Descended from one of West Africa's renowned griot families, Sona Jobarteh was the first female professional kora master, after centuries of all-male tradition. Now, she is fighting to reform education in Gambia.

"We’re also looking back on what became a turning point in how the outside world perceived Cuban music — and, also, how other cultures decided to treat the music of their own elder generations," writes @JonPareles .

"In total, with opening acts, we’re about 85 people traveling together, and we’re having to interact with local workers daily in different cities every day. The goal is to not get anybody sick, because then it’s just a domino effect."

“I remember I hit the timbale one time and it was like love at first sight,” he said. “I felt something I have never felt before. All my skin felt it. I shook.”

The film’s enduring hook is the spectacle of a self-proclaimed revolutionary government that can’t abide the rebellion of rock without bureaucratic oversight.

Always astute observers of the depersonalization of modern life, Parquet Courts on “Sympathy” raises an eyebrow at such ubiquitous conveniences as one-touch food delivery apps and household appliances that speak soothingly, “like a mother’s voice.”

“At my age of 95, making the trip will be too difficult for me,” he wrote of this year's festival. “I am heartbroken to miss seeing all my friends.” But, he added, with a new team in place to run both events, “I can see that my legacy is in good hands.”

This meta exercise, starring and written by St. Vincent and Carrie Brownstein, proves its point by not having a point.

Is the age of Drake nearing its conclusion? He has been the most influential pop star — in any genre — of the past decade, but his ideas have been widely disseminated and copied.

JoJo Siwa emerged as a star on "Dance Moms." She has headlined an arena tour, and her song “Boomerang” is approaching 1 billion views on YouTube. Now she's about to return to dance reality TV — as a budding queer idol.