With all of the excitement surrounding Nowhere Else Fest, let’s not forget that Allen Toussaint’s final album of recordings American Tunes will be released on June 10.  You can listen to the whole thing over at NPR Music.

I had the chance to hear it in its entirety over the weekend, and I can tell you it is a worthy successor to The Bright Mississippi but also very much its own thing.  Toussaint’s death was a shock to all, but it is substantial comfort to hear the master one last time.