The album Old Yellow Moon, due out February 26, 2013, on Nonesuch Records, is the first official collaboration from Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell since Crowell joined Harris’ Hot Band in 1975. In this article, the two old friends and occasional band mates speak with writer Michael Hill about the long-anticipated project and how it finally came to be. Read the story that led Harris to declare: “I love the way records get born!”

The line-up for the 2013 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, aka Jazz Fest, has been announced, and among this year's performers are four artists familiar to readers of the Nonesuch Journal: The Black Keys, Joshua Redman, and New Orleans legends and hometown heroes Dr. John and Allen Toussaint. Jazz Fest runs across two weekends, April 26–28 and May 2–5. The opening weekend includes sets from the Joshua Redman Quartet, Dr. John, and Toussaint; The Black Keys help close out the entire festival on Sunday, May 5.

Nataly Dawn has premiered her video for "I Just Wanted You to Get Old," the closing track from her forthcoming Nonesuch Records debut album, How I Knew Her, out on February 12, 2013. Watch it here. Dawn, who launches her tour with Ben Folds Five in Denver on Wednesday, January 23, was recently in London, where she performed live on BBC London's Jo Good show, and the title track to the album won the BBC 6 Music “Rebel Playlist” listener poll, earning a spot on every BBC 6 Music daytime show this week. Dawn is also featured on Drunken Werewolf and on the latest episode of the Monocle Radio Culture Show.

Fatoumata Diawara performed a set at the 10th annual Globalfest at NYC's Webster Hall on Sunday. The event is the subject of this week's episode of NPR's All Songs Considered, focused on the festival's "highlights and favorite discoveries," Diawara among them. "Undoubtedly one of the breakout stars of this year's edition of globalFEST, the Malian singer Fatoumata Diawara had the crowd wrapped around her finger," reports NPR. "Gifted with enormous stage presence and great looks, Diawara put on a tightly choreographed set that screamed with energy and edged towards rock and funk." The New York Times includes her among "this year’s superb African contingent at Globalfest." Watch an excerpt of her performance here via NPR.

Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell will embark on series of tour dates this March with co-headliner Richard Thompson. The tour is in celebration of Harris and Crowell's new collaborative album, Old Yellow Moon, out February 26, 2013, on Nonesuch Records. Tickets go on sale starting this week. VIP ticket-and-album packages, presented by Bonaparte's Retreat together with Crossroads Campus, include a meet-and-greet with Harris; a digital copy of the album; autographed, handwritten lyrics of "Wrecking Ball"; and an official tour poster.

The Black Keys will perform at the 55th annual Grammy Awards, where they are nominated for five awards—Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Best Rock Performance, Best Rock Song, and Best Rock Album. This will mark the band's debut performance on the Grammy telecast. In 2010, the duo won three Grammy Awards for their breakout album, Brothers. The 55th Grammy Awards will take place in Los Angeles on February 10, broadcast live on CBS. The Black Keys will tour with special guests The Flaming Lips this April and May.

Devendra Banhart releases his Nonesuch debut, Mala, on March 12, 2013. The singer/songwriter co-produced the record with his longtime bandmate, guitarist Noah Georgeson. Spring tour dates will be announced soon. Mala may be pre-ordered now on CD and vinyl in the Nonesuch Store with: a limited-edition, autographed print; an instant download of the album track “Für Hildegard von Bingen”; and a download of the complete album available starting release day. The Mala LP is pressed on 140-gram vinyl and includes the album on CD, an additional 7” with two bonus tracks, and an exclusive poster.

The Black Keys, who are up for five awards at the 55th annual Grammy Awards, have just announced a series of special dates with The Flaming Lips for this April and May. The bands will perform at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri; CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh; Aaron's Amphitheatre at Lakewood in Atlanta; and Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. The Grammy nominations and tour follow a highly successful year for the duo, whose critically acclaimed Nonesuch album, El Camino, was recently certified RIAA Platinum.

Shawn Colvin and Mary Chapin Carpenter have added additional dates to their upcoming tour together, making further stops this April and May across the Pacific Northwest, into Canada, and down to the US Northeast. These longtime friends will share the stage as an intimate duo, performing material spanning their vast catalogs as well as some of their favorite songs. These newly announced dates follow the nine-city first leg of the tour, which begins February 21 in Charlotte, as well as Shawn’s three-night solo residency at the Dakota in Minneapolis and her tour of Australia. 

Dr. John released his Nonesuch Records debut album, Locked Down, in April 2012 to great critical acclaim and, more recently, numerous year-end-best accolades and a Grammy nomination for Best Blues Album. Locked Down was produced by The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach and features a band of young musicians Auerbach hand-picked to make the album. Dr. John and the band celebrated the album's release last spring with shows at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM). The video of their BAM performance of the track "Ice Age" premiered on Rolling Stone last week. Watch it here.

American singer Fontella Bass, best known for the seminal soul classic "Rescue Me," died last week at the age of 72. Recorded for Chess Records when she was 25 years old, "Rescue Me" remained on the Top 40 R&B Chart for 19 weeks in 1965. She returned to the music scene with the released of her album No Ways Tired on Nonesuch Records in 1995. Bass suffered a heart attack on December 2, 2012, and died on December 26.

Lianne La Havas, who rang in the New Year performing on Jools Holland's Hootennany on BBC Two (watch her performance of "Age" from the show here), is set to return to North America for an 18-city headlining tour starting March 17, following shows this month and next in Australia, the UK, and Ireland. Last week, La Havas was featured on NPR's daily talk show Tell Me More to discuss her debut album, Is Your Love Big Enough?. "It's a great album," says NPR's Celeste Headlee. "And I recommend people go pick it up."