The Low Anthem recently made its Nonesuch debut with the release of Oh My God, Charlie Darwin. The band has now made its way to the UK for a special gig at London's Union Chapel presented by MOJO magazine Tuesday. The Sunday Times gives the album four stars, calling attention to the closing-track reprise: "It’s wonderful, and effectively says: 'Not only have we just made a great album, but we could, if we chose, take these songs, rework them and make another equally great but entirely different album.' I think we can safely file the Low Anthem among 'the fittest.'"

Allen Toussaint headlines the Twin Cities Jazz Festival, plays SFJAZZ ... David Byrne is out West, at Red Rocks and Red Butte ... Ry Cooder, Nick Lowe bring tour to Belgium ... Toumani Diabaté, Béla Fleck tune in to Telluride Bluegrass Fest ... Bill Frisell performs a solo set in Washington state ... Emmylou Harris goes solo at Telluride ... Pat Metheny revisits Gary Burton Quartet on the road ... Punch Brothers play bluegrass and Radiohead at Telluride ... Sara Watkins does Prairie Home Companion at Ravinia, joins WPA at Telluride ... Wilco does Vegas and Hard Rock Hotel ... and more ...

The Low Anthem and its recently released Nonesuch debut, Oh My God, Charlie Darwin, are the subject of the latest Daytrotter Session, where you can hear four new live recordings by the band. Daytrotter takes a look at the "riveting" and "magnificent album," in particular its focus on the concept of survival of the fittest made famous by Charles Darwin, and the chaos inherent to it. It's a notion the band sets up right from the "lush, harmonious burst" of the album opener, "Charlie Darwin." This "powerful and moving opening song," the site asserts, "takes us through so much." There's also video of the band performing three songs at Baeble Music.

Kronos Quartet's latest Nonesuch release, Floodplain, is out now. The New Statesman names it among the year's best, a "celebration of Middle Eastern, Balkan and African musical traditions, recast for string quartet to truly joyous effect." Songlines gives the album a perfect five stars, calling it "one of their most assertive statements in years." Billboard says "the album champions the rich sonic tapestries" of the regions it showcases, and the Detroit Free Press writes, "You can never predict where the intrepid Kronos Quartet is going next, but you can count on an interesting journey." MusicOMH interviews David Harrington, the music director of the group OMH calls "one of the world's busiest, eclectic, and perhaps most creative ensembles."

Pat Metheny settled into his home studio in New York City with a new baritone guitar one November evening in 2001 to experiment with a low "Nashville tuning." The result is the Grammy-winning One Quiet Night, now reissued on Nonesuch. Audiophile Audition gives the album four stars, describing it as "an intimate performance featuring Metheny's baritone guitar and his imagination ... a confidential, quiet affair, exemplified by the title track, which follows an unadorned template: extemporizing on a single melody and sustaining a solitary mood, in this case a lightly rural and rustic feeling."

Shawn Colvin's new Live album is due out next week. To celebrate, Nonesuch has teamed up with Martin Guitar to offer a brand-new X-Series guitar, signed by Shawn; three runners-up will win a free, signed copy of the CD. All orders of the album in the Nonesuch Store placed by July 21 (including previously placed orders) are registered to win and include, along with the album MP3s, the exclusive bonus download "Another Long One." The Detroit Free Press gives the album four stars, calling it "an intimate, career-spanning solo recording."

Just before the big Bonnaroo performance this past Saturday, Wilco played the first stop on its summer tour of the States, at Cincinnati's Aronoff Theater Friday. Featured in the set were songs from the band's catalog and its forthcoming Nonesuch release, Wilco (the album); the Observer gives the album four stars, as does SPIN, which calls it "fantastic." The Cincinnati Enquirer writes in its concert review: "Jeff Tweedy and his collection of virtuoso cohorts are at the top of their game, staking a claim as one of America’s most innovative and entertaining bands." MTV reports: "Unwrapping a handful of tunes from their new self-titled album, the band straight-up killed it, playing to a packed house of 2,700 who sang along to nearly every lyric."

The Low Anthem, fresh off a multi-set stop at the Bonnaroo festival this weekend, are in New York City to celebrate the release of their Nonesuch debut, Oh My God, Charlie Darwin, with a performance at the Bowery Ballroom tonight. The Observer Music Monthly gives the album four stars, exclaiming, "it soars, the title track especially"; Paste's Josh Jackson calls it "one of my favorite albums this year." The New York Times writes: "[T]he quieter the music gets ... the more its music inhabits its own otherworldly place, where ghosts and angels hover just out of view."

The Low Anthem's Nonesuch debut, Oh My God, Charlie Darwin, was released this week. Rolling Stone places it among "the year's best indie records." The Independent calls it "fascinating" and its opening tune "a gorgeous, fragile piece of work." The Guardian concurs, giving the album four stars and stating: "On the beautiful opener, 'Charlie Darwin,' and the startling 'To Ohio, the Low Anthem evoke a hushed, ethereal transcendence similar to the Cowboy Junkies' The Trinity Session. These are magical songs laden with imagery and poignancy." You can hear a live performance of "Ticket Taker" and a chat with the band on the latest New York Times "Music Popcast."

Seya, Oumou Sangare's first album in six years, is out now. Entertainment Weekly gives it an A, citing "grooves limpid enough to dive into" and comparing Sangare to Aretha Franklin, as "a supremely gifted singer who commands R-E-S-P-E-C-T." The Star-Ledger too cites Sangare's "arresting voice ... as strong and lithe as ever," and sees the album as "a series of upbeat, well-produced songs" with melodies that are "something to marvel at."

Today marks the US theatrical debut of the documentary film Youssou N'Dour: I Bring What I Love, an examination of Egypt, N'Dour's 2004 album, which highlights the tolerance central to his practice of Islam. The New York Times enjoys the ample opportunities for audiences "to groove to [N'Dour's] crisp, soaring, polyrhythmic music." The Daily News says its director has "given fans a gift in her performance-heavy documentary" and "an enlightening portrait" to newcomers. The director tells Metro: "Through his music, Youssou brings together audiences of many cultures and many faiths. He shows us that each individual has the power to affect change.”

The Low Anthem's Nonesuch debut, Oh My God, Charlie Darwin, is out today. The album receives a Paste rating of 90 and is described in the review as "gorgeous chamber folk," another step in "the evolution of folk music ... following the path cleared by Nick Drake and Tim Buckley." Paste concludes: "[T]hese 12 songs are exquisite." The Boston Phoenix hears ties to Tom Waits's Mule Variations in this "excellent" new record, "moving gently among sepia-toned arrangements of pump organs and clarinets and gruff barnyard blues."