The Carolina Chocolate Drops made their memorable debut on NPR's Fresh Air earlier this week, speaking with host Terry Gross about their musical roots and performing songs off their recently released Nonesuch debut, Genuine Negro Jig. You can listen to the interview online and hear them perform four album tracks—"Your Baby Ain't Sweet Like Mine," "Trouble in Your Mind," "Hit 'Em Up Style," and "Kissin' and Cussin'"—at npr.org.

Also from NPR, Soundcheck, from New York City's public radio station WNYC, has named Genuine Negro Jig among its CD Picks of the Week. "Forget Americana as you know it," says Soundcheck's Gisele Regatao. "The Carolina Chocolate Drops is a group of three young, African-American musicians who make old-time music into something of their own." Read more at wnyc.org.

The band's US tour has made its way to Minnesota this week. Following last night's show at The Broadway Theatre in Wabash, the trio gives a special free performance at the Public Library in Preston this evening and a ticketed show at the Mayo Civic Center's Presentation Hall in Rochester on Saturday. For more tour information, visit nonesuch.com/on-tour.

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Last Saturday, the Carolina Chocolate Drops performed at Schuba's in Chicago, where, says Huffington Post reviewer Jeff Pinzino, they proved to be "old-fashioned entertainers, bent on sharing how much fun this music can be ... The Chocolate Drops know how to put on a show."

They did so before a Chicago audience that was "beyond enthusiastic," creating a shared experience that "wrapped you in the sheer joy of this music played out loud. The Chocolate Drops are a clear reminder of why string bands were popular."

Read the concert review at huffingtonpost.com.

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There's equally positive word coming from Canada, where the Winnipeg Free Press gives Genuine Negro Jig four stars. "To be the best, it helps to learn from the best," says reviewer Rob Williams, "and it's clear the lessons taught to the string band Carolina Chocolate Drops by 90-year-old legend Joe Thomson have been well absorbed."

Williams cites the "definite feel-good vibe, especially on high-energy, kick-your-heels-in-the-air numbers" and, perhaps echoing what some of the Midwesterners who have come out to see the band's live sets through the American Midwest, concludes: "The Appalachian region of North Carolina might as well be on another planet in the middle of a Winnipeg winter, but it feels a little closer listening to Genuine Negro Jig."

Read the complete album review at winnipegfreepress.com.

To order Genuine Negro Jig with seven exclusive live bonus tracks, visit the Nonesuch Store.