The Carolina Chocolate Drops, whose Nonesuch debut, Genuine Negro Jig, is out worldwide on Tuesday, is the subject on an extensive profile on NPR's All Things Considered due to air Monday. The band, having just completed a UK tour, returns to the States to tour the US. Today, the Drops announce they'll return to the UK to play the Cambridge Folk Festival this summer.

k.d. lang's latest, Recollection, is out now. Just before the release, NPR.org published a profile of k.d. citing Tony Bennett, who compared her to Billie Holiday, Edith Piaf, and Hank Williams. NPR agreed: "It's prestigious company that k.d. lang deserves to keep." The statement was affirmed as NPR broadcast the profile on Morning Edition. The Calgary Herald says the new album "provides a great look at k.d. lang's artistry and her ambitious career arc."

The Low Anthem, having just completed its biggest-ever headline show last night in London, will soon be back in the States for two months of non-stop touring. Before the quartet left for Europe, it shot two on-the-go videos in New York City—the new song "Apothecary" in the grandeur of Grand Central and a haunting "This God Damn House" under twilight on Manhattan's Pier 66—for The Take-Away Shows series from La Blogotheque.

Pat Metheny's Orchestrion continues through Europe, following a performance at the Barbican in London. The one-man band was revealed to "a gasp of wonder" from the crowd, says the Times four-star review, with Metheny giving "a highly original performance, full of delightful invention and an almost childlike imagination." Jazzwise calls it "a great achievement ... You’ll never see anything like it." Pat discussed the project on BBC Radio 3's Jazz on 3.

Wilco began its 2010 world tour this week, stopping in Portland Tuesday for a sold-out set where, says Rolling Stone, the band proved a "well-oiled rock machine." The Oregonian called it an "intense, beautiful, playful ... moving performance," concluding: "Wilco's a great band that played a great show." Seattle Weekly says that at last night's Seattle show, the band "somehow made the sold-out Paramount even more golden for two straight hours."

Here Lies Love, the forthcoming David Byrne / Fatboy Slim collaboration, tells the tale of former Philippine first lady Imelda Marcos through a cadre of vocalists from a myriad musical worlds, including Filipino jazz singer Charmaine Clamor. "I was impressed with the catchy melodies," she tells the Philippine Daily Inquirer in an interview about the project, "and more so with the historical accuracy of the lyrics." Byrne is participating in today's "Invention" session of the TED Conference.

The Low Anthem closes out its European tour with a bang tonight, playing its biggest headline show ever at Shepherd's Bush Empire in London. There's more to come, as the band returns to the States for tours with The Avett Brothers and others, plus a stop at SXSW. The group's new radio show on WOXY, The Trala-lala Radio Hour, is now two episodes in, featuring music by the likes of Dylan, Cohen, Guthrie, Waits, Randy Newman, and Wilco.

The Magnetic Fields' tour settles in for two nights in Boston. In the Toronto Star, Stephin Merritt ("one of indie-rock's most beloved songwriters") gives fans an idea of what to expect on tour: "If we played it last time we toured, we're not playing it this time." With The A.V. Club, he shares some secrets to writing a good love song, advising: "Keep it vague." And Strange Powers, a new documentary about Merritt and the band, will be given a sneak preview at San Francisco's Noise Pop Festival and premiere at South by Southwest.

The wait is over. The official line-up for the 2010 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Manchester, Tennessee, has been announced. The festival will be held from Thursday, June 10, through Sunday, June 13, and among this year's artists are three Nonesuch groups: The Black Keys, Punch Brothers, and Carolina Chocolate Drops. All three groups will be on tour in the coming months.

Today is release day for Recollection, the first-ever career retrospective from k.d. lang. The four-disc deluxe edition includes favorites like "Constant Craving" and "Hallelujah," tracks never before on k.d.'s albums, previously unreleased tracks, and a DVD of music videos and TV appearances. The first 500 orders in the Nonesuch Store include a limited-edition, signed print of k.d. To celebrate the release, kdlang.com has been updated with a new look and new content spanning k.d.'s 25-year career.

Christina Courtin, having just completed a short tour with Josh Rouse, is now set to hit the road again for two weeks with Mike Doughty, the former front man of the band Soul Coughing. Courtin will join Doughty starting a week from Saturday, at Poor David's Pub in Dallas, Texas, on February 20, then head through the Southwest and into California, rounding things out at Slim's in San Francisco on March 6.

Ali Farka Touré and Toumani Diabaté's last album together, Ali and Toumani, was recently named CD of the Week by WNYC's Soundcheck and has received a stellar 8.3 on Pitchfork. The site says the album's recordings "are uncommonly beautiful," captured with "uncompromising intimacy," giving "the feel of two of the world's greatest musicians in a room together, having a conversation and creating a document that will carry their legacy into the future."