, British electronic artist Matthew Herbert (who previously collaborated with Björk on her album Vespertine), and musician Omar Souleyman.

The cover art for The Black Keys’ 2010 breakthrough album Brothers, along with its designer, Michael Carney, was praised for its simple power in a New York Times article about a new trend in the music industry to use designs that stand out on digital devices. The band performed a blistering set at San Francisco's Outside Lands Festival this weekend, "dominating the stage with its energetic, classic rock ’n’ roll," according to the SF Examiner.

The Outside Lands Festival hits San Francisco's Golden Gate Park with sets from The Black Keys and Sara Watkins with the Decemberists ... Shawn Colvin heads South ... BBC Proms feature Jonny Greenwood's Norwegian Wood suite ... Wanda Jackson joins Adele in Seattle and LA ... k.d. lang plays in the Pacific Northwest ... The Low Anthem, Allen Toussaint head to the European summer festivals ... Jessica Lea Mayfield tours NY, VT, and OH ... and more ...

Steve Reich, who performed at London's Royal Albert Hall earlier this week for the BBC Proms, is the subject of the Guardian's latest Music Weekly podcast. In an extensive audio interview, Reich discusses works from throughout his career, beginning with his latest, WTC 9/11. "This is the first time that the show has featured a contemporary classical composer," says the Guardian, "but Reich's influence on a number of Music Weekly favourites such as Radiohead, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Brian Eno, Sufjan Stevens and Battles is huge."