k.d. lang and the Siss Boom Bang will celebrate the release of Sing it Loud by playing the complete album live at two intimate shows the week the album is released: at the Troubadour in Los Angeles on Monday, April 11, and at (Le) Poisson Rouge in New York City on Thursday, April 14. They will be performing material from Sing it Loud and songs from throughout lang’s career on their North American run, which will keep them on the road into the fall.

As The Low Anthem takes their tour to Canada for shows in Toronto and Montreal, the band's Daytrotter session has been published, with live takes on five songs from their album Smart Flesh. "Without question, Smart Flesh will be a contender for album of the year when it comes to that," says Daytrotter. The band heads next to Boston, where the Boston Globe calls the album "splendid" with "hints of forebears from Bob Dylan to Vic Chesnutt to the Band."

Kronos Quartet and k.d. lang and the Siss Boom Bang will be among the artists performing at this summer's Luminato, the Toronto Festival of Arts and Creativity, this June. The Kronos Quartet Residency at Luminato will feature four concerts, including a free outdoor concert in Toronto's Metro Square, and initiatives with Luminato’s Education and Outreach programs. k.d. lang and the Siss Boom Bang will also perform a free concert in Metro Square.

Steve Reich is at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, today for Reich at 75: The Music and Jewish Faith of Steve Reich, a two-day event presented by the Baylor School of Music and Center for Jewish Studies that will include lectures, a Q&A, and a concert with the composer and the Baylor Percussion Group, all of which are free and open to the public. The celebrations of the composer's 75th birthday continue throughout the year, including the world premiere performance of Reich's WTC 9/11 by Kronos Quartet later this month.

Congratulations to Randy Newman, who won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for "We Belong Together" from the film Toy Story 3. It's second Oscar win. Newman received a Grammy Award for the film's score earlier this month. Nonesuch will release The Randy Newman Songbook Vol. 2 on May 10. On the album, Newman takes a fresh look at both classic and more recent work in new solo recordings of his celebrated songs. He resumes his tour tomorrow night at Strathmore in Maryland and heads to New York City later this week. Watch his Oscar acceptance speech here.

Brad Mehldau's follows the release of his new solo album, Live in Marciac, with a free solo show at the Library of Congress in DC and NYC shows with Chris Thile, Gabe Kahane, Joshua Redman, and Timothy Andres. Mehldau includes Andres's Nonesuch debut album, Shy and Mighty, in his New York Times Playlist, saying it's "not like anything I’ve heard." Mehldau's takes on Radiohead songs, on Live in Marciac and with his trio, are the subject of an NPR Music blog piece, which calls him "the most influential" jazz interpreter of the band's music.

Jessica Lea Mayfield was the musical guest on the Late Show with David Letterman Friday night, marking her network television debut. She performed "Our Hearts Are Wrong," off her Nonesuch debut album, Tell Me. "That was great," Letterman said. "I enjoyed that considerably." To that, Paul Shaffer added: "I loved it." Watch the performance here. Mayfield is in the UK this week, where she can be heard on BBC Radio 6 on Wednesday and seen live at Fopp in London on Thursday.

Jessica Lea Mayfield will be the musical guest on the Late Show with David Letterman tonight, performing "Our Hearts Are Wrong," off her Nonesuch debut album, Tell Me. Also on tonight's show are Glee's Matthew Morrison and comedian Jeff Altman. Mayfield is set to tour Europe in May and June, following her US tour. The tour begins in Belgium on May 27 and includes concerts in Ireland, UK, France, Germany, and Holland.

Laurie Anderson was the musical guest on NBC's Late Night with Jimmy Fallon last night. She performed an excerpt of "Another Day in America," off her latest album, Homeland, accompanied by Colin Stetson on saxophone and Rob Burger on accordion, with her male alter ego, Fenway Bergamot, contributing vocals. Watch the performance here, along with an excerpt from the Homeland DVD about the making of the album.

Congratulations to Allen Toussaint: he will be among the newest members inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in a ceremony on June 16 in New York City. Toussaint's debut appearance on Austin City Limits, which first aired last year and featured songs from his Nonesuch debut album, The Bright Mississippi, will be rebroadcast on PBS stations across the US this weekend.

Ben Folds's Lonely Avenue tour of Europe got off to a smashing good start in Ireland and the UK this past week. The Independent gives a perfect five stars to the "monumental" London show, with Folds "amazing the audience time and again ... It's an absolute joy to watch someone so gifted perform." MusicOMH gives the concert five stars as well, calling it "a performance that doesn't set a foot wrong, from an artist who systematically matches storytelling with perfect orchestration and harmony. Impeccable." The Evening Standard says Folds's "musicianship shone through with jazzy interludes from his band and beautiful harmonies."

The Low Anthem kicks their tour at the Sixth and I Synagogue in Washington, DC, tonight. NPR's All Songs Considered will be broadcasting the concert live online at npr.org. The Associated Press calls their new album, Smart Flesh, "stunningly memorable ... Decidedly eclectic, the Low Anthem use simple chords, haunting sounds and unusual instrumentation to create something sincere and beautiful." On this week's New York Times Popcast, Times writer David Carr says: "You don't hear singing like that every other day. It's very, very impressive."