Oumou Sangare launches a rare North American tour this weekend with a free set at the Festival International Nuits d'Afrique in Montreal tonight before heading to the States and the Caramoor International Music Festival in Katonah, New York. The tour includes additional stops in Boston, Manhattan, Maine, and Brooklyn. The Boston Globe says: "A visit from this charismatic queen of Malian music and fierce combatant for women’s rights is always an occasion, not least because, as seen on her most recent album, Seya, she’s at the summit of her art."

Randy Newman kicks off his two-week tour of Australia tomorrow night in a performance with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra in Brisbane, followed by two nights with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and two more at the iconic Sydney Opera House with the Sydney Symphony. In the 1970s, Newman's "edgy, narrative-rich songs were part of an explosion of youthful talent bursting from the US west coast," says The Australian. "So much music from the era has been forgotten but Newman is still going strong ... He's long been acknowledged as a master songwriter: critics applaud the musical depth, edge and literary quality of his lyrics."

Congratulations to The Black Keys on the nomination of their "Howlin' for You" video for Best Rock Video in the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards. As MTV describes it: "The Black Keys turn their music video into an action packed movie trailer complete with knife fights, kickass women and good 'ole fashion stare downs." Re-live the magic by watching the video here. To vote for "Howlin' for You" for Best Rock Video, go to vma.mtv.com.

After launching his solo career with the critically acclaimed Familial last year, Philip Selway returns with the Running Blind EP, which Nonesuch releases digitally in North America on August 30. (Bella Union releases it July 25 in Europe.) When Selway wrote the songs that formed the track listing for Familial, he kept back a handful that he felt worked best as a separate piece of work; these now comprise Running Blind. The digital EP includes those four songs plus a live session video of the title track. Listen to the title track here.

Emmylou Harris was the musical guest on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon last night on NBC. She and her band performed a rocking rendition of "New Orleans," off her new album, Hard Bargain. Prefix calls it "an upbeat country-rock track that’s well suited to Harris’ vocal style, which has retained the edge she’s possessed since emerging onto the music scene in the early 1970s." Harris also gave a web-exclusive performance of the album track "Darlin' Kate." Watch both performances here.

Chris Thile and Michael Daves will be the guests on WNYC's Soundcheck today at 2 PM ET, performing songs from their debut duo album, Sleep With One Eye Open, before a live audience at the Greene Space in downtown Manhattan. Also performing are the Del McCoury Band and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. The show is sold-out and will be webcast live. The New Yorker, in a preview of their show at The Bell House in Brooklyn tonight, says: "Expect the pair to deliver a high-spirited bluegrass-infused performance full of inspired harmonies."

The Low Anthem was featured on NPR's World Cafe yesterday. The show, now available at npr.org, features concert performances of songs from the band's new album, Smart Flesh, and an interview with the band. "The Low Anthem's markedly pleasant tunes contain some of the sweetest sounds in modern Americana," says World Cafe. "The band's music features husky vocals, poetic lyrics, rich harmonies, even some heavy blues guitar." The Low Anthem announced its US fall headlining tour yesterday.

Björk continues to unveil Biophilia, her most interdisciplinary project to date, with today’s release of the Biophilia App for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch and first two album singles "Cosmogony" and "Crystalline" on the iTunes Store. The full Biophilia album will be released on September 27, 2011, through One Little Indian / Nonesuch Records; the five physical versions are available for pre-order now in the Nonesuch Store, including the custom-made Biophilia Manual and Ultimate Edition.

Emmylou Harris is the musical guest on tonight's Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Tune in to see Harris and her band perform "New Orleans," off her new album, Hard Bargain. Harris performed in NY's Central Park on a double bill with the legendary Levon Helm last night and joined in on the finale: The Band's "The Weight." She recently spoke with the A.V. Club, which says: "Her voice has a mournful quality that reaches back before the West was won, a sound that’s come to the fore over the last couple of decades as she’s definitively departed from the land of fiddles and pedal steel."

The Low Anthem announces new US headlining dates for September and October 2011 in support of their latest album, Smart Flesh. The band will also rejoin Iron & Wine on October 13 to open their show at NY's Terminal 5. Tickets for the fall headline shows are available for pre-sale beginning today at 10 AM ET and include a free download of two versions of the Smart Flesh outtake “Glitter." Hear those tracks here.

Jessica Lea Mayfield is featured on SPIN magazine's tribute to the 20th anniversary of Nirvana's Nevermind. She performs the album track "Lounge Act" on Newermind, on which SPIN asked some of its "favorite contemporary artists to cover the influential album's 13 songs, in their original order." Newermind is available as a free download till July 25 on SPIN's Facebook page. Mayfield concludes her tour with the Avett Brothers in Oakland tonight, then continues her own headline tour. Tune in to hear her perform on KFOG this afternoon.