Kronos Quartet has announced its ninth-annual Kronos Festival, to take place at SFJAZZ Center, June 20–23, 2024. The festival marks the ensemble’s milestone 50th Anniversary year and the farewell performances of John Sherba and Hank Dutt, members of Kronos Quartet for more than 45 years. It will feature a slate of world and Bay Area premieres commissioned as part of the KRONOS Five Decades season; several guest artists; and the final performance of A Thousand Thoughts, a live documentary chronicling the quartet’s career, written and directed by Sam Green and Joe Bini.

Timo Andres joins Alarm Will Sound in Steve Reich's Music for 18 Musicians in College Park and Philadelphia. Cécile McLorin Salvant premieres new piece at 92NY in NYC, where The Magnetic Fields play 69 Love Songs at The Town Hall. Sam Amidon plays with Laura Veirs in Portland and Shahzad Ismaily in Seattle. Hurray for the Riff Raff is in Texas for shows in Fort Worth, Austin, and Houston, where Kronos Quartet live-scores Sam Green's documentary about them. Nathalie Joachim is in Columbus. Mandy Patinkin performs in Peekskill and joins his family in conversation in New London. Sarah Kirkland Snider’s Mass for the Endangered is performed outside Pittsburgh. Chris Thile plays solo in Beaverton and Seattle. Yasmin Williams is in Tysons, VA.

The Black Keys' twelfth studio album, Ohio Players, is out now. The album features several collaborations between band mates Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney with various friends and colleagues, like Dan “The Automator” Nakamura, Beck, Noel Gallagher, Greg Kurstin, and others. Also out now: a video for the album track “On The Game,” co-written with Noel Gallagher. The video checks in on Derrick Tuggle, star of the band's 2011 "Lonely Boy" video, and includes a special appearance by skateboarding legend Tony Hawk. Tickets are on sale now for The Black Keys' North American tour.

The Staves start a North American tour at Union Stage in DC. John Adams conducts The Cleveland Orchestra in his City Noir. Sam Amidon is joined by fellow Sams Gendel and Wilkes in LA. Timo Andres’ The Blind Banister is performed in Sweden. Laurie Anderson gives a sold-out show at Koerner Hall in Toronto. Hurray for the Riff Raff is in Los Angeles, Pioneertown, and Phoenix. The Magnetic Fields perform 69 Love Songs at The Town Hall in NYC. Mandy Patinkin is in New Brunswick. Caroline Shaw and Sō Percussion perform in North Carolina. Yasmin Williams is in New Orleans.

The Black Keys have announced a 2024 North American headline tour in support of their new album, Ohio Players, out this Friday. The 31-date run kicks off in Tulsa on September 17 and travels across the country to cities including Austin, New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, with two dates in the band’s home state of Ohio. The Head & The Heart will be joining the tour as direct support for select shows.

Sam Amidon, who is currently leading a US headline tour, is on the latest episode of BBC World Service’s Music Life along with Brìghde Chaimbeul, Rhodri Davies, and Linda Buckley. They discuss the roles of tradition and place in music, and what they might think about when performing. You can hear their conversation here.

This Easter Weekend, Sam Amidon celebrates the 10th anniversary of his album Lily-O at LPR in NYC with Bill Frisell, Shahzad Ismaily, and Chris Vatalaro, then heads to Cambridge. Ambrose Akinmusire is in NYC to lead his sextet at Harlem Stage. Laurie Anderson brings her Let X=X show to Portland and Seattle, where Hurray for the Riff Raff performs from The Past Is Still Alive. Jeremy Denk joins Dallas Symphony Orchestra. Brad Mehldau is in Boulder. Caroline Shaw and Sō Percussion play from Let the Soil Play Its Simple Part in Tucson.

The Big Ears Festival is in Knoxville, TN, with performances by Sam Amidon, Laurie Anderson, Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society, Rhiannon Giddens, Mary Halvorson, Robin Holcomb, Wayne Horvitz, Hurray for the Riff Raff, Kronos Quartet, Brad Mehldau, Ringdown, Davóne Tines, Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway, and Yasmin Williams; conversations with many of the above; and an exhibit of Nonesuch artist photos by Michael Wilson. Beyond Big Ears, John Adams conducts LA Phil in Timo Andres's new concerto and his own City Noir at Disney Hall, where SF Symphony performs his Naive and Sentimental Music. Richard Goode plays Beethoven in Michigan. Tigran Hamasyan tours California. Emmylou Harris is in Pennsylvania and Boston, where The Magnetic Fields start their 69 Love Songs anniversary tour. Mandy Patinkin is in Portland, OR. Sarah Kirkland Snider’s Mass for the Endangered is performed on Prince Edward Island.

Rhiannon Giddens plays a sold-out show at the Beacon Theatre in NYC, where Nathalie Joachim has sold out Carnegie Hall’s Resnick Education Wing. The Black Keys play a set at Stubb's in Austin for SXSW. Tigran Hamasyan and his trio are in Boston and Chicago. Hurray for the Riff Raff has a sold-out show in St. Paul. Brad Mehldau plays solo in Europe—in Geneva, Rome, and Verona. Mandy Patinkin is in San Antonio. Cécile McLorin Salvant performs Ogresse conducted by Darcy James Argue in Luxembourg and Brussels.

The 2024 Big Ears Festival is next week, taking place in venues throughout downtown Knoxville, TN, March 21–24, with more than a dozen Nonesuch artists past, present, and future performing as part of the label's 60th anniversary celebrations. In addition to all of the music and film offerings, Big Ears also hosts a number of artist conversations with music journalists Ann Powers and Nate Chinen, including talks with Sam Amidon, Laurie Anderson, Darcy James Argue, Rhiannon Giddens, Mary Halvorson, Robin Holcomb, Hurray for the Riff Raff, Brad Mehldau, Davóne Tines, and Yasmin Williams.

Cécile McLorin Salvant begins a five-city European Ogresse tour conducted by Darcy James Argue at Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg. John Adams and Steve Reich's music is performed in Haarlem and Paris. Richard Goode plays Beethoven in New Jersey. Hurray for the Riff Raff is in Burlington and Toronto. Kronos Quartet performs to Sam Green’s live documentary about the group in California. Mandy Patinkin is in Tallahassee. Caroline Shaw and Sō Percussion are in Berlin.

Hurray for the Riff Raff is in Philadelphia and Woodstsock. John Adams’ Frenzy gets world premiere at the Barbican in London. Sam Amidon tours New England with This Is The Kit. Jeremy Denk joins Danish String Quartet in Denmark. Kronos Quartet is in Berkeley. Mandy Patinkin is in California and Colorado. Cécile McLorin Salvant joins Jon Batiste at Montreux Jazz Festival Miami. Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway play WinterWonderGrass Steamboat in Colorado.