The Staves are the guests on this week's episode of Acoustic Café, discussing and performing from their new EP, Sleeping In A Car, and their 2015 Nonesuch debut album, If I Was. The trio performs the title track and "Roses" from the new EP, and "Sadness Don't Own Me" and "Damn It All" from If I Was. The Staves, who just completed a headlining tour of North America, will perform at the Winnipeg Folk Festival, Newport Folk Festival, and Justin Vernon's Eaux Claires Festival this summer.

Allen Toussaint's final recording, American Tunes, was released last week to critical acclaim, with three new and noteworthy reviews just in. American Tunes adds "an elegant new perspective on Toussaint's legacy," says NPR's All Things Considered. "He sings the same way he plays piano: gracefully, using understatement to devastating effect, says reviewer Tom Moon. "That kind of poise is easy to overlook, but it's crucial to just about everything on this delightful survey of American tunes. And it's one of the qualities that made Allen Toussaint an American treasure." Listen to the review here. The album is "an elegant and fitting adieu from the New Orleans master," says the AP. "Toussaint makes a fine final impression on American Tunes, a repertoire as rich as his own contributions to music over a nearly 60-year career."Stereophile names American Tunes its Recording of the Month, calling it "a fantastic and esoteric tour through the Great American Songbook, as selected by the old master himself."

The new album Cuong Vu Trio Meets Pat Metheny has been reviewed on NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross. "The album lets you hear why the headliners get along," explains Fresh Air reviewer Kevin Whitehead: "the guitarist's approach to sound and melody and streaking long tones spoke to the trumpeter from the first." You can hear the complete review here. The Guardian gives the album four stars. "Metheny enters completely into the exploratory spirit," says Guardian's John Fordham, "and gives Vu's intriguing music a fresh dimension and creative support."

Laurie Anderson spoke with BBC Radio 6 Music's Lauren Laverne, BBC Radio 4's Front Row, and BBC Radio 2's The Arts Show with Jonathan Ross about her new film, Heart of a Dog, and the Brighton Festival, of which she is Guest Director. She gave the UK premiere of her Music for Dogs concert at the festival this week and will perform there again next week. Heart of a Dog opens in the UK, Ireland, and Denmark, where she performs her piece Language of the Future this Saturday.

Rokia Traoré was the guest on NPR's World Cafe. She spoke with host David Dye about her new album, Né So, and performed three songs from the album: "Obiké," "Ilé," and "Strange Fruit." Find out what she has to say and hear the performances here. Traoré takes her Né So tour to the Festival Mawazine in Morocco later this month, followed by shows throughout France and the UK, including a set at the Glastonbury Festival in June.

Olivia Chaney stopped by two BBC radio programs today, ahead of performances at Birmingham Symphony Hall for a multi-artist tribute to Nick Drake on Thursday and at St John's Smith Square in London for the London Festival of Baroque Music on Sunday. She spoke of her connection to Purcell and shared some illustrative songs live on BBC Radio 3's In Tune and spoke with BBC Radio 4's Front Row and wrote an article on the subject for the Guardian. Chaney will perform with Joe Boyd in Cardiff next month and tour the UK as special guest of Ben Folds and yMusic.

Sam Amidon and guitarist Bill Frisell are the guests on the eTown radio show. Following Frisell's set, Amidon makes his eTown debut performing three songs from his latest album, Lily-O—"Down the Line," "Walkin' Boss," and "Your Lone Journey"—as well as "Another Man Done Gone," from an earlier album, and joins host Nick Forster for a conversation about his life and music. The show closes with a group performance of "I'll Fly Away." You can listen to the complete show and watch the performances here.

Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil closed out their US tour with two sold-out nights at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, celebrating the release of what the New York Times calls their "gemlike" new live double album Dois Amigos, Um Século de Música: Multishow Live. While on tour, they spoke with NPR's alt.latino about the new album, their friendship, and their legendary careers. They also spoke with Rolling Stone, which says: "The two continue to record exquisite, playful, even noisy music belying their septuagenarian status." And Veloso is the guest on this week's New York Times Popcast.

Lake Street Dive stopped by the NPR to give a Tiny Desk Concert, performing "I Don't Care About You," "How Good It Feels," and "Godawful Things"—three songs from their new album, Side Pony, which has debuted at No. 11 on the Billboard Top Albums chart. "The appeal of this band of New England Conservatory friends lies in their warmth in harmony and comfortably styled songs," says Boilen, "sometimes tilting toward soul, often rocking danceably on a new collection of songs called Side Pony ... You can hear everyone mesh so well in these three new songs from Side Pony—songs likely to be favorites for many at year's end." You can watch the full set here.

Lake Street Dive celebrated the release of their new album, Side Pony, as the guests on NPR's World Cafe yesterday. The group discussed and performed four songs from the album: "I Don't Care About You," "So Long," "Call Off Your Dogs," and the title track. "Very happy that our guests today, Lake Street Dive, have a new album," says host David Dye. "The new album is called Side Pony, which is a song on the album talking about following your own way even or especially if that means rocking a pony tail that is on the side." Hear it here.

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.