Fatoumata Diawara kicks off her US tour, featuring music from her debut album, Fatou, at the Cityfolk Festival in Dayton, Ohio, tonight, followed by stops in Bloomington, Chicago, New York City, Boston, Washington, DC, New Hampshire, and North Carolina. Her new album is "a joyous mix of vibrant songs about love, politics and empowerment," says the Chicago Sun-Times. "Fatou is a rare gift of a record for fans of African pop, female vocalists and generally outstanding music," raves PopMatters. "Prepare to be smitten." Diawara has just been nominated for a MOBO Award for Best African Act.

The Brad Mehldau Trio’s new album, Where Do You Start, a companion disc to this spring’s critically acclaimed Ode, is out now. The new album, featuring interpretations of ten tunes by other composers plus one Mehldau original, earns four stars from the Guardian, Independent on Sunday, Times of London, and Daily Telegraph, and five stars from the Financial Times, which says the Trio gives "an adventurous sheen to modern jazz." NPR's Fresh Air says: "The pianist builds his improvisation like a master storyteller." The BBC finds Mehldau "entering a new prime phase in his career."

Randy Newman’s new song, “I’m Dreaming,” is available as a free download here, where you can also watch the accompanying video. With lyrics from the viewpoint of a voter who casts his ballot solely based on skin color, the song draws attention to something Newman has noticed and written about for 40 years: racism in America. (The complete lyrics are here as well.) While the song, which Newman performs solo at the piano, is free, anyone wishing to contribute is encouraged to donate to the United Negro College Fund.

Lianne La Havas—who has just been nominated for the Best Newcomer Award at this year's MOBO Awards—made her US television debut with a performance on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson last night on CBS. She performed the song "Age," off her debut album, Is Your Love Big Enough?. Watch it here. La Havas is back home in the UK to tour and will return to the US at the end of October for a tour supporting John Legend.

Punch Brothers have announced a 2013 New Year's Eve Three-Night Extravaganza to take place at the Bowery Ballroom in NYC, December 29–31. In addition to single show tickets, there are three-night passes available, which include a limited-edition silkscreen poster. A limited pre-sale is underway now. The shows will come at the end of a three-month international tour that includes stops at venues across North America, Europe, and the UK; a New Yorker Festival event; ACL Festival set; and much more.

Lianne La Havas—whose highly praised debut album, Is Your Love Big Enough?, was recently named to the UK’s esteemed Mercury Prize Short List—celebrates the album's recent US release with a performance on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson tonight. Tune in to CBS tonight at 12:35 AM ET to see La Havas make her US television debut with a performance of "Age," off the new album.

Jonny Greenwood, whose soundtrack to Paul Thomas Anderson’s new film The Master is out now, spoke with NPR's Weekend Edition Saturday, about being both the guitarist for Radiohead and a highly respected composer. Says New York magazine of The Master: "While Anderson paints with light, composer Jonny Greenwood is painting with sound." The score "is positively marvelous," says MTV. It just may be the best score you'll hear all year ... as mercurial and multilayered as The Master itself."

Kronos Quartet closes out Kraków's Sacrum Profanum festival with a celebration of Polish composers and a double bill with Sigur Rós ... Laurie Anderson brings Dirtday! from Uppsala to Portland ... Billy Bragg celebrates Woody Guthrie in the UK ... Carolina Chocolate Drops tour the Northeast ... Rhys Chatham gives A Crimson Grail its UK debut ... Shawn Colvin is in Texas ... Einstein on the Beach opens at BAM ... Adam Guettel performs in London ... k.d. lang plays the Pantages in Winnipeg ... Pat Metheny's Unity Band is in residence in Seattle ... Joshua Redman tours Ireland ... Chris Thile solos in NYC ... Sara Watkins presents the Watkins Family Hour in LA ... and more ...

Philip Glass and Robert Wilson's Einstein on the Beach, widely credited as one of the greatest artistic achievements of the 20th century, launched its creators to international success when it was first produced in Avignon, France, in 1976. Now, 20 years since its last production, as part of an international tour, Einstein on the Beach returns to New York with eight performances at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), tonight through September 23.

Fatoumata Diawara, whose debut album, Fatou, was released in North America late last month, has now released a music video for the album track "Bakonoba." The video was directed by Sam Birt and produced and edited by OLO Creative Farm. Watch it here. Diawara, who was raised in Mali and now lives in Paris, recently completed a five-day tour with Africa Express and will launch a tour of the US on September 20.

Lianne La Havas wowed the sold-out crowd at the Bowery Ballroom in NYC last night and is performs on WNYC's Soundcheck today before shows in Montreal and Los Angeles later this week. SPIN has premiered a video for her song "Age" shot by Yours Truly. Says SPIN: "La Havas is the embodiment of youth and beauty, and a talented songwriter whose knack runs the gamut from angular art-rock a la St. Vincent to breezy cafe numbers a la early Feist." Watch it here.

The first video from Sara Watkins’ acclaimed album, Sun Midnight Sun, for “When It Pleases You,” received its premiere via CMT.com. “When It Pleases You” was written by Dan Wilson, and the song’s video is directed by Peter Zavadil. Watch the video here. Watkins will be a presenter at the Americana Music Awards at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium tonight before returning to the road, playing several headlining shows and also joining Jackson Browne as a special guest throughout the fall.