Amadou & Mariam kicked off their North American tour last night at Chicago's Park West, creating music that the Chicago Tribune's Greg Kot describes as "a steaming cauldron of Mali funk ‘n’ roll that the couple stirred, adding ingredients from countless cultures as needed. They knew when to bring it to a boil and when to let it simmer." The crowd was moving from the start, and its fervor only increased, with Amadou & Mariam's "elastic songs stretching further into a zone where the line between dance and trance blurred." The duo's music, Kot concludes, bridges "cultures, sounds and language with a grace rarely seen on a North American stage."

Christina Courtin, whose self-titled Nonesuch debut is due out on June 23, is featured on this week's episode of NPR's All Songs Considered. The show's host, Bob Boilen, tracks Christina's career, from her earliest days playing violin at the age of three through her time at Juilliard and to the forthcoming release, from which he plays the song "Bundah." "She always knew she could sing," Boilen says, "and that became her desire." You can also hear "Bundah" and watch a video for the song on the new multimedia page nonesuch.com/christinacourtin, which also features the album tracks "Foreign Country" and "February" plus a photo slideshow of Christina.

Amadou & Mariam are set to take Chicago's Park West by storm tonight as they begin the first leg of their summer tour. The Chicago Sun-Times says the couple "front a fiery band that provides a kaleidoscope of music filtering rock, blues, reggae and hip-hop through a Malian sensibility. Her vocals are innocent and welcoming; his blues/rock guitar style is commanding and nimble." The Chicago Tribune declares, "If the duo's vocals are a life-affirming sound that transcends language barriers, [Amadou's] guitar is an instrument of mind-altering eloquence." Time Out Chicago says their new album, Welcome to Mali, "sounds as if it was made, variously, in 1970s flare-wearing New York, in a timeless stretch of desert, and at the kind of party you’d most like to be asked to." Catch the duo on NBC's Late Night with Jimmy Fallon this Monday.

Floodplain, Kronos Quartet's most recent Nonesuch release features music inspired by the idea that floodplains—which are prone to devastating flooding—will experience new life after a catastrophe, just as cultures that undergo great difficulty will experience creative fertility. The New York Times finds this to be an apt metaphor and in keeping with Kronos's core beliefs, rooted in its earliest performances, which "turned the introverted quartet idiom outward through its extramusical effects and social concerns. Mr. Harrington and company have been extending that path ever since."

Emmylou Harris, Shawn Colvin join Patty Griffin, Buddy Miller for Three Girls and Their Buddy ... Bill Frisell unveils new piece at Bang on a Can Marathon, NYC ... Youssou N'Dour closes the Africa Vive festival in the Canary Islands ... Punch Brothers follows Spoleto appearance with Virginia gig ... Joshua Redman Trio plays Tacoma ... Rokia Traoré plays a sold-out show at the Barbican ... Allen Toussaint concludes a week in Japan ... Wilco plays Portugal and Spain ... and more ...

Wilco's new album, Wilco (the album), is due out on Nonesuch in another month, and the critical response has already begun, including, this week, from the band's two hometown papers, the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times. The Sun-Times gives the album 3.5 stars, asserting that "the band has cemented a reputation as one of the most creative forces in rock today" and concluding that its new songs "stand beside the best that the band has given us." The Tribune calls the band's current members "the most technically accomplished of Wilco’s many lineups ... and Wilco (the album) is a compendium of its best moves."

Allen Toussaint's The Bright Mississippi was released to great critical acclaim, followed by an equally lauded residency at New York's Village Vanguard, and a string of performances in Japan. The Wall Street Journal writes that, with the album, Toussaint keeps alive "the tradition of distinctive New Orleans pianists, within which he clearly belongs; and of jazz, which was never far from the surface of his music ...  He simply possesses each tune fully, courtesy of rolling chords, well-placed tremolos, notable restraint and the defining force of his musical presence." Blurt talks to Toussaint about the project and trusting producer Joe Henry's choice of what he calls "these wonderful songs."

Rokia Traoré, whose most recent album, Tchamantché, was released on Nonesuch earlier this year, is the subject of a feature profile in the Sunday Times (UK), in anticipation of her sold-out concert at London’s celebrated Barbican this Friday. The article highlights both her “flourishing reputation” and the launch of her Fondation Passarelle, an organization she founded to help young people develop the skills needed to enter the music business. In August, she performs two free shows in New York that Time Out includes in its preview of the summer's best outdoor concerts. "With her latest disc," says the magazine, "Traoré wraps her beautiful, velvety voice around moody blues and joyous Afrobeats alike. Be prepared to gape at her lovely vocals, and also to get up and shimmy."

Fernando Otero will perform songs from his 2008 Nonesuch release, Pagina de Buenos Aires, live on Soundcheck, a program of WNYC, New York Public Radio, 93.9 FM, today at 2 PM ET. He'll talk with the show's host, John Schaefer, and will perform at the piano along with Nick Danielson on violin and Hector del Curto on bandoneon, both of whom performed on the album.

Kronos Quartet's Floodplain is out now, and the reviews from the UK prove that Kronos's latest global exploration is as expansive as its repertoire. The Sunday Times gives the album four stars, calling it both "one of their most inspired so far" and "one of the albums of the year." The Guardian gives it four stars, too, calling the music "engaging, challenging, complex and rewarding." The Observer Music Monthly, in its four-star review, sees the Quartet "as intellectually engaging as ever." The Evening Standard gives Floodplain a perfect five stars, calling its repertoire "vivid and powerful ... music that grabs by the throat and doesn't let go." Scotland's Herald also gives it a perfect five stars, dubbing it "an entrancing journey."

Sara Watkins is taking a couple days off from her extensive US tour behind her recently released, self-titled Nonesuch debut. But while you wait to see her back in action in her live show, you can hear her perform songs from the new album on NPR's World Café this afternoon. Listen live online at xpn.org at 2 PM EST or check back in with npr.org later in the day to listen to today's episode streaming.

Wilco begins its 10-day tour of Spain and Portugal ... Amadou & Mariam play a benefit "Hidden Gig" with Pink Floyd's David Gilmour in London ... Dan Auerbach plays throughout Benelux ... Christina Courtin, Dawn Upshaw perform at Dublin's National Gallery of Ireland ... Bill Frisell's 858 Quartet plays MA, NY, and FL all in one weekend ... Allen Toussaint's residency at the Village Vanguard with The Bright Mississippi band continues through Sunday ... and more on this Memorial Day weekend ...