Ry Cooder’s new album, Election Special, is out this week. With its UK release today, having previously earned four stars from Mojo, Election Special has received four-star reviews from the Guardian, Independent, Independent on Sunday, Financial Times, and Scotland on Sunday, as well as the Irish Times. "After last year's magnificent Pull Up Some Dust and Sit Down, Ry Cooder returns to the political arena with a vengeance," says the Guardian, which calls it "an entertaining, thoughtful and bravely original set." The Independent on Sunday says Cooder's latest albums "represent the most cogent work of his long career."

Carolina Chocolate Drops, who resume their tour at the Rhythm & Roots Festival in Rhode Island on September 1, are featured on Concrete Country, CMT's celebration of roots music. The band hit the streets of Nashville to perform three songs for the set, opening with a traditional tune, followed by "Country Girl," off their new album, Leaving Eden, and "Your Baby Ain't Sweet Like Mine," off their Grammy Award–winning Nonesuch debut album, Genuine Negro Jig. Watch all three performances here.

Emmylou Harris hosts the inaugural Woofstock in Nashville, a day of music and more to benefit her dog rescue, Bonaparte's Retreat ... The Black Keys continue their European tour with three festival sets: Lowlands, Pukkelpop, and Highfield ... Lianne La Havas plays Lowlands as well, and Summer Sundae Weekender ... Billy Bragg plays Summer Sundae too plus Strummer of Love and Beautiful Days ... Jeremy Denk performs Bach and Elgar at the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival ... Dr. John plays San Francisco and Los Angeles ... k.d. lang is in New England ... Jessica Lea Mayfield concludes her Langhorne Slim tour in Louisville ... Punch Brothers are in Kentucky too and Wisconsin ... and more ...

Nonesuch releases Jonny Greenwood’s soundtrack to writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson’s new film The Master on September 11, 2012. The soundtrack comprises 11 compositions by Greenwood along with four recordings from the post–World War II era in which the film is set. Performers include the London Contemporary Orchestra, AUKSO Chamber Orchestra, and Ella Fitzgerald, among others. Nonesuch Store pre-orders include an instant download of Greenwood’s "Application 45 Version 1" from the album.

Amadou & Mariam bring their North American tour to a close with a free performance on the Santa Monica Pier on Thursday, as part of the Twilight Concert Series. The show follows tour stops at festivals like Lollapalooza, Central Park SummerStage, Outside Lands, Edmonton Folk, and Osheaga, in addition to headlining shows at theaters and clubs. The Los Angeles Times, in a feature previewing Thursday's show, calls their new album, Folila, "the culmination of a midlife rise to the top strata of the world music scene in Africa, Europe and North America."

London-based singer Lianne La Havas has announced details for her first North American tour promoting her highly praised debut album, Is Your Love Big Enough?. She will join nine-time Grammy Award winner John Legend on 14 dates across the US, in addition to her previously announced September headline shows: September 11 at Bowery Ballroom in New York and September 13 at Le Belmont in Montreal. The New Yorker has described her live show as "stunning."

Pat Metheny, who celebrates a birthday on Sunday, closes out the current leg of his US tour with the Unity Band with shows in PA and NY ... Amadou & Mariam are at SF's Outside Lands ... Björk, The Black Keys, Billy Bragg play Nordic festivals ... Carolina Chocolate Drops play NYC's Cental Park SummerStage ... Shawn Colvin is in Denver with Loudon Wainwright III ... Dr. John, Emmylou Harris are at Edmonton Folk Festival ... Lianne La Havas plays UK's Wilderness Festival ... k.d. lang has two shows in NY state ... Jessica Lea Mayfield joins Langhorne Slim out West ... Punch Brothers close out Australia tour ... Sara Watkins joins Jackson Browne in Ohio and Kentucky ... and more ... 

Ry Cooder recently spoke with the Guardian about a wide range of issues, including the Republican party and Mitt Romney; corporate influence on the political system and the world at large; and the power of music, including that of his new album, Election Special, to affect change. "[W]hat I'm trying to do with these little songs I write is say: let's look at this a different way. I don't write books and give speeches but with a four-minute song you can use allegory and other means to suggest a different point of view," says Cooder. "Music is the way that I know. It's the thing I have."

The music video for The Black Keys' "Tighten Up," off the band's multiple Grammy Award–winning 2010 album Brothers, has been given the Pop Up treatment from VH1's Pop Up Video. This version adds a new layer to the much-loved video directed by Chris Marrs Piliero, offering new insights and behind-the-scenes details on the making of the video. Check it out here.

Dawn Upshaw has been named one of five honorees to receive the 2012 Opera News Awards, which will be presented at a gala ceremony in New York City on April 21, 2013, to benefit the education programs of the Metropolitan Opera Guild. “Dawn Upshaw represents the highest ideals of pristine musicianship, intellectual curiosity, and artistic integrity," says Opera News. She spoke with CBC Music about the award and more, including her Nonesuch recording of Górecki's Symphony No. 3, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. 

Lianne La Havas' debut album, Is Your Love Big Enough?, was featured on NPR's All Things Considered last night. "[S]ometimes all it takes to snap me out of a late-summer heat coma," says NPR's Tom Moon, "is the sound of a new and electrifying voice—like that of Lianne La Havas." The Los Angeles Times calls the album "sublime," saying: "[W]ith Is Your Love Big Enough?, Miss La Havas vaults right to the big leagues. Repeated listenings only prove how strong and artful this collection is."

Lianne La Havas, whose debut album, Is Your Love Big Enough?, was released in the US yesterday to great critical acclaim, recently visited the NYC studio of the Associated Press to perform the album tune "No Room for Doubt," sat down for a live performance and fan Q&A on Livestream; and stopped by Rivington Guitars to talk with The Warner Sound. Watch videos of all three events here. And listen to Is Your Love Big Enough? on AOL Music and MSN, where the album is streaming in full all week.