The latest episode of Studio 360 celebrates the 150th anniversary of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species, including word from The Low Anthem's Ben Knox Miller on the origin of the title of the band's Nonesuch debut, Oh My God, Charlie Darwin. The Rough Trade staff puts the album at No. 2 of the year's best, calling it "essential." After the band's show in London last week, Uncut calls it "the year's breakout album," not least for its "supernaturally beautiful title track."

Nonesuch President Bob Hurwitz is featured on the latest episode of The Monocle Weekly, the audio series on global affairs, business, culture, design, and consumer culture hosted by Monocle magazine Editor-in-Chief Tyler Brûlé. On this week's special hour-long episode from New York, Bob discusses the past, present, and future of the music business.

This fall, Nonesuch marked 25 years under the leadership of Bob Hurwitz. Bob became president of Nonesuch in 1984 and hired Peter Clancy, now the company’s senior vice president for marketing, shortly thereafter. Around the same time, David Bither—now the label’s executive vice president—came on as a dollar-a-year consultant. That this remarkably successful trio has stayed together and continued recording such extraordinary music for two-and-a-half decades is an occasion worth celebrating, and Nonesuch artists, staff, family, and friends did just that this week at two events in New York City.

Ry Cooder, Nick Lowe bring "exceptional" show to Brisbane ... Dan Auerbach ends tour in Tennessee ... David Byrne discusses Jung at NY's Rubin Museum ... Carolina Chocolate Drops close tour in South Carolina ... Philip Glass talks Kepler at BAM ... Emmylou Harris, Buddy Miller bring show to Boulder ... Kronos kicks of Adams-curated fest in LA ... Low Anthem, Natalie Merchant cross paths at Crossing Border in Holland ... Brad Mehldau flies solo in Serbia ... Joshua Redman plays Padova ... Sara Watkins joins Infamous Stringdusters in North Carolina ... and more ...

This weekend marks the start of West Coast, Left Coast, the LA Philharmonic festival curated by John Adams, its creative chair. The festival, which celebrates the unique spirit of California's creative renegades, kicks off on Saturday with a special Opening Event titled Eureka!, featuring Kronos Quartet's premiere of a new work by Thomas Newman.

The Low Anthem makes its TV debut tonight with a spot on the famed UK performance show Later ... with Jools Holland. The trio will perform "To Ohio," off their Nonesuch debut, Oh My God, Charlie Darwin. Fans in the UK can tune in on BBC2 tonight at 11:45 PM GMT, while fans across the globe can catch a sneak preview by watching the band's performance of "Charlie Darwin" online.

Kronos Quartet was in New York City earlier this week to receive the Asia Society's Cultural Achievement Award at the organization's annual gala at the Waldorf Astoria hotel Tuesday night. Kronos was recognized for its efforts to link cultures and create a global cultural dialogue through music. Among the night's honorees were Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof, and Sesame Street creator Joan Ganz Cooney.

Bill Frisell premieres a new work he co-wrote with Mike Gibbs in a performance at London's Barbican Hall tonight with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, which will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on Tuesday. The Financial Times writes of Frisell: "Panoramic and evocative, his cocktail of jazz warmth, country whine and the echoing throb of jukebox rhythm-and-blues conjures images from the underbelly of American life. It is a vision that he never fails to coax from the many ensembles he works with."

Wilco has just completed its tour of Europe that included a London show the Independent called "one of the best gigs of the year, by one of the best bands in the world." The band tours North America in February and March and has now added a number of dates in Japan and Australia starting in April. The Vine says the band was "reliably excellent" when last in Australia, in "that hypnotic, skillful vein of Americana that suggests the band could play pretty much any style of music they want and still be better than most everyone, in any era."

NPR's All Songs Considered has compiled a list of The Decade's 50 Most Important Recordings. Among them are three Nonesuch recordings: John Adams's On the Transmigration of Souls, Ali Farka Touré and Toumani Diabaté's In the Heart of the Moon (World Circuit/Nonesuch), and Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. "These are the game-changers," says NPR of the 50, "records that signaled some sort of shift in the way music is made or sounds, or ones that were especially influential or historically significant."

Carolina Chocolate Drops, as announced earlier this week, will release their Nonesuch debut, Genuine Negro Jig, on February 23, 2010. Now comes the announcement of a two-month tour, with dates across the United States, from Atlanta to Boston, and the UK, this January and February, leading up to and following the new album's release date, capped by a set at Schuba's in Chicago.

Natalie Merchant's musical sweep through London concludes with a free performance at the Free Word Centre, with songs from her forthcoming Nonesuch debut, Leave Your Sleep. Natalie was featured on BBC Radio 4's Today earlier this week. Her guest turn at Friday's opening night concert of the London Jazz Festival is available via BBC Radio 3, and BBC Radio Scotland has a preview of songs from the album on Global Gathering.