Rokia Traoré, who performs at the Brooklyn Academy of Music tonight as part of the Nonesuch Records at BAM series, stopped by WNYC's Soundcheck to perform and talk with host John Schaefer. "It's impossible not to be transported by Rokia Traoré's voice and unique adaptation of rock," says the show. "The daughter of a diplomat, Traoré spent her childhood traveling to Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Belgium, and France, and her travels exposed her to jazz, classical, Indian music and rock. Those early transformative experiences especially translate into her newest release, 2013's Beautiful Africa." Hear the segment here.

The Black Keys were the musical guests on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon last night on NBC, performing “Gotta Get Away,” off their latest album, Turn Blue. Watch the performance plus a web-exclusive performance of Edwyn Collins's "A Girl Like You" here. The band performs at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn tonight and tomorrow night, followed by tour stops in Washington, DC, and Chicago. The Boston Globe, reviewing Sunday's show, says: "[T]he fact that they have been able to become one of the most prominent rock outfits of the 2010s while keeping things simple is not only a rebuke to arena-rock excesses, it’s a testament to their talent."

Laurie Anderson and Kronos Quartet bring Landfall, their first-ever collaboration, inspired by Anderson’s experience of Hurricane Sandy, to the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) for five nights this week, September 23–27, for the Nonesuch Records at BAM celebration of the label's 50th anniversary. Landfall is an evocative meditation on transience, combining poignant texts and music fortified by innovative technology. Later this season, Anderson and Kronos perform the piece in Columbus, Austin, and Chicago. 

Nonesuch Records at BAM continues with multi-artist concerts from Devendra Banhart, Stephin Merritt, and Iron and Wine and Kronos Quartet with Natalie Merchant, Rhiannon Giddens, Sam Amidon, and Olivia Chaney ... Carolina Chocolate Drops, Sam Amidon, Emmylou Harris play FreshGrass Bluegrass Festival at MASS MoCA ... The Black Keys tour East Coast ... Jonny Greenwood, Wordless Music Orchestra play There Will Be Blood in NYC ... Gidon Kremer celebrates Schostakovich in Germany ... Youssou N’Dour tours US ... Randy Newman is in Belgium ... Conor Oberst tours Texas ... Joshua Redman plays outside NYC ... Chris Thile and Edgar Meyer are in California, as is Caetano Veloso ... and more ...

Chris Thile and Edgar Meyer have released a video of their performing "Big Top" from their new album, Bass & Mandolin. You can watch it here. The duo kicked off a North American tour this week in Vancouver. These "two giants of contemporary acoustic music ... managed to showcase exceptional chops while never falling into any of the tedious flash virtuosi so often are taken by," raves the Vancouver Sun. "It's a rare opportunity to be captivated by two such unusual instruments in a pairing. These two are truly special."

Carolina Chocolate Drops close out the summer and kick off the fall touring season at the Brooklyn Academy of Music tonight for the Nonesuch Records at BAM celebration of the label's 50th anniversary. (Rhiannon Giddens also joins label mates Kronos Quartet and others for another concert in the series on Saturday.) The band's US tour includes sets at the FreshGrass Bluegrass Festival in Massachusetts, the LA Bluegrass Situation, and stops in the West, Midwest, and South.

Bassist Edgar Meyer and mandolinist Chris Thile, whose second recording collaboration, Bass & Mandolin, was released last week on Nonesuch Records, kick off a month-long tour of North America with a performance at the Chan Shun Concert Hall in Vancouver tonight, followed by stops across the United States, from Seattle to Los Angeles, Austin to Boston, New York, Chicago, and many more. 

Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell performed songs from their 2013 Grammy-winning duo album, Old Yellow Moon, and more under at Lincoln Center Out of Doors for AmericanaFest NYC in August. You can watch the complete concert here. They return to the Americana Music Honors & Awards ceremony in Nasvhille, where they took home two awards last year, this Wednesday; Ry Cooder performs in the house band for the evening. You can watch the entire event streaming live at npr.org. Harris kicks off a fall tour at the Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion this Friday, followed by a swing through the Northeast before heading out West in October.

The New Yorker has announced the program for the 2014 New Yorker Festival, taking place October 10–12, in New York City, which includes four artists familiar to readers of the Nonesuch Journal: Randy Newman in conversation with Susan Morrison, Jeremy Denk giving a talk on Comedy and Convention from Mozart to Seinfeld, Laurie Anderson with Alex Ross, and Stephen Sondheim with Adam Gopnik.

Alarm Will Sound performs Adams, Reich, and Dennehy as Youssou N’Dour and Don Byron each play two nights for Nonesuch Records at BAM ... Nonesuch Records on Film continues ... The Black Keys play Detroit, Pittsburgh, Rochester ... Bombino is out West ... Shawn Colvin, Steve Earle are in Cleveland ... Jeremy Denk joins Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra for Beethoven ... Iron and Wine tours US ... Kronos Quartet tours Europe ... Natalie Merchant hits NYC ... Conor Oberst kicks off tour in Salt Lake City ... Joshua Redman is in France ... Caetano Veloso launches Abraçaço US tour in Miami ... and more ...

Natalie Merchant’s kicks off a late-summer and fall tour featuring music from her new, self-title album with a performance at the Pabst Theatre in Milwaukee tonight, followed by stops Chicago, New York, Boston, Seattle, Kansas City, DC, and more through December. While on tour, Merchant joins fellow Nonesuch artists Kronos Quartet, Rhiannon Giddens, Sam Amidon, and Olivia Chaney for a special set at the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House as part of the Nonesuch at BAM celebration of the label's 50th anniversary. 

The Brooklyn Academy of Music's wide-ranging series of concerts and events Nonesuch Records at BAM: Celebrating a Label Without Labels, celebrating the 50th anniversary of Nonesuch Records, kicks off Tuesday night with the first of three consecutive nights of concerts from Philip Glass and Steve Reich plus a separate solo set from Brad Mehldau and continues through September 28. The New York Times says the series "reflects the broad curiosity and high standard of a label that has had notable successes ... with no guiding criteria other than instinct and taste." In conjunction with these events, BAMcinématek presents Nonesuch Records on Film, a salute to the label’s rich catalogue of movie soundtracks.