Ali and Toumani, the second and final duo album from Ali Farka Touré and Toumani Diabaté, is out now. Vanity Fair's verdict is "Buy It," saying the pairing "makes for intoxicating and seductive tracks that we all should consider a privilege to add to our record collections." PopMatters gives it a 9 out of 10, calling it "a complete triumph ... profound and powerful." Metro rates the album a perfect five stars, calling it "effortlessly soulful."

The Low Anthem began its ten-city tour with The Avett Brothers last night at Ohio University. The band is the subject of a feature article in the Boston Phoenix, on the front cover of the Providence Phoenix, giving a tour of the pasta sauce factory where they're recording their new album and a taste of what's to come, with a song the paper calls "a jaw-dropper ... complete with a rumbling finale unlike anything in the TLA catalog."

Today marks the start of the Carolina Chocolate Drops' US tour, featuring music from the band's Nonesuch debut, Genuine Negro Jig, which landed at No. 1 on Billboard's Bluegrass chart. "To paraphrase Rakim’s immortal words," says Paste, "these Drops ain’t no joke." They are, in a phrase, "the genuine article." There's also a Q&A with band members in North Carolina's Yes! Weekly and a recent appearance on BBC Radio 3's World on 3.

The 2010 South by Southwest festival is set to get under way March 12 through 21 in Austin, Texas, with a number of Nonesuch artists—The Low Anthem, Christina Courtin, and the Carolina Chocolate Drops—have already been tapped to perform. Also, SXSW will screen Ride, Rise, Roar, a new concert film following David Byrne on his 2008-09 tour The Songs of David Byrne & Brian Eno.

Philip Glass's seminal 1980 opera Satyagraha returns to English National Opera tonight for a nine-performance run at the London Coliseum through March 10. This follows the production's 2007 London premiere and a 2008 run at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. The Times of London called the production "a masterwork of theatrical intensity and integrity." The Guardian called it “a thing of wonder."

Dawn Upshaw has renewed her artistic partnership with The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra for the next three seasons. She began her partnership with the orchestra in the 2007-08 season and will now continue through the 2012-13 season. In the 2010-11 season, Upshaw joins the SPCO for a world premiere by Gabriela Frank plus works by Berio and Mahler. Also next season, Brad Mehldau will join the SPCO for the world premiere of his Highway Rider.

Kronos Quartet begins its four-night residency at San Francisco's Z Space @ Artaud tonight. Each of the four performances offers a different program, featuring Jon Rose's Music from 4 Fences plus works by Terry Riley, a piece by composers from the Kronos: Under 30 Project, and other commissioned works. Plus: Kronos buttons aplenty (pictured). SF Weekly recommends tonight's show as "a rare treat indeed."

The Low Anthem began its months-long North American tour last night at Club Cafe in Pittsburgh last night. The quartet is at Ohio University's Memorial Hall tonight for the first of ten tour dates opening for the Avett Brothers, including shows in upstate New York, Ohio, Indiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Michigan, before The Low Anthem begins its first headlining tour.

The Carolina Chocolate Drops begin their US tour in Danville, Indiana, this Thursday, playing music from their Nonesuch debut, Genuine Negro Jig, and have now added a number of new dates, including a return to the Black Banjo Gathering, where they first met in 2005. The AP says, "The Carolina Chocolate Drops rise above easy classification ... using the blues as filtered through the unique Piedmont string band movement as a stepping stone to something more," calling Rhiannon Giddens' voice "a revelation, both modern and timeless."

Ali Farka Touré and Toumani Diabaté's second and final album together, Ali and Toumani, is out now. The Los Angeles Times calls it "an early contender for the warmest, most life-affirming listen of 2010." The Globe and Mail gives it four stars, hearing a "musical state of grace." The Philadelphia Daily News gives the album an A, calling it "a thing of gossamer beauty ... haunting, genteel, intricate and magical." The Lexington Herald-Leader says it showcases "the hushed, rootsy spiritualism of two pioneers who fashioned the majestic music of West Africa for the world."

Wilco's Trans-Canada tour, a.k.a. the Tundra Tour, is under way with a performance in Hamilton, Ontario, tonight, and is being marked with the poster at left. The band has also added five tour dates in Germany this September. Last weekend's trio of sold-out sets in the Midwest included Wilco's being named an honorary Duluth band by the city's mayor and a show in Madison that The A.V. Club says confirmed: "This version of Wilco is simply the most reliable working rock band we have today."

The Metropolitan Opera has announced its 2010-11 season, which features the Met premiere of John Adams's Nixon in China. The composer makes his Met debut on the podium conducting the Met premiere of the opera. It also marks the Met directorial of Peter Sellars, who led the 1987 world premiere of Nixon in China at the Houston Grand Opera. James Maddalena returns as Nixon, the role he originated and sang on the Nonesuch recording.