Congratulations to The Black Keys: the band's new album, El Camino, debuted this week at #2 on the Billboard Top 200 with sales of 206,000 units—far and away the band’s best single-week performance and their highest chart position to date! By comparison, the band’s previous best week was for Brothers, which debuted in May 2010 with sales of 73,000 units. The band will embark on the first leg of their US tour this March, with shows in arenas like Boston’s TD Garden, Chicago’s United Center, and New York’s Madison Square Garden, which sold out in 15 minutes, resulting in the swift addition of a second concert. Special guests Arctic Monkeys open on the tour.

Emmylou Harris will be honored by the Grand Ole Opry on the occasion of her 20th anniversary as an Opry member on January 21, 2012, at the historic Ryman Auditorium. Her 20-year milestone will be celebrated with performances by the honoree, Vince Gill, Rodney Crowell, Shawn Colvin, making her Opry debut, and more.

With the holidays right around the corner, now's the perfect time to head to the Nonesuch Store and receive 34% off the standard retail price on all CDs, LPs, and DVDs. That's an extra savings of about 20% off the everyday low prices listed on the site. As always, all US orders over $20 receive free standard shipping. To receive in-stock items by December 23 in the US, standard-shipping orders should be placed by 9 PM ET this Thursday, December 15. Rush orders should be placed by Friday.

The line-up for the 2012 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival has been announced, and among the artists performing at next year's Jazz Fest are three performers familiar to readers of the Nonesuch Journal: Carolina Chocolate Drops, Cheikh Lô, and New Orleans' own Allen Toussaint. All three are performing during the festival's opening weekend, April 27–29, 2012, at the Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans.

Brad Mehldau’s seven-disc box set The Art of the Trio Recordings: 1996–2001 is now available on both sides of the Atlantic via Nonesuch Records, following last week's North American release and this week's European release. "[F]or five years from 1996 the Brad Mehldau Trio were playing music together that few at the time could ignore and which with The Art Of The Trio Recordings: 1996–2001 still more will arrive at," predicts Jazzwise magazine. The Trio's work is showcased "in the greatest depth possible ... all documented in one place in a carefully annotated box set with additional unreleased material."

The Black Keys followed a week of performances in NYC celebrating the release of their new album, El Camino, with a weekend on the West Coast. They performed at KROQ's Almost Acoustic Christmas, at which "the guys could have converted almost anyone in attendance to the Church of Keys with the way the audience hung on to every word and guitar stroke," reports MTV, and at the Video Game Awards (VGA). You can watch their VGA performance of the El Camino tune "Lonely Boy" here.

Sara Watkins—who, with her brother Sean, is currently on tour in California with the Blind Boys of Alabama—will soon be heading back into 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. Watkins will be taking fans inside the recording process as it happens when she posts audio clips from each day's session to her Facebook page and website.

The Black Keys cap off release week for their new album, El Camino, with a performance at KROQ's Almost Acoustic Christmas in LA; watch the livestream here ... Carolina Chocolate Drops close out 2011 in Tennessee ... Elliott Carter turns 103! ... Jessica Lea Mayfield plays Toronto and Chicago with Ryan Adams ... McGarrigles and Wainwrights celebrate Christmas in Montreal in tribute to Kate McGarrigle ... Sara Watkins celebrates Christmas with the Blind Boys of Alabama in California ... and more ...

James Farm, the self-titled debut album from the collaborative band featuring Joshua Redman, Aaron Parks, Matt Penman, and Eric Harland, has made NPR Music's list of the ten Best Jazz Albums of 2011. "All contribute songs to the group's repertoire, and in doing so, they've clearly soaked up grooves and chord progressions from today's pop music without ever forcing the issue," says NPR's Patrick Jarenwattananon. "Then they worked out these textures and tunes on the road for a while before pressing record. The harvest feels unlike an all-star collective, and more like a homegrown band."

The Black Keys will embark on the first leg of their North American tour this March, with shows in arenas like New York’s Madison Square Garden, Boston’s TD Garden, and Chicago’s United Center, with special guests Arctic Monkeys opening all along the way. The shows are in support of their new album, El Camino, which the Daily Mail calls "a tour de force" and the Daily Mirror calls "a roof-raising, spirit-lifting triumph.” Tickets for most shows go on sale to the general public starting today and tomorrow.

Following in the tradition of the 2005 Nonesuch album The McGarrigle Christmas Hour, Anna McGarrigle, Rufus Wainwright, and Martha Wainwright lead A Not So Silent Night, holiday concerts at the Théâtre St-Denis in Montreal and The Town Hall in New York City, featuring special guests like Lou Reed, Laurie Anderson, Teddy Thompson, and Loudon Wainwright III. The concerts are a tribute to the late Kate McGarrigle; proceeds benefit the Kate McGarrigle Sarcoma Research Fund.

The Black Keys continued the celebration of the release of their new album, El Camino, with a performance of "Gold on the Ceiling" on the Late Show with David Letterman on CBS last night. Watch it here. NPR's Fresh Air calls the new album a "reinvention" for the band, with their having "achieved a sound that's frequently brighter, more open and eager." Tickets for the March 2012 leg of the band's North American tour go on sale to the general public tomorrow.