Nonesuch Records will release Nomad, from the Tuareg guitarist, singer, and songwriter Omara “Bombino” Moctar, on April 2. At the invitation of The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach, the Niger-born artist and his band traveled to Nashville for the recording, helmed by Auerbach at his studio, Easy Eye Sound. A pre-order of Nomad on CD and vinyl is available now in the Nonesuch Store and includes an instant download of the album track “Azamane Tiliade.” (Watch a trailer with the track here.) Bombino will embark on a US tour this May, and will perform at a number of major North American festivals this summer.

Kronos Quartet and Laurie Anderson come together for the world premiere of Scenes From My New Novel, a new work composed by Anderson, at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center in College Park, Maryland, this weekend. “These are stories with tempos,” says Anderson. "Much of the music is generated from software we designed for the viola. It creates harmonies and delays that are then interpreted and expanded by Kronos." Additional performances are scheduled for the coming months in Australia, California, New Jersey, and London.

Iron and Wine makes its Nonesuch Records debut with Ghost on Ghost in the US on April 16, 2013 (April 15 on 4AD in Europe, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand). Ghost on Ghost is the fifth release from singer-songwriter Sam Beam, using the pen name Iron and Wine. The album was produced by Beam’s longtime associate Brian Deck and follows 2011’s Kiss Each Other Clean, which debuted at #2 on the Billboard chart to critical acclaim. Iron and Wine will support the new release with tour dates throughout 2013, to be announced soon. A special pre-order at ironandwine.com also will be announced soon.

Rokia Traoré’s Beautiful Africa will be released on April 9, 2013, by Nonesuch Records in Europe and Canada, with a US release to follow. The record was produced by English musician John Parish (PJ Harvey, Eels, Sparklehorse) and recorded at Toybox Studios in Bristol, UK. Its lyrics are sung in the Malian–born Traoré’s native languages of French and Bambara, as well as some English. The Guardian premiered the title track this morning, calling it "brilliant." Traoré was the first artist to be announced for the 2013 Glastonbury festival line-up; additional festival and tour dates will be announced shortly.

Carnegie Hall has announced its 2013–14 season, and featured among the performers taking the esteemed hall's stages are a number of artists familiar to readers of the Nonesuch Journal, including Chris Thile, Bombino, Kronos Quartet, Natalie Merchant, and Richard Goode, as well as performances of works by John Adams, Steve Reich, Laurie Anderson, and more.

Nataly Dawn's solo album How I Knew Her is set for release next month and is already garnering critical praise. Dawn "delivers a seductive and singular solo album," says BBC Music. "It’s the sound of a woman brimming with ideas as she seizes her moment ... Dawn has the intelligence to sway the cognoscenti, the wide-eyed charm to seduce the masses, and an other-worldliness that ensures that, for all those she embraces, nobody sounds quite like her." Mojo, Independent on Sunday, and Daily Telegraph all give the album four stars, with the Telegraph calling it "delightful."

Steve Reich is the Distinguished Guest Composer at the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra's 2013 New Music Festival, which gets under way today and runs to this Saturday, February 2. Reich will be in attendance for the festival, which showcases his work over several concerts, discussions, and a dance performance this week, including Vermont Counterpoint, Clapping Music, Different Trains, New York Counterpoint, Double Sextet, Tehillim, and The Desert Music.

John Adams conducts the St. Lawrence String Quartet and the London Symphony Orchestra in the UK premiere of his Absolute Jest at Barbican Hall, the last in a series of concerts with LSO ... Shawn Colvin concludes residency at Yoshi's in San Francisco, streaming online ... Devendra Banhart is on BBC Radio 4's Loose Ends ... Nataly Dawn tours California with Ben Folds Five ... Jeremy Denk, Richard Goode play Northeast ... Lianne La Havas closes out Australia tour in Melbourne ... Punch Brothers head from St. Louis to Dallas ... Sara Watkins continues UK tour, plays Celtic Connections ... and more ...

Dr. John and Allen Toussaint, two favorite sons of New Orleans, will receive honorary degrees from Tulane University at its 2013 Commencement, the school has announced. Both will receive honorary doctor of fine arts degrees at the school's May 18 commencement ceremony, to be held at the Superdome in New Orleans. The Dalai Lama, who is set to deliver the keynote address at the event, will receive an honorary doctorate of humane letters. Natasha Trethewey, the United States poet laureate and winner of the Pulitzer Prize for poetry, also will be awarded a doctor of humane letters.

Punch Brothers launch their winter 2013 US tour at Turner Hall in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, tonight. The month-long tour makes stops in Missouri, Texas, Kentucky, Virginia, DC, Ohio, New York, Massachusetts, and Maine. (See the tour poster at left.)  Just in time for the start of the tour, CMT has premiered the video for Punch Brothers' “Movement and Location,” directed by Danny Clinch. Watch it here. Tickets are also on sale for Chris Thile's April duo dates with fellow Nonesuch artist Brad Mehldau.

Nataly Dawn kicks off a tour of the western US tonight in support of her forthcoming solo album, How I Knew Her, due out February 12. The two-week tour includes a nine-city run with Ben Folds Five, starting in Denver tonight and including shows in Nevada, California, Washington, and Oregon. In addition, Dawn makes stops at the Sundance Film Festival and in Salt Lake City and opens for Clint Black in Napa on February 1. Her song "Please Don't Scream," off How I Knew Her, is this week's Starbucks Pick of the Week and can be downloaded for free at Starbucks stores and on the Starbucks mobile app. 

Singer/songwriter/fiddle player Sara Watkins launches a tour of the UK and Ireland tonight in support of her acclaimed new album Sun Midnight Sun, which was released by Nonesuch Records in May. The two-week, 13-city tour begins in Sheffield, England, tonight and includes a show at London’s Lexington on Wednesday, January 30, as well as a set at the Celtic Connections festival in Glasgow this Saturday, January 26.