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.

With less than a month to go before 2013 comes to a close, music magazines have begun to weigh in on the best in music this year. Rolling Stone, Mojo, Q, and Uncut have all published their lists of the Best Albums of the Year, and included among them are a number of Nonesuch releases: the latest from Emmylou Harris and Rokia Traoré and the label debut albums from Sam Amidon, Devendra Banhart, Bombino, and Iron & Wine.

"Taurobolium," the closing track to Devendra's Banhart's recently released Nonesuch Records debut album, Mala, has inspired animator and director Galen Pehrson to create a new, animated short film titled Mondo Taurobolium. The film's lead characters, Mondo and Gale, are portrayed by Banhart and Rose McGowan, respectively. Mondo Taurobolium premiered on Nowness, which also features an interview with the director about the process for creating the animated piece. Watch it here.

Devendra Banhart kicks off a three-week tour of Latin America featuring music from his Nonesuch debut album, Mala, with two shows at El Plaza Condesa in Mexico City, tonight (sold out) and Saturday. Banhart and the band—Noah Georgeson, Matthew Compton, Josiah Steinbrick, and Todd Dahlhoff, plus Rodrigo Amarante, who will join after this weekend’s shows—head next to four Brazilian cities, followed by shows in Argentina, Uruguay, Colombia, and Chile. 

Devendra Banhart's music video for "Für Hildegard von Bingen," from his Nonesuch Records debut album, Mala, premiered today on MOCAtv, the video channel of The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. It was directed by Isaiah Seret and written by Seret and Banhart. On "Für Hildegard von Bingen," Banhart casts a contemporary life for the 12th-century Catholic mystic and composer. Watch the video here.

Devendra Banhart and his band will tour Latin America in November. The tour kicks off with two previously announced nights at El Plaza Condesa in Mexico City November 8 (sold out) and 9, followed by four nights in Brazil, shows in Argentina, Uruguay, Colombia, and Peru, and a set at the Primavera Fauna festival in Chile. Banhart has also unveiled a remix of "Golden Girls," the opening track off of his Nonesuch Records debut album, Mala, by German pianist/composer Hauschka. The track premiered on Pitchfork earlier today. You can hear it and download it for free here.

Devendra Banhart kicks off a five-week tour of Europe this week with a performance at The Button Factory in Dublin on Wednesday night, followed by two stops in the UK: at The Old Market in Brighton on Friday and the famed Glastonbury Festival on Saturday. In the weeks that follow, Banhart and his band will play headlining shows and summer festivals sets in Germany, Poland, Netherlands, France, Switzerland, Belgium, Czech Republic, Italy, Spain, and Portugal, as well as a return to the UK to perform at The Ritz in Manchester and at Barbican Hall in London.

Devendra Banhart, who is currently touring North America performing songs from his recently released Nonesuch Records debut album, Mala, was featured on Morning Becomes Eclectic out of KCRW in Santa Monica, CA, last Friday. The session, which was recording during the California leg of the tour earlier in May, includes intimate in-studio performances by Banhart and his band of a number of songs from the new album. Watch the set here. The tour continues into Montreal, Toronto, Boston, DC, and Philadelphia, before concluding at The Town Hall in New York City on June 12.

Devendra Banhart kicks off a six-week tour of the United States and Canada this weekend, featuring music from his recently released Nonesuch debut album, Mala. The tour begins with two shows in Colorado this weekend and heads next to Arizona and to the West Coast for a run up California, Oregon, and Washington; then to the Midwest, Canada, and the East Coast, culminating in a concert at The Town Hall in New York City on June 12. Banhart begins a five-week tour of Europe on June 26.

Devendra Banhart will mark the release of his new album, Mala, with a series of spring tour dates in the US and Canada in May and June. The tour starts in Aspen on May 4 and includes stops all along the West Coast, in the Midwest, and on the East Coast. Tickets for most of the shows go on sale Friday. The Guardian calls Mala a "triumph." Magnet, which calls it "the best thing he's done since his debut," features Banhart on the cover and as guest editor of its website. He recently spoke with WNYC's Soundcheck from SXSW; you can listen to the show here.

The 27th South by Southwest (SXSW) Music and Media Conference gets under way in Austin, Texas, as thousands of bands and music lovers from all over the world descend on the live-music capital for several days of non-stop music making. Nonesuch artists will be well represented among them, with several performances throughout the week from Devendra Banhart, Nataly Dawn, Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell, Lianne La Havas, and Iron and Wine.

Devendra Banhart makes his Nonesuch debut with the release of Mala, his eighth studio album, out now. Pitchfork calls it his "best record in nearly a decade." It's earned four stars from Mojo, the Times (UK), and Q, which calls it a "career-best LP ... surprising and enthralling." Record Collector gives it a perfect five stars, exclaiming: "The prospect of sitting down and listening to Mala as a whole is a thrilling, private and all-too-rare feeling." Banhart performs at SXSW this week.