The Barbican joins the Theatre Royal Stratford East in presenting a two-week run of performances of John Adams's 1995 music theatre piece I Was Looking at the Ceiling and Then I Saw the Sky at the Theatre Royal, opening tonight. The BBC previews the production, saying: "John Adams is arguably America's unofficial national composer." The London Philharmonic performs his Doctor Atomic Symphony at London's Royal Festival Hall.

Nonesuch releases an album with two Steve Reich compositions—Double Sextet and 2x5—on September 14, 2010. The Pulitzer Prize–winning piece Double Sextet, performed here by eighth blackbird, has been cited "among the finest pieces of our time" by the Philadelphia Inquirer. Bang on a Can perform 2x5, which premiered at the Manchester International Festival on a double bill with Kraftwerk and expands Reich's musical palate with rock instrumentation.

Steve Reich will be a special guest of the Jacob Burns Film Center in Pleasantville, New York, tonight, for a screening of the documentary Steve Reich, Phase to Face, and the Opening Night of the center's Sounds of Summer series of music documentaries. Reich will be interviewed by WNYC's John Schaefer, who chaired the jury that chose Reich's Double Sextet for the Pulitzer Prize. Nonesuch will release a recording of that piece, paired with 2x5, later this year.

Familial, the first solo record from Radiohead drummer Philip Selway, is due out on Nonesuch Records in the US and Canada on August 31. It is now up for pre-order on vinyl and CD in the Nonesuch Store, with an MP3 of the opening track, "By Some Miracle," available instantly with each pre-order. As with almost every album in the Nonesuch Store, orders also include 320 kbps MP3s of the complete album, available on release day.

The year has hit the halfway mark, giving music lovers the perfect opportunity to look back and reflect on their favorite albums of the year (so far). NPR listeners have done just that, placing The Black Keys' latest album, Brothers, at No. 3; rounding out the list at No. 50 is David Byrne's Here Lies Love. The Irish Times has picked its own 30 Best of 2010, including Carolina Chocolate Drops' Genuine Negro Jig.

MusicOMH spoke with Laurie Anderson about her new album, Homeland, and describes her point of view as "a refreshing one. She's playful, inquisitive, and sees far enough below the surface to know that glib solutions don't get us anywhere." Anderson also spoke with Filter, which concludes: "It’s almost impossible to fathom how many dull artistic clichés have been exploded in her path." Time Out says that "the riches of Homeland are manifold and durable, each phrase, texture and breathy pause a fresh example of the humane perspective facilitated by Anderson’s keen eye and sharp wit."

"Quicksand," the new single written and performed by Ry Cooder in response to Arizona law SB 1070 and the current immigration battle in the US, is now available, exclusively at iTunes. Cooder has chosen MALDEF, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, to receive all proceeds from sales of the single.

Laurie Anderson's new album, Homeland, was the subject of a feature profile in the Sunday New York Times, which states, "Homeland may be the most frankly emotional record Ms. Anderson has ever made," and on NPR's Weekend Edition Saturday, which calls her performances "the stuff of legend." Homeland receives four stars from the Financial Times, Metro, Irish Independent, and Irish Times.

Audra McDonald begins performances of 110 in the Shade at the Hale Center Theater in Orem, Utah, tonight. She reprises her Tony-nominated role in the play for a special limited engagement, through July 10, to benefit the nonprofit Hale Center Foundation for the Arts and Education. McDonald recently appeared on the PBS special America's Orchestra: Celebrating 125 Years of the Boston Pops and makes her Tanglewood debut in July.

Punch Brothers close out a banner week with Rhapsody naming their new album, Antifogmatic, Album of the Day, calling its songs "so strong and the emotional impact of the material so direct" that they supersede their complex mix of genres. Relix says: "In the world of acoustic music, mandolinist Chris Thile is arguably the most elastic and wildly imaginative player/singer/composer of his generation. He has met his matches in his fellow Punch Brothers," and their new album "is better than the best of all their worlds."

Today is composer Terry Riley's 75th birthday. The Nonesuch Journal spoke with Kronos Quartet's David Harrington about the group's decades long friendship and working relationship with the composer, celebrated in a concert tonight in California. (Kronos and Riley are pictured here at the composer's 50th birthday party.) "For me he's one of the world leading musical thinkers," says Harrington. "I'm looking forward to many more years together."

In response to the immigration battle currently raging in the US, Ry Cooder wrote the song "Quicksand," which tells the story of six would-be immigrants making their way from Mexico to the Arizona border. The track will be released exclusively on iTunes on June 29, with proceeds going to MALDEF, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund; it has now premiered exclusively on NPR's All Songs Considered blog.