Rokia Traoré's two-week tour of the US comes to a close this weekend with a performance at the Somerville Theatre outside Boston tonight and a return to New York Saturday for show at the Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts.

Rokia is the subject of a feature article in the Boston Globe, which examines her unique blend of traditional and modern sounds and instruments. The Globe's Andrew Gilbert contends that she has "found a potent muse in the sound of an old electric guitar," the Gretsch, featured prominently on her new album, Tchamantché.

Referencing the influence of Traoré's peripatetic childhood as the daughter of a Malian diplomat, Gilbert suggests that Tchamantché might be "the latest expression of her lifelong quest to balance the various cultural currents she navigated while growing up."

Gilbert also spoke with Kronos Quartet's David Harrington about Traoré, with whom Kronos collaborated on her Nonesuch debut, Bowmboï. "She's one of my favorite singers," says Harrington. "Her voice is so beautiful and distinctive, and there's something very noble about Rokia and her songs. Her music is very handmade."

Read the complete article at boston.com to learn more about the making of Tchamantché and Rokia's plans to develop a school in Mali for women musicians to help blur traditional gender roles in music there.