Chris Thile and Michael Daves are in the midst of their US tour, performing songs from their debut album, Sleep with One Eye Open. The Daily Telegraph gives the album four stars, calling Thile and Daves "a fine vocal duo ... but even more astonishing is their instrumental virtuosity." The Sunday Herald says that "whether they’re working their fingers to the bone or singing their hearts out, this is music of wonderful vitality." Birmingham says "the duo captures the vigorous vibe of the bluegrass jams that originally drew them together and the raucous nature of lives that often inspire such tunes."

The celebration of Kate McGarrigle's music continued for a second night at New York's Town Hall on Friday. The New York Times says her "extended musical family and a quietly magnificent catalog" were both featured. She "wrote 20th-century parlor songs: folksy-sounding, latter-day descendants of Stephen Foster tunes, hymns, waltzes and popular arias ... bold and sophisticated, musically and emotionally." Rolling Stone calls the concert "an extraordinarily moving night of music." Entertainment Weekly says: "In spite of the sobering loss, the audience received firsthand evidence that the loving wit Kate personified still lives on through her family."

Randy Newman performs "Losing You," off his new album, Songbook Vol. 2., on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon tonight on NBC. The Observer says: "'Losing You' is a reminder of what a poignant musician Newman can be. Since his self-titled debut in 1968 he has remained in the highest rank of American lyricists, alongside Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell." Songbook is "a reminder of his singular gifts and enviable longevity."

k.d. lang and the Siss Boom Bang recently performed songs from their new album, Sing it Loud, before a live audience at Apogee's Berkeley St. Studios in Santa Monica, California. The intimate set will be broadcast on KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic this morning, along with what KCRW calls "a revealing interview" with the event's host, Anne Litt, starting at 11:15 AM PT. lang and the band launch their spring and summer tour exactly two weeks from today in the UK.

Wanda Jackson helped kick off the opening of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum's new exhibit, Women Who Rock, in a performance at the Museum's annual spring benefit concert on Saturday. "Jackson got the party started with a feisty set," says the Cleveland Plain Dealer. WEWS calls the concert "a smash hit." Jackson's set was "perfect" and "the exhibit is a must-see," says Huffington Post. "She is called the 'Queen of Rockabilly' but that tag isn't big enough for her pivotal role in music history and in the exhibit."

Strange Powers, the documentary that offers an intimate portrait of Stephin Merritt and The Magnetic Fields, is now available on DVD. Special features include previously unreleased deleted scenes of the band in the studio, on tour, and backstage; official music videos; the official film trailer; and a commentary track with Merritt and band member Claudia Gonson. The New York Daily News gives the film four stars, calling Merritt "one of the greatest American songwriters to emerge in the last two decades."

Donnacha Dennehy's Nonesuch debut album, Grá agus Bás, is "a serious exploration of an Irish folk-music idiom, teased out into a range of fresh sounds," says the Washington Post, which describes the title piece as "an ecstatic vision set in a dreamscape of sound" and says Dawn Upshaw, featured on the song cycle That the Night Come, "has another winner here."Audiophile Audition gives the album four-and-a-half stars, calling it "an absolutely mesmerizing introduction" to Dennehy's music. "This music is nearly impossible to describe. You simply must experience it ..."

Kronos Quartet was in Glasgow, Scotland, this past weekend for Kronos in Glasgow, a mini-festival in which Kronos was joined by special guest collaborators, hand-picked by the Quartet, for an international program of events taking place all weekend across Glasgow's Concert Halls. The Herald Scotland gives a perfect five stars to Friday's main Kronos concert in Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, which featured "Reich's remarkable multi-layered response to 9/11." STV calls the concert "a triumph ... nothing less than entrancing and massively entertaining from start to finish."

Carolina Chocolate Drops play WMNF’s Tropical Heatwave and choose new logo ... James Farm launches tour in Tel Aviv ... Ben Folds plays two nights in Sydney ... Emmylou Harris celebrates Kate McGarrigle in NYC and baseball in Nashville ... Wanda Jackson opens Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum's Women Who Rock exhibit ... Kronos Quartet holds Kronos in Glasgow festival ... The Low Anthem plays Pacific Northwest ... Jessica Lea Mayfield closes out tour in Chicago ... Chris Thile, Michael Daves head South ... Dawn Upshaw joins Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra at Carnegie Hall ... and more ...

Kronos Quartet continues a month of major events—which included their winning the Avery Fisher Prize and the Polar Music Prize, and the European premiere of Steve Reich's WTC 9/11 at the Barbican—with Kronos in Glasgow, a mini-festival in which Kronos Quartet is joined by special guest collaborators, hand-picked by Kronos, for an international program of events taking place all weekend across Glasgow's Concert Halls, including the Scottish premiere of WTC 9/11.

James Farm, the collaborative band featuring Joshua Redman, Aaron Parks, Matt Penman, and Eric Harland, launches its world tour this weekend in Tel Aviv, Israel. The tour continues over the next month with performances throughout Europe, before returning to the States for four-nights at NY's Jazz Standard plus summer festival sets at Caramoor, Newport, and Monterey. "The power from these four dynamos throbs beneath the surface," says Arts Journal. Their "album has a fine balance between peacefulness and strength."

Kate McGarrigle's family and friends gathered on stage at New York's Town Hall last night for the first of two concerts celebrating the life and music of the late singer-songwriter. The evening was a beautiful and emotional tribute featuring scores of unforgettable performances, with proceeds going to the Kate McGarrigle Sarcoma Research Fund. "Their voices flew as high as birds and resonated with a closeness only siblings can create," says the Daily News of Kate and her sister. "Kate and Anna McGarrigle sang some of the most distinct and shimmering harmonies in the modern folk era."