The Black Keys closed out 2011 with a bang when their latest album, El Camino, debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard charts and made countless critics' Best of the Year lists. Now, the band kicks off the New Year in a similar fashion, landing their first-ever cover story on Rolling Stone magazine, out this week. The band is also featured on the cover of Relix as guest editors of the magazine. "During the past decade, The Black Keys have slowly emerged as one of the most successful independent-minded bands in the world," says Relix. "Using their love of blues riffs as their base, vocalist/guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney have melded their disparate influences in garage rock, hip-hop and radio-friendly indie into a sound that’s distinctly their own."

Senegalese singer-songwriter-activist Youssou N'Dour, who released five albums on Nonesuch Records over the span of a decade, announced on Monday that he will run for President of Senegal in the country's election next month. "For a long time, men and women have demonstrated their optimism, dreaming of a new Senegal," N'Dour said. "They have, in various ways, called for my candidacy in the February presidential race. I listened. I heard." Watch the announcement here, via the Guardian.

Brad Mehldau joins his Trio—featuring bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Jeff Ballard—for a six-night residency at NYC's famed Village Vanguard, starting tonight. "[T]his iteration of his pace-setting trio," says the New York Times, "has evolved into a graceful powerhouse, equally savvy about groove and harmony. There’s still no better place to hear the band than the Village Vanguard, a special room for Mr. Mehldau and for his devoted base." The BBC, reviewing the newly released Art of the Trio Recordings box set, says of Mehldau: "It is his genius, his dash of daring, his exceptional touch, and his ability to conceive a performance lasting over several minutes as a compositional entity that mark him out."

As 2011 draws to a close, and the Nonesuch Journal takes a bit of a hiatus till the start of 2012, it's time to take a look back and remember all the great and diverse music made by Nonesuch artists this year. Many of these artists and their 2011 Nonesuch releases have made music critics' year-end best lists; several were nominated for Grammy Awards. Here is a look back.

Today is the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, in the northern hemisphere. To mark the occasion and to celebrate the holiday season, Björk has released a new holiday version of the "Solstice" app from Biophilia. The song is based on a poem celebrating the Christmas season by poet/author Sjón, comparing the solar system to a Christmas tree. The new Solstice app includes additional features like gameleste sound samples, more festive colors, and, most importantly, the opportunity for fans to create a song and send it to friends as Christmas e-cards.

Punch Brothers release their new album, Who’s Feeling Young Now?, February 14, 2012, on Nonesuch Records. Completed over three weeks at Blackbird Studios in Nashville, the record was produced by Grammy Award winner Jacquire King (Kings of Leon, Tom Waits, Modest Mouse). The band begins a US tour in support of the new album on February 17. Ten songs from Who’s Feeling Young Now? were written by Punch Brothers, with the band’s friend Josh Ritter co-writing lyrics on two tunes. The album also contains the band’s interpretations of Radiohead’s “Kid A” and the Swedish group Vasen’s “Flippen.” Download the opening track, “Movement and Location," here.

Sara Watkins is back in the studio to record her second solo album for Nonesuch Records. The album, which will be produced by Blake Mills, is due out sometime next year. In the mean time, Watkins will be taking fans inside the recording process as it happens, offering a sneak peek of what's to come when she posts audio clips from each day's session. The first day's clip is now available; hear it here.

Wanda Jackson will join Florence Welch of Florence + The Machine and Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings to pay tribute to the late Amy Winehouse on VH1 Divas Celebrates Soul, premiering tonight at 9 PM ET on VH1. Jackson famously performs Winehouse's "You Know I'm No Good" on her latest album, The Party Ain't Over. The VH1 Divas show, a tribute to the heritage of soul music and the cities in which it flourished, also includes performances from Mary J. Blige, Kelly Clarkson, Chaka Khan, Mavis Staples, and more, all backed by the show’s house band, The Roots.

Cesaria Evora, the Cape Verdean singer known as the "Barefoot Diva," died on Saturday at the age of 70. The Grammy Award-winning singer was the best-known performer of "morna," Cape Verde's national music, and released four acclaimed albums on Nonesuch Records between 1995 and 1999: Cesaria Evora, Cabo Verde, Miss Perfumado, and Mar Azul. The New York Times wrote of her Nonesuch debut: "Somewhere on the spectrum between Sade and Billie Holiday sits Ms. Evora, a singer from the Cape Verde Islands whose songs of loss and longing are as heart-rending as they are spellbinding."

The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess opens in previews on Broadway, starring Audra McDonald, "a Bess for the ages" (Boston Globe) ... The Black Keys are on NPR's World Cafe ... Shawn Colvin closes out the year in California ... Emmylou Harris hosts Miracle on Music Row benefit for her dog rescue in Nashville, then plays the Opry at the Ryman ... Brad Mehldau closes out the year in Tbilisi, Georgia ... Sara Watkins concludes tour with the Blind Boys of Alabama out West ... and more ...

The Brad Mehldau Trio’s seven-disc box set The Art of the Trio Recordings: 1996–2001, featuring longtime Brad Mehldau Trio bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Jorge Rossy, earns four stars in the Guardian, which says "the trio created a private world for their listeners to get lost in, and this is the definitive representation of it." The review cites the trio's "almost telepathic intuitiveness" that led to a "mind-boggling" performance. The Financial Times gives it four stars as well, saying it "documents Mehldau’s virtuosity" and confirms "this trio as both yardstick and model for contemporary piano jazz." The Buffalo News calls the set "indisputably great." KPCC says: "Mehldau makes renegade jazz, and this comprehensive collection shows him at his finest."

The NPR Music listeners have spoken, choosing their 100 favorite albums of 2011. "The Black Keys swooped into the No. 6 slot with El Camino," says NPR, "an album just a few days older than the poll itself." "I was pretty thrilled by this list," says NPR's Bob Boilen in the All Songs Considered countdown of the Top 25. Also among the Top 100 listener favorites are Björk's Biophilia and Emmylou Harris's Hard Bargain. Björk's "Virus" is among the NPR Music staff's favorite songs of the year, as is James Farm's "Polliwog."