Rokia Traoré was the guest on BBC Radio 3's In Tune yesterday, performing two songs from her forthcoming album, Né So—"Kolokani" and "Mayé"—as well as "Kélé Mandi," from her album Bowmboï. She also spoke with BBC Radio 4's Front Row about the new album. Traoré begins a two-month tour at Roundhouse in London on February 6.

Rokia Traoré's sixth album, Né So (Home), will be released by Nonesuch Records on February 12, 2016. The album was produced by John Parish (PJ Harvey, Tracy Chapman), who also produced her 2013 record, Beautiful Africa. Né So features guest performances by John Paul Jones, Toni Morrison, and Traoré's labelmate Devendra Banhart, along with Burkinabe drummer Moïse Ouattara, Ivorian bassist Matthieu N'guessan, long-time collaborator Malian ngoni player Mamah Diabaté, guitarists Rodriguez Vangama and Stefano Pilia. The album, which features 10 original songs and a cover of Billie Holiday's "Strange Fruit," is available to preorder with an instant downloaded of the title track. Traoré has released a video of that track, which you can watch here. She will tour in support of Né So this spring.

Singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Rokia Traoré's sixth album will be released on Nonesuch Records in early 2016. Further details about the record and its release will be announced shortly, as will upcoming tour dates. Desdemona, her theatrical collaboration with Toni Morrison and Peter Sellars, receives its Los Angeles premiere at UCLA's Freud Playhouse this weekend and it will be performed in Australia as part of the Melbourne and Sydney festivals later this month.

Songlines magazine has posted its list of the Top 25 Mali Albums, originally from the July 2013 issue of the magazine, and included are several artists and albums familiar to readers of the Nonesuch Journal: Ali Farka Toure, Toumani Diabaté, Amadou & Mariam, Rokia Traoré, Oumou Sangare, and Fatoumata Diawara. "Mali remains a wellspring of great music and culture," says Songlines. "After much deliberation, we are proud to present the top 25 albums to come from Mali, reminding us that there is an endless amount to celebrate in its music."

The Center for the Art of Performance at UCLA has announced its 2015–16 season, and featured among the artists performing this season are several artists familiar to readers of the Nonesuch Journal: Randy Newman, Sam Amidon, Richard Goode, and Rokia Traoré. The season also includes works by Steve Reich, as part of a celebration of choreographer Anna Teresa De Keersmaeker, and the West Coast premiere of a new work by Timo Andres.

Rokia Traoré has been named to the Jury of the 68th Cannes Film Festival, which will take place May 13–24, 2015. The nine-member Jury is led by its Presidents, Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, and also includes Rossy de Palma, Sophie Marceau, Sienna Miller, Jake Gyllenhaal, Guillermo del Toro, and Xavier Dolan. It decides among the films in competition and select the prize winners, culminating in the Palme d’or, which will be announced on stage during the Festival Closing Ceremony on Sunday, May 24.

Rokia Traoré, who performs at the Brooklyn Academy of Music tonight as part of the Nonesuch Records at BAM series, stopped by WNYC's Soundcheck to perform and talk with host John Schaefer. "It's impossible not to be transported by Rokia Traoré's voice and unique adaptation of rock," says the show. "The daughter of a diplomat, Traoré spent her childhood traveling to Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Belgium, and France, and her travels exposed her to jazz, classical, Indian music and rock. Those early transformative experiences especially translate into her newest release, 2013's Beautiful Africa." Hear the segment here.

The Brooklyn Academy of Music's wide-ranging series of concerts and events Nonesuch Records at BAM: Celebrating a Label Without Labels, celebrating the 50th anniversary of Nonesuch Records, kicks off Tuesday night with the first of three consecutive nights of concerts from Philip Glass and Steve Reich plus a separate solo set from Brad Mehldau and continues through September 28. The New York Times says the series "reflects the broad curiosity and high standard of a label that has had notable successes ... with no guiding criteria other than instinct and taste." In conjunction with these events, BAMcinématek presents Nonesuch Records on Film, a salute to the label’s rich catalogue of movie soundtracks.

Rokia Traoré joined the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) at a refugee camp in Burkina Faso to meet and hear from those displaced by the troubles in her home country of Mali. In honor of today's World Refugee Day, Traoré has written about the experience in an essay, which you can read here.

In honor of the 50th anniversary of Nonesuch Records, the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) presents a wide-ranging series of concerts, September 9–28. Part of the 2014 Next Wave Festival, these diverse engagements—featuring 23 evenings of music—underscore the longstanding relationship between Nonesuch artists and BAM. Performs include Philip Glass, Steve Reich, Timo Andres, Brad Mehldau, Chris Thile, Dawn Upshaw, Alarm Will Sound performing works by John Adams, Youssou N'Dour, Rhiannon Giddens, Devendra Banhart, Stephin Merritt, Iron and Wine, Kronos Quartet, Natalie Merchant, Sam Amidon, Olivia Chaney, Laurie Anderson, Rokia Traoré, Toumani & Sidiki Diabaté, Caetano Veloso, and Robert Plant.

Devendra Banhart and Rokia Traoré kick off Explorations: The Sound of Nonesuch Records, the Barbican's month-long celebration of Nonesuch Records' 50th anniversary, sharing an "unplugged" evening featuring recent and past material, at the Barbican Hall in London on Friday, May 2, 2014. Tickets are on sale now. Explorations: The Sound of Nonesuch Records includes a marathon weekend of concerts, May 17-18, and additional satellite events throughout the month of May.

Rokia Traoré, as part of her US tour last fall to mark the release of her new album, Beautiful Africa, stopped by the studios of KCRW in Santa Monica to perform on Morning Becomes Eclectic and talk with the show's guest host, Chris Douridas, about the new album and tour. KCRW has posted video of the complete interview and performance, featuring songs from the new album, which you can watch here. NPR calls her "one of Mali's most revered voices."