The Carolina Chocolate Drops will appear on NPR's Fresh Air today to talk about their recent Nonesuch debut, Genuine Negro Jig. The trio is currently on a US tour, which stopped at Schubas in Chicago last night. "It’s easy to enthusiastically recommend Carolina Chocolate Drops," said Time Out Chicago. "They’re extremely talented and original musicians, proving that youthful old-time music is not an oxymoron."

Out now is Ali and Toumani, the second and last album pairing Ali Farka Touré and Toumani Diabaté. NPR's All Songs Considered calls it "breathtaking." The Philadelphia Inquirer gives it four stars, calling it a "moving, peerlessly beautiful album." The New Jersey Star-Ledger says there is "a timeless depth, a gentle profundity" to it. "It’s irresistible." Dusted calls it "timeless" and "transcendent." Popdose says: "You’ll feel it speak to you on a level few pieces of music ever reach."

k.d. lang followed up her recent performance of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" at the Vancouver Winter Olympics with a rousing rendition of "Constant Craving" on ABC's Good Morning America this morning. She spoke with host Robin Roberts about Recollection, her new career retrospective. Says Roberts: "One thing that has not changed—her voice. Your voice is timeless." k.d. spoke with BBC Radio 5 about the album yesterday afternoon.

The Carolina Chocolate Drops' Nonesuch debut, Genuine Negro Jig, is in stores around the world today, not least the Nonesuch Store, where CD orders include an instant download of the album with seven exclusive bonus tracks recorded live. The band was featured on NPR's All Things Considered yesterday, discussing and performing three tunes off the new album. The US tour begins next week.

Following The Magnetic Fields' sold-out show at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, NPR's Carrie Brownstein reported that she "left the concert feeling lucky that The Magnetic Fields exist." That same night, the band's latest Nonesuch release, Realism, was the subject of a feature on NPR's All Things Considered including an interview with the band's Stephin Merritt and Claudia Gonson and a solo performance from Merritt.

The Carolina Chocolate Drops, whose Nonesuch debut, Genuine Negro Jig, is out worldwide on Tuesday, is the subject on an extensive profile on NPR's All Things Considered due to air Monday. The band, having just completed a UK tour, returns to the States to tour the US. Today, the Drops announce they'll return to the UK to play the Cambridge Folk Festival this summer.

k.d. lang's latest, Recollection, is out now. Just before the release, NPR.org published a profile of k.d. citing Tony Bennett, who compared her to Billie Holiday, Edith Piaf, and Hank Williams. NPR agreed: "It's prestigious company that k.d. lang deserves to keep." The statement was affirmed as NPR broadcast the profile on Morning Edition. The Calgary Herald says the new album "provides a great look at k.d. lang's artistry and her ambitious career arc."

The Low Anthem closes out its European tour with a bang tonight, playing its biggest headline show ever at Shepherd's Bush Empire in London. There's more to come, as the band returns to the States for tours with The Avett Brothers and others, plus a stop at SXSW. The group's new radio show on WOXY, The Trala-lala Radio Hour, is now two episodes in, featuring music by the likes of Dylan, Cohen, Guthrie, Waits, Randy Newman, and Wilco.

With one more day to go before the release of Recollection, the first-ever k.d. lang retrospective, the singer-songwriter is featured on NPR Music. Citing Tony Bennett, who compares her to Billie Holiday, Edith Piaf, and Hank Williams, NPR agrees: "It's prestigious company that k.d. lang deserves to keep." k.d. spoke with BBC Radio 4's Today and with the New Zealand Herald, which states: "The words 'true professional' should only be applied to a handful of people in the music business. And k.d. lang is one of them."

The Carolina Chocolate Drops are in the UK all this week to celebrate the early release there of their Nonesuch debut, Genuine Negro Jig, and perform throughout the country. It's been a whirlwind of BBC appearances, including a live BBC 6 Music interview earlier today on Nemone's early afternoon show and a performance on BBC Radio 4's Loose Ends last Saturday.

The Magnetic Fields begins its two-month tour with music from Realism at DC's Lisner Auditorium Thursday. The album opener opens the latest edition of NPR's All Songs Considered. The Christian Science Monitor recommends the album, citing Stephin Merritt's "delicately crafted pop songs with wit and deft musicality"; the Cleveland Plain Dealer gives it an A-, calling it "a fun exercise in faux-folk." Merritt speaks with the CBC about his music and his thoughts on the singing skills of label mate k.d. lang.

Ali and Toumani, the last album pairing guitar virtuoso Ali Farka Touré and kora master Toumani Diabaté, is out now. On NPR's All Things Considered yesterday, host Guy Raz calls the track "Sabu Yerkoy" "such a beautiful piece of music and so easy to listen to." Betto Arcos, host of Global Village, concurs, calling it "beautiful music." All About Jazz says it "certainly joins the ranks of recordings that are 'beyond criticism.'"