The Ben Folds / Nick Hornby album Lonely Avenue is out today and was featured on NPR's Morning Edition. USA Today says: "Obsessive pop-music fans will fall hard." The Boston Globe calls it "musical nirvana for lovers of the deft balance of sassy snark and sincere sentiment." The New York Daily News gives the album four stars, saying "Folds' music and Hornby's words make happy, effortless lovers." The Philadelphia Daily News gives Lonely Avenue an A, calling it "a wondrous ride." The Washington Post's Express Night Out says it's "as sharp and witty as either's solo work ... yielding mini-Hornby novels re-interpreted and set to music by Folds."

The Black Keys have kicked off their sold-out headlining tour, performing the first of two consecutive shows at the Hollywood Palladium last night. LA Weekly says Dan "Auerbach's guitar grabbed the crowd by the throat and refused to let go." Pat Carney's drumming "danced nimbly about like a lion tamer lovingly controlling his beast." Together, they "tore through a set that pleased both the purists and the newcomers ... Just two men making hot, dirty blues tunes that growled and crawled up the hips of every person in that place."

Congratulations to David Simon, the creator of The Wire (to which Nonesuch released the soundtrack) and Treme, who was named a MacArthur Fellow for 2010. The Fellows, selected for their creativity, originality, and potential to make important contributions in the future, receive $500,000 each in “no strings attached” support over the next five years. MacArthur Fellowships, often referred to as "Genius" grants, offer Fellows unprecedented freedom and opportunity to reflect, create, and explore. Dawn Upshaw was named a Fellow in 2007.

Tune in to PBS tonight at 8 PM ET for the premiere of The Tenth Inning, the new two-part, four-hour documentary by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick that picks up where Burns's landmark 1994 series Baseball left off. Part two of The Tenth Inning airs tomorrow night at 8. In celebration of the new film, the original 1994 Baseball soundtrack recording from Nonesuch Records is available again.

Ben Folds and Nick Hornby will co-headline "Liner Notes," an event at Housing Works Bookstore Cafe in New York City on Tuesday, October 12 to explore the cross-pollination of music and literature while raising funds for Housing Works, a New York-based HIV/AIDS service organization. Presented by SPIN and moderated by the magazine’s deputy editor, Steve Kandell, the event will be broadcast SIRIUS XM radio in November.

The Ben Folds / Nick Hornby album Lonely Avenue is out tomorrow. "The collaboration clicks," say the Associated Press/ABC News. "There's a depth to the lyrics rare in pop songs, and they inspire top-notch work from the ever-inventive Folds." Reuters suggests one reason the partnership makes sense: "Hornby and Folds have long steered away from their usual comfort zones and explored different forms of pop culture expression." Canada's National Post calls it "an inventive success."

Carolina Chocolate Drops honor Mike Seeger ... Laurie Anderson does Delusion at BAM ... The Black Keys launch headlining tour ... Emmylou Harris plays Ventura Hillsides benefit ... Wanda Jackson talks music at Oklahoma State ... Gidon Kremer, Kremerata Baltica perform in Italy ... Kronos Quartet kicks off Berkeley's Fall Free for All! ... Randy Newman joins Louisville Orchestra ... Fernando Otero plays in NYC ... Mandy Patinkin performs Mamaloshen in Queens ... Punch Brothers play two Virginia shows ... Allen Toussaint continues Gulf Coast benefits with Neil Young ... and more ... 

Tune in to The Strand on the BBC World Service tonight to hear Ben Folds and Nick Hornby discuss their forthcoming album, Lonely Avenue. The Independent gives Lonely Avenue four stars, saying it "proves to be an intelligent, sometimes amusing, sometimes moving, but always engaging collection of songs, pitched somewhere between Randy Newman and an Anglo-American Divine Comedy." The Daily Express calls it "heavenly."

Fenway Bergamot, Laurie Anderson's male alter ego, is featured both in Delusion, her new theater piece, now at BAM, and on her latest Nonesuch release, Homeland.  Now Fenway is looking to branch out still further: to your home answering machine or voicemail. For your chance to win, let us know why you think your voicemail would make the perfect next stop for Fenway.

Philip Selway and Cheikh Lô are among the many musicians from around the world who have lent their talents to a new video from Sudan365, a global campaign calling for a peaceful future for Sudan. The video, part of its Beat for Peace effort, comes as world leaders meet at the UN to discuss the future of Sudan. The video also features the drummers of Coldplay, the Police, and Pink Floyd, as well as Angelique Kidjo, Hugh Masakaela, and others.

There are just days to go before the release of Ben Folds and Nick Hornby's album collaboration, Lonely Avenue, this Tuesday, September 28. But wait no further to hear the album the BBC described as "affecting and intelligent" and Monacle has called "this year's singer-songwriter classic": Lonely Avenue is now streaming in its entirety in a MySpace exclusive premiere. Head to myspace.com/benfolds to listen now.

Punch Brothers kick off their fall tour tonight at the Pisgah Brewing Company in Black Mountain, North Carolina. Tour highlights include performing with T Bone Burnett at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass; two shows with Burnett's The Speaking Clock Revue; a show in Los Angeles with support from Jon Brion; and opening slots with Dierks Bentley and Dave Matthews Band. The band will perform with Steve Martin on The Late Show with David Letterman in November.