Songlines magazine has posted its list of the Top 25 Mali Albums, originally from the July 2013 issue of the magazine, and included are several artists and albums familiar to readers of the Nonesuch Journal: Ali Farka Toure, Toumani Diabaté, Amadou & Mariam, Rokia Traoré, Oumou Sangare, and Fatoumata Diawara. "Mali remains a wellspring of great music and culture," says Songlines. "After much deliberation, we are proud to present the top 25 albums to come from Mali, reminding us that there is an endless amount to celebrate in its music."

Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell take the music of their acclaimed new duo album, The Traveling Kind, and their 2013 Grammy Award-winning album Old Yellow Moon, to Australia for a six-city tour, starting at Perth Concert Hall this Saturday, June 21. The tour continues with stops in Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney, Wollongong, and Gold Coast. "The way their voices blend is pure delight," exclaims the Australian in a four-star review of The Traveling Kind. "Both fall effortlessly in behind the other, never upstaging and always supporting." Following the Australia tour, Harris and Crowell take the tour to Europe and North America for dates through the summer and into the fall.

The Black Keys recently gave an intimate performance for fans at the iHeartRadio Theater in New York City, featuring songs from their latest album, Turn Blue, and favorites from throughout their career. Watch the performance tonight, June 18, at 10 PM ET, via iheart.com.

Wilco has released a full-length documentary film entitled Every Other Summer, about the band's music and arts festival, Solid Sound. Directed by Christoph Green and Brendan Canty of Trixie Films and shot in 2013, it documents the three-day event, which takes place at MASS MoCA in North Adams, MA. The film features appearances and performances from a number of festival artists including Sam Amidon, who returns to Solid Sound next weekend with Bill Frisell. The two give a free set in Brooklyn's Prospect Park tonight for Celebrate Brooklyn!. 

The 42nd annual Telluride Bluegrass Festival kicks off in Telluride, Colorado, on Thursday and continues through the weekend to coincide with the summer solstice, with main-stage performances from Rhiannon Giddens, Punch Brothers, Chris Thile & Edgar Meyer, and Ry Cooder; a FirstGrass set from Giddens tonight; and a closing NightGrass show from Punch Brothers on Sunday. The festival will stream live via KOTO.org

The Staves' Nonesuch Records debut album, If I Was, has been named to Stereogum's list of the 50 Best Albums of 2015 So Far. "Some albums demand gushing, so here goes: Once I got past thinking of the Staveley-Taylor sisters as Justin Vernon's pet project or the English folk-rock Haim and immersed myself in If I Was, I scoffed at past-me for ever seeing them as anything but the Staves, one of the greatest bands in the universe," exclaims Stereogum's Chris DeVille. "These 12 elegies for a failed romance are brutally honest and unimaginably beautiful."

Rhiannon Giddens's debut solo album, Tomorrow Is My Turn, has been named to Rolling Stone's list of the 45 Best Albums of 2015 So Far. "Over the past two years, Rhiannon Giddens has become one of the most promising voices in American roots music," exclaims Rolling Stone. On the album, she gives classic songs made famous by Nina Simone, Dolly Parton, Odetta, and more "a freshness and vitality that feel right at home in 2015." Also on the list is the debut album from Congolese band Mbongwana Star, From Kinshasa. The album, a World Circuit release distributed in North America by Nonesuch, is a "heady and high-energy Afrofuturist collaboration," says Rolling Stone.

Guitarist Ry Cooder, singer Sharon White, and country/bluegrass musician Ricky Skaggs kick off the "Cooder-White-Skaggs" tour, their maiden voyage as a musical trio, in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, followed by stops in Denver, Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, Boston, New York City, and more in the months ahead. "You are going to hear four-part singing from the heart," says Cooder, "the finest and best instrumental activity in the land, songs you know and love and to top it off, the indomitable Buck White on piano who will turn your money green. Now who's happy? That's the way we're gonna stay so knock on wood!"

Punch Brothers kick off the summer leg of their tour with music from their latest album, The Phosphorescent Blues, at the Bonnaroo festival in Tennessee on Sunday. The tour continues with a return to the Telluride Bluegrass Festival in Colorado next weekend, followed by stops at festivals across the US, including Celebrate Brooklyn!, as well as several shows with Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn over the next month. The band heads to the UK and Europe at the end of July, then resumes its US tour in mid-August, with dates through September with special guest Gabriel Kahane.

Mbongwana Star, whose debut full-length album, From Kinshasa, was released last month via World Circuit, is featured on PRI's The World. "The music from the Congolese band Mbongwana Star sounds like nothing else," says host Marco Werman. You can hear why in his interview with the album's Irish-born Parisian producer, Doctor L, here.

The Staves recently stopped by the WFUV studios in New York City to perform a live session of songs from their new album, If I Was, and talk with host Russ Borris about their music. You can watch their performances of "Steady" and "Black & White" here and listen to the complete session on WFUV. "The sisters are incredible performers with unmatched harmonies," Borris exclaims. "The trio’s new album, If I Was, produced by Justin Vernon, is a stunning piece of work ... The Staves brought those incredible harmonies to Studio A for an amazing session." He concludes: "Hands down, this is one of my favorite sessions of the year."

Olivia Chaney, who is currently touring North America with music from her debut album, The Longest River, will return to the States this September for a few dates as special guest of The Decemberists: Iroquois Amphitheater in Louisville, Murat Theatre at Old National Centre in Indianapolis, and Overture Hall in Madison. Tickets are on sale now. The current tour continues with stops in Toronto, Chicago, Milwaukee, and Madison and more in the coming days, culminating at Joe's Pub in New York City on June 25. She performs at the Glastonbury Festival on June 28.