Jessica Lea Mayfield launches a late-summer US tour that will include headlining dates, summer festivals, a supporting set with John Prine, and a double bill with label mates Punch Brothers. The tour kicks off tonight when she headlines a show at Mohawk Place in Buffalo, New York, and continues with additional stops in upstate New York, Vermont, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, New Jersey, Maryland, Washington, Indiana, Tennessee, Illinois, and California. Consequence of Sound says that "seeing Mayfield live makes you understand her songs even better."

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, the free annual outdoor music festival held in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, returns for its 11th run this September 30 through October 2. The line-up has now been announced and include four Nonesuch artists: perennial favorite Emmylou Harris, returning performers Punch Brothers and Jessica Lea Mayfield, and, making their Hardly Strictly debut, The Low Anthem.

Jessica Lea Mayfield is featured on SPIN magazine's tribute to the 20th anniversary of Nirvana's Nevermind. She performs the album track "Lounge Act" on Newermind, on which SPIN asked some of its "favorite contemporary artists to cover the influential album's 13 songs, in their original order." Newermind is available as a free download till July 25 on SPIN's Facebook page. Mayfield concludes her tour with the Avett Brothers in Oakland tonight, then continues her own headline tour. Tune in to hear her perform on KFOG this afternoon.

Jessica Lea Mayfield is the guest on today's episode of NPR's World Cafe. She and her band perform four songs off her new album, Tell Me, and Mayfield talks with the show's host, David Dye, about the album, which was produced by The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach. Mayfield is currently on a cross-country tour of the United States. Starting this coming Sunday, Mayfield joins up with The Avett Brothers for more than a week's worth of tour dates out West.

Jessica Lea Mayfield kicks off her extensive US summer tour with a free set in Chicago's Grant Park this evening for Taste of Chicago. The tour will take Mayfield across the States, including several shows out West with the Avett Brothers, a performance with Punch Brothers, sets at Bumbershoot and the Philadelphia Folk Festival, and a concert supporting John Prine. Metromix names her one of the 25 hottest artists under 25, saying her new album, Tell Me, is "like Loretta Lynn fronting the Bad Seeds."

Jessica Lea Mayfield's Tell Me tops the Los Angeles Times list of the best records released so far in 2011. "The British-born Adele may be getting all the attention for her merging of soul, rock, r&b and country," says the Times, "but another young singer, Jessica Lea Mayfield, has released an equally assured Muscle Shoals-inspired soul album ... Mayfield’s ability to capture private vignettes and draw them with unguarded honesty makes Tell Me essential listening. It’s rough and honest, strong but also delicate and vulnerable." Mayfield is set to launch her US summer tour next week and has added several new dates through September.

Among the more memorable moments of this weekend's Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival were sets from The Black Keys, Jessica Lea Mayfield, Wanda Jackson, and The Low Anthem. Whether performing on the festival’s largest What Stage, or in one of three intimate festival tents, Nonesuch artists conquered the infamous Bonnaroo dust and heat to deliver noteworthy performances. Among the highlights was what Rolling Stone called a "supersized and stunning" main-stage debut from The Black Keys, "the perfect soundtrack as the sun was setting.”

The 10th Annual Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival gets under way in Manchester, Tennessee, tomorrow and runs through the weekend, with performances from a number of artists familiar to readers of the Nonesuch Journal: Jessica Lea Mayfield, The Low Anthem, Wanda Jackson, Sara Watkins, The Black Keys, Dan Auerbach, and Allen Toussaint. In addition, Nonesuch has teamed up with Relix magazine and the Bonnaroo Beacon, the official daily newspaper of the festival, to offer two very special contests to Bonnaroo attendees.

Jessica Lea Mayfield has been nominated for New/Emerging Artist of the Year at the 10th Annual Americana Music Association Honors and Awards; the awards ceremony will take place at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium in October. Mayfield launches a week-long European tour in Gent, Belgium, on Friday, followed by shows in Dublin, London, Paris, Berlin, Hamburg, and Amsterdam. Her US summer tour opens with a set at Bonnaroo and includes a series of shows with The Avett Brothers.

Jessica Lea Mayfield's "Our Hearts Are Wrong," the opening track off her album Tell Me, has been named American Songwriter's Lyric of the Week. Relix, in its review of Tell Me, says Mayfield "twists her country roots into contemporary alternative rock that even folds in bits of hip-hop, psychedelic-soul and electro-pop without ever stretching too far for comfort ... always keeping the focus on Mayfield’s hypnotic, timeless and vulnerable vocals." KDHX in St. Louis calls her recent performance there "stunning ... with a mix of hauntingly gorgeous vocals and feedback-laden guitar wizardry."

Jessica Lea Mayfield, who heads to Europe on tour next week, has added a number of new dates to her US spring and summer tour. Her first set upon returning to the States is at the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival on June 10, which will be followed by shows through the tail-end of summer, including six shows supporting The Avett Brothers and a set at the Belleayre Music Festival with label mates Punch Brothers. Esquire includes Mayfield's "Blue Skies Again," off her new album, Tell Me, on its list of "30 Summer Songs Every Man Should Listen To."

Jessica Lea Mayfield will perform songs from her new album, Tell Me, on KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic in LA this morning, in advance of her show at the Troubador tonight. "Jessica Lea Mayfield knocked our socks off at KCRW's SXSW showcase last month," says the station, "and we're excited to feature a live performance with this talented new artist." Mayfield was recently interviewed by Playboy magazine for its annual "Rock the Rabbit" feature and designed a t-shirt for the occasion.