Music

Brandy Clark is playing for keeps this time

Brittney McKenna

Produced by Brandi Carlile, the eponymous 11-song collection offers snapshots of Brandy Clark the person, not Brandy Clark the pen-for-hire.
Arts & Culture

Sara Bareilles thought 'Into the Woods' would last 2 weeks — she ended up on Broadway

Ann Marie Baldonado

What started as a stripped-down production with a limited run became a Grammy award-winning Broadway musical with six Tony nominations. Bareilles plays the Baker's Wife: "I'm so glad that I said yes."
At 25, Pernice Brothers' debut throws even brighter sparks — and darker shadows

Lars Gotrich

Threadbare demos on a new reissue of 1998's Overcome by Happiness illuminate Joe Pernice's songwriting paradox: Brill Building pop woven from homespun scruff, sarcastic but always sure-footed.
Local

San Diego Blues Festival will not return in 2023, Food Bank leaders say

City News Service

The San Diego Blues Festival will not return to the Embarcadero this year, ending 12 years of the family-friendly event benefiting the Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank and its North County Food Bank chapter.
It's time to get on the billy woods bandwagon

Sheldon Pearce

A longtime hero of the underground rap scene for his worldly, wily lyrics that are erudite and streetwise, billy woods has made his clearest, most engaging album yet with Maps.
When we grow up alongside our stars

Aisha Harris

When stars hit it big just as a generation comes of age, it can create a unique, lifelong bond with their fans. Think: Frank Sinatra, the Beatles, and of course, Beyoncé. It goes way beyond nostalgia.
Karol G: Tiny Desk Concert

Anamaria Artemisa Sayre

The Colombian singer and global superstar shines brighter than ever in this surprising Tiny Desk performance from last May.
Health

The story behind a lesser known track from hip-hop history: 'Stroke Ain't No Joke'

Ari Daniel

For decades, the genre has had a stealth mission: promoting public health. It started with Doug E. Fresh's "Stroke Ain't No Joke."
Loreen of Sweden wins the Eurovision Song Contest

Emma Bowman

The Swedish singer belted her way to her second Eurovision win with the pop ballad "Tattoo."
National

The blues returns to Mississippi's Parchman Prison Farm

John Burnett

Mississippi's Parchman Farm was once one of the country's most notorious prisons. The University of Mississippi has introduced college-level classes to offer inmates education - including the blues.