Tony Allen—best known for his work as drummer and musical director for Fela Kuti—will make his Nonesuch debut with the release of Secret Agent on April 13. Following the album's European release on World Circuit earlier this year, The Guardian proclaimed, “There is no question that Tony Allen is a genius, one of the greatest percussionists in the history of popular music,” while Observer Music Monthly said, “If you’re wondering why Afrobeat is hip, start here.”

Caetano Veloso has won the 2009 Latin Grammy Award for Best Singer-Songwriter Album for his latest release in Brazil, Zii e Zie. The Guardian, in its four-star review of the album, describes its songs as "intimate and surprising." Caetano was also recognized for his work on a video celebrating the music of Antonio Carlos Jobim. The 10th annual Latin Grammy Awards ceremony was held last night in Las Vegas.

Natalie Merchant will perform and discuss a selection of songs from her forthcoming Nonesuch release at the new Free Word Centre in London on November 18. She has been researching, writing, and recording a collection of songs adapted from the works of various classic and contemporary poets; the evening will give a unique insight into the project prior to the album’s release in early 2010.

Just as Wilco begins its tour through Europe in the UK tonight, the band's 2002 album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot has nabbed the No. 2 slot on the list of the 50 Best Albums of the Decade according to Paste magazine and claims the No. 1 spot in a poll of the magazine's readers. "Through its circuitous provenance and runaway success," says Paste, "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot proved that great art—even in difficult times—will find the light of day."

The Low Anthem continues its cross-country tour with Blind Pilot at The Parish in Austin, Texas, tonight, as news is in that Q magazine has named Oh My God, Charlie Darwin one of the year's Top 50 albums. The Dallas Observer says the album, "quite simply, is a remarkably beautiful record, an album deserving of all the critical kudos." Magnet magazine is offering the band's take on Bob Dylan's "Dignity" as a free download.

John Adams gives the first of two Tanner Lectures on Human Values this afternoon at Yale University this afternoon, with the second to follow tomorrow afternoon. "Perhaps the most celebrated living American composer," writes the New Haven Advocate, "John Adams is nearly as adept with the English language as he is with musical notation." What's more, "Adams has created some of the most essential classical music of our age."

Earbox.com has long been the go-to source for information on the works of composer John Adams and has now received a makeover, including the addition of a blog from the composer. The first few posts have already caught the attention of The New Yorker's Alex Ross, who writes, "Few artists are as engagingly forthright in their interviews and writings. Adams has now started up a blog on his home site, with the promising name Hell Mouth."

Wilco and The Low Anthem have made the shortlist of nominees for the Uncut Music Award and are now two of just eight artists up for what Uncut has dubbed the year's "most inspiring and rewarding musical experience." The music video for The Low Anthem's "Charlie Darwin" can now be seen here at Nonesuch.com. Stereogum described it as an "affecting visual counterpart to Ben Knox Miller's fragile falsetto."

Foundation Passerelle, the organization founded by Rokia Traoré to help her fellow Malians prepare for careers in music, has been awarded the first-ever Roskilde Festival World Music Award. Rokia will accept the 30,000 euro award, on the foundation's behalf, from the Lord Mayor of Copenhagen at the Womex world music conference on November 1. She had already been scheduled to attend this year's Womex to speak about the foundation.

When John Adams's City Noir received its world premiere early this month in the gala Opening Night concert of the Los Angeles Philharmonic under its new music director Gustavo Dudamel, it was met with rave reviews and an adulatory audience response. The performance, which was paired with Mahler's First Symphony, airs tonight on PBS's Great Performances. On his new blog, Adams praises Dudamel as "the genuine article."

I Am Love, the film to which John Adams has contributed his first-ever score, has been nominated for a Hollywood World Award for best international film; the Los Angeles Times says the score "adds a staggering emotional punch" to the film. The Times review of Sunday's LA Master Chorale performance of Klinghoffer Choruses calls Adams "an American icon" and the opera's music as "some of the most haunting Adams has written." The composer delivers the Tanner Lectures on Human Values next week at Yale.

Youssou N'Dour is in New York City tonight as an honoree, along with President Bill Clinton and Sir Richard Branson, of The Black Ball, a benefit event for Keep a Child Alive to support children and families with HIV/AIDS in Africa and India; he is set to perform as well. Youssou was in the city last night for a Q&A at a screening of the film I Bring What I Love. He is due to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at London's Africa Music Awards on Saturday.