Rokia Traoré spoke with NPR's Weekend Edition Saturday about her new album, Né So (Home). Speaking about the civil war in her home country of Mali and the impact music can have in shining a light on the world's ills and offering hope as well, Traoré says: "That simply changes your life, and you're no longer naive in your way of seeing and thinking. Everything changes. And Mali is still what it is. You know, music there is so important, and culture is an important part of our life, of our social life. And in such a situation, I think that culture is even more important." You can hear the conversation here. Traoré will perform live on Le Grand Journal in France tonight.

Natalie Merchant was a guest on WNYC's Leonard Lopate show today. She spoke with Lopate about her 35-year career in music, her social activism, and her new album, Paradise Is There: The New Tigerlily Recordings. Hear their conversation here. Merchant will join Rolling Stone's Anthony DeCurtis in a conversation at the 92nd Street Y in NYC tonight and heads out on tour in March.

Rokia Traoré was the guest on BBC Radio 3's In Tune yesterday, performing two songs from her forthcoming album, Né So—"Kolokani" and "Mayé"—as well as "Kélé Mandi," from her album Bowmboï. She also spoke with BBC Radio 4's Front Row about the new album. Traoré begins a two-month tour at Roundhouse in London on February 6.

Rhiannon Giddens performed a special set as part of BBC Radio 2's live coverage from Glasgow's Celtic Connections festival: "Last Kind Words" from her album Tomorrow Is My Turn; "Mouth Music," from her new EP, Factory Girl, and the new song called "Come Love Come." Watch the set here. She plays her own Celtic Connections show tonight, then joins Transatlantic Sessions for two nights at Glasgow's Royal Concert Hall and a five-concert tour of the UK. Giddens performs on BBC One TV's Andrew Marr Show this Sunday morning.

Rhiannon Giddens helped ring in the New Year with a performance on Jools Holland's annual Hootenanny. She gives her always show-stopping performance of "Waterboy" and of the Sister Rosetta Tharpe tune "Up Above My Head," from her solo debut album, Tomorrow Is My Turn. The show aired in the UK on BBC Two on New Year's Eve. You can now watch Giddens's two performance here for a limited time. Giddens was a guest on BBC Radio Scotland's Another Country with Ricky Ross in advance of her European tour, which begins later this month.

Nonesuch President Bob Hurwitz was featured on the NPR program Here & Now last week. He spoke with show co-host Robin Young about his more than three decades as head of the label and shares his perspective on the unique artists with whom he has worked over those years. "The rarest thing is when you hear someone who is doing something you have never heard before, and you love it," says Hurwitz. "And then it's a kind of instant reaction, almost like falling in love." You can hear the Here & Now piece, which includes music from several of those artists, here.

Israeli composer/musician Shye Ben Tzur was a guest on BBC World Service Weekend. He discusses working on the new album Junun with Jonny Greenwood and the Rajasthan Express. The album was recorded in a makeshift studio inside the 15th-century Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur, India, and comprises Ben Tzur’s compositions, which feature devotional Sufi qawwal musicians who sing in Urdu as well as in his native Hebrew. Hear the BBC World Service piece here. Junun is on the Times of London's list of the Best Records of the Year and is up for the 2016 Gilles Peterson Worldwide Awards Album of the Year.

Laurie Anderson was a guest on NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross today. She shares stories from her new film and album, Heart of a Dog. You can hear their conversation here. The film is now playing at theaters across the United States, opening at additional theaters this weekend in San Jose, San Francisco, Bethesda, Fayetteville, Seattle, and more.

Brad Mehldau's new box set, 10 Years Solo Live, was featured on NPR's All Things Considered. The show takes "a peek into the creative process of one of modern music’s most innovative thinkers," says host Ari Shapiro. "The set includes Mehldau's vivid reimaginings of works by the Beatles, Radiohead, Brahms, and Thelonius Monk," says reviewer Tom Moon. "That's a wide range of music, yet he never sounds out of his element ... [S]ome things come through right away: his fluid technique, his instinct for reframing melodies, his gift for spinning epic narratives out of shards and fragments. Here's what's most mind-blowing: he's doing this live, in the moment, unscripted, in front of an audience." Listen to the review here.

Sam Amidon was the guest on WBEZ's Morning Shift in Chicago this morning. He discussed and performed songs from his album Lily-O, and more. "When it comes to his interpretations of classic American music," says host Tony Sarabia, "Amidon has walked that tightrope between admiration and exploration—and he hasn’t fallen off yet." Hear the set here. Amidon kicked off a four-night run of shows with Wilco guitarist Nels Cline in Des Moines last night. The tour continues at SPACE in Evanston tonight, followed by shows in Milwaukee and Minneapolis this weekend. In December, Amidon will supporting the band San Fermin on several shows in North America.

Rhiannon Giddens was recently a guest on NPR's Mountain Stage. Giddens performs several songs from her debut solo album, Tomorrow Is My Turn: "Don't Let It Trouble Your Mind," "She's Got You," "Waterboy," "O Love Is Teasin'," "Black Is the Color," and "Up Above My Head." "The broad mix of material from which Giddens draws inspiration plays a big part in defining her personality as a performer," says the show. "Her Mountain Stage set is no exception, as she weaves together traditional music with songs by trailblazers Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Dolly Parton." Hear it here.

Laurie Anderson was the guest on WNYC's New Sounds last night. She spoke with host John Schaefer about her new film, Heart of a Dog, and shared several excerpts from its soundtrack. The show also touches on her recent Park Avenue Armory piece Habeas Corpus. "Similar themes run through both works," says WNYC, "in that Anderson ponders how stories are spun, and how language is used, along with ideas about what time ('Living Life Backwards'), identity ('How to Feel Sad Without Being Sad'), and freedom might mean in a surveillance and algorithmic culture." Hear the conversation here.