Carolina Chocolate Drops kick off the latest leg of their world tour, this time back in the United States, following the band's recent whirlwind tour of Europe. First up is a free show at DePauw University's Green Center for the Performing Arts in Greencastle, Indiana, tonight. That's followed by two shows in Michigan: at the Calvin College Ladies Literary Club in Grand Rapids tomorrow and the Michigan Theatre in Ann Arbor on Friday. Ann Arbor's Kevin Ransom raves: "The Carolina Chocolate Drops are one of the freshest and most appealing young root-music acts that I’ve seen in my 20-plus years as a music journalist / critic."

Starting this weekend, the North Carolina-rooted trio will be joined by fellow Nonesuch artists The Low Anthem for a five-show swing through the South, with concerts in Atlanta, Nashville, Knoxville, Asheville, and Charlotte, before the Chocolate Drops play one more North Carolina show, in Raleigh, and The Low Anthem head back to Nashville to play two sets with Emmylou Harris on the Grand Ole Opry at the storied Ryman Auditorium.

The Charlotte Observer includes the Carolina Chocolate Drops' Nonesuch debut album, Genuine Negro Jig, in its 2010 Holiday Gift Guide. The band's forthcoming follow-up EP, a collaboration with the New York-based gypsy punk band Luminescent Orchestrii, due out in January, is available for pre-order on vinyl and CD in the Nonesuch Store. A few signed copies of the vinyl EP are still available; all pre-orders include an instant download of the opening track, "Short Dress Gal." To pick up a copy of either of these recordings, now 33% off as part of the Nonesuch Store third-anniversary sale, click here.

For more information on the Carolina Chocolate Drops' tour, visit nonesuch.com/on-tour.