Nonesuch releases Audra McDonald’s first solo album in seven years—Go Back Home—on May 21, 2013, featuring songs by composers with whom she has long been associated (Guettel, LaChiusa, Rodgers & Hammerstein, Sondheim) and some, like the Kander & Ebb title track, relatively new to her repertoire; in addition, McDonald continues to champion works by an emerging generation of composers. Nonesuch Store pre-orders include an instant download of the title track (which you can preview here) and a limited-edition autographed print. On May 24, McDonald headlines and hosts "Audra McDonald In Concert: Go Back Home," a national PBS telecast presented by Live From Lincoln Center, featuring songs from the album as well as other personal favorites.

Iron and Wine makes its Nonesuch Records debut with the release of Ghost on Ghost next week. But you don't need to wait till then to hear it. The album is streaming in full all this week as an NPR First Listen. "Beam now presides over arrangements springy and three-dimensional enough to accommodate a horn section—and yet he still finds a way to wrap his agreeably soft voice around thematically weighty material," writes NPR's Stephen Thompson. "Beam still lets his songs and sound morph and evolve; more than ever, he's a songwriter versatile enough to pack huge ideas into simple arrangements and vice versa."

Rokia Traoré’s new album, Beautiful Africa, following last week's release in France, is out this week in the UK, the rest of Europe, and Canada, with the US release to follow at a later date. The album has been met with great critical acclaim, earning perfect five-star reviews from the Guardian, which calls her "Africa's most inventive singer-songwriter," Observer, Daily Telegraph, and Financial Times. Uncut calls it "a career highpoint." Traoré recorded an intimate version of the album track "Ka Moun Kè" in the halls of le Trianon in Paris; watch it here, where you can also watch her recent appearance on Radio France's Vinyl Radio.

Tuareg guitarist, singer, and songwriter Omara “Bombino” Moctar today releases his Nonesuch debut album, Nomad, produced by The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach. "Bombino’s playing is full of fast, stuttery, rhythmic hammering, coiling lines inside lines," says the New York Times. "But it also comes out in soft strums and battering single-note attacks, and its tone and phrasing have a flexible identity. In his playing, besides the sound of the pioneering Tuareg band Tinariwen, you might be reminded of Ali Farka Touré, Carlos Santana, Mark Knopfler, Jerry Garcia electric, Jerry Garcia acoustic. Bombino is never just one thing." Watch a short video about the album here.

Nonesuch Records and Tzadik simultaneously release guitarist Pat Metheny’s recording of John Zorn’s Tap: The Book of Angels, Vol. 20 from Zorn’s Masada Book Two on May 21, 2013. This album is the first collaboration between the two artists, considered among their generation’s most innovative musicians. Besides his frequent collaborator, drummer Antonio Sanchez, Metheny plays all other instruments—guitars, sitar, tiples, bass, keyboards, orchestrionics, electronics, bandoneón, percussion, flugelhorn, and more—himself.

Tuareg guitarist, singer, and songwriter Bombino's Nonesuch debut album, Nomad, is due out next week. But you don't need to wait till then to hear it: it's streaming in full all this week as an NPR First Listen. NPR calls Bombino's pairing with producer Dan Auerbach "inspired." "The fuzzy, loose and wide-open sounds will be familiar to Black Keys fans—and totally complement the singular honey-and-sand texture of Bombino's voice," says NPR; Bombino's "sound and style are alluring on a global scale." Nomad earns four stars in Mojo and the Financial Times, which calls it "a revelation." The BBC World Service says it's “utterly, utterly fantastic.” 

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.

Nonesuch Records releases saxophonist Joshua Redman’s Walking Shadows on May 7, 2013. The album, comprising 12 ballads, is Redman’s first recording to include an orchestral ensemble, which plays on many of the tracks. It was produced by Redman’s friend and frequent collaborator Brad Mehldau. The record's core ensemble is a quartet featuring Mehldau, Larry Grenadier, and Brian Blade. Walking Shadows includes original tunes from both Redman and Mehldau along with works by a wide range of composers like John Mayer and Pino Palladino, Kern and Hammerstein, and Lennon and McCartney. Walking Shadows is now available to pre-order in the Nonesuch Store with an instant download of the Redman-penned track “Final Hour."

Sam Amidon, who launches a three-city tour of Australia at the Adelaide Festival tonight, is set to make his Nonesuch Records debut with the release of his new album, Bright Sunny South, on May 14. The album is now available to pre-order in the Nonesuch Store with an instant download of two tracks from the album—Amidon's take on Tim McGraw's "My Old Friend" (which you can hear below) and the traditional tune "He's Taken My Feet"—and a download of the complete album available starting release day.

Devendra Banhart's Nonesuch Records debut album, Mala, is due out next week. But you don’t need to wait till then to hear it. The album is streaming in full all this week as an NPR First Listen; it is still available to pre-order in the Nonesuch Store with a limited-edition, autographed print. Banhart, who is featured in a new Pitchfork interview, will tour Europe this summer, including three UK dates: in Brighton, Manchester, and London. He will perform at the Open'er Festival in Poland and at Le Trianon in Paris. Additional dates are still to be announced in Italy, Germany, Spain, Portugal, and Holland.  

Record Store Day, the annual celebration of the unique culture surrounding over 1,000 independently owned record stores in the US and hundreds internationally, is set to take place on Saturday, April 20, and included among the special limited-edition releases on that day are vinyl recordings from The Black Keys, Bombino, Iron and Wine, and Punch Brothers.

Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell's album Old Yellow Moon, their first official collaboration since Crowell joined Harris' Hot Band in 1975, is out now (in Europe March 4). Harris and Crowell marked the occasion with a performance on the Late Show with David Letterman last night. The album earns four stars from Mojo and Q, which calls it "some of the best work of their careers." Country Music People gives this "magnificent album" a perfect five stars. Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell launch a tour together in March.