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.

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."

The Carolina Chocolate Drops' Nonesuch debut, Genuine Negro Jig, is in stores around the world today, not least the Nonesuch Store, where CD orders include an instant download of the album with seven exclusive bonus tracks recorded live. The band was featured on NPR's All Things Considered yesterday, discussing and performing three tunes off the new album. The US tour begins next week.

The Carolina Chocolate Drops, whose Nonesuch debut, Genuine Negro Jig, is out worldwide on Tuesday, is the subject on an extensive profile on NPR's All Things Considered due to air Monday. The band, having just completed a UK tour, returns to the States to tour the US. Today, the Drops announce they'll return to the UK to play the Cambridge Folk Festival this summer.

The wait is over. The official line-up for the 2010 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Manchester, Tennessee, has been announced. The festival will be held from Thursday, June 10, through Sunday, June 13, and among this year's artists are three Nonesuch groups: The Black Keys, Punch Brothers, and Carolina Chocolate Drops. All three groups will be on tour in the coming months.

The Carolina Chocolate Drops' tour of the UK brings the band to London for a performance at Bush Hall tonight. The concert is a Critics' Choice from Time Out London, which finds the band "drawing on Carolina's vibrant musical heritage to play high energy bluegrass with a jazzy twist." The Guardian, in a four-star review of a recent show, says "it is the interaction between the members, swapping ­instruments and harmony lines on the fly, that makes them such a joy to watch."

The Carolina Chocolate Drops are in the UK all this week to celebrate the early release there of their Nonesuch debut, Genuine Negro Jig, and perform throughout the country. It's been a whirlwind of BBC appearances, including a live BBC 6 Music interview earlier today on Nemone's early afternoon show and a performance on BBC Radio 4's Loose Ends last Saturday.

The Carolina Chocolate Drops' Nonesuch debut, Genuine Negro Jig, receives four stars from MusicOMH, which calls the album "a stunner in every sense." Following their performance at the 2010 Celtic Connections festival, The Scotsman reports: "From opening chord to closing note, this talented threesome had the audience in the palm of their hands. Impossible to pigeon hole, and equally impossible to dislike, the Carolina Chocolate Drops are first and foremost musicians" who "refuse to be tied to any one genre."

The Celtic Connections festival is underway in Glasgow with no shortage of Nonesuch artists participating. Ry Cooder joined the Chieftains in the Royal Concert Hall's Main Auditorium last night, while the Carolina Chocolate Drops played the Hall's Strathclyde Suite. The Low Anthem plays Thursday night, as does Natalie Merchant, who performed live on BBC Radio Scotland’s Global Gathering last night. Sara Watkins joins the festival's multi-artist Transatlantic Sessions this weekend.

The Carolina Chocolate Drops' Nonesuch debut, Genuine Negro Jig, is out now. The Sunday Times says to "file under quality music." After a Boston show, the Boston Herald said "an evening spent in this young trio’s exciting presence proves they are really about one thing: entertainment." The reviewer described Rhiannon Giddens voice as "among the most dynamic, startling instruments" he has ever heard.

The Carolina Chocolate Drops' Nonesuch debut, Genuine Negro Jig, is set for release in the UK this Monday, January 25, one day before the band launches the UK leg of its current tour. The US release has now moved up one week, to February 16. The Times of London gives the album four stars, as does the Guardian, saying the band is "sounding as fresh and enthusiastic as ever ... They are well worth ­checking out."