Production boasts brilliant performances, stirring orchestra, assured direction and opulent sets.

A high-spirited, sell-out crowd of 25,000 filled C.B. Smith Park for the 27th annual Kiss Country Chili Cook-off.

The New World Symphony’s audience — formally dressed inside and wearing T-shirts and shorts outside for the Wallcast — enjoyed a first-class evening of music at the Dance of Devotion program Saturday night. Mark Wigglesworth displayed prodigious musicality as the English conductor led the orchestra through Michael Tippett’s demanding <span class="italic">Ritual Dances</span> and Maurice Ravel’s epic ballet <span class="italic">Daphnis et Chloë.</span>

Etta James was remembered at a service Saturday attended by hundreds of friends, family and fans as a woman who triumphed against all odds to break down cultural and musical barriers in a style that was unfailingly honest.

&bull;&nbsp;  <span class="bold">COUNTRY</span>

New World’s Pulse and other experiments aim to infuse classical music’s aging audience with fresh blood

New Year’s Eve was a disaster for dozens of would-be revelers turned away from posh South Florida nightclubs, despite paying top dollar for tickets that were supposed to ensure entry.

The Rolling Stones might happily have accepted the tag “The World’s Greatest Rock and Roll Band,” but half a decade before the Stones’ founding in Britain, the fab foursome of the ’50s — Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins — gathered inside Sun Records’ Memphis recording studio for a jam session to stake an early claim on the title.

There was a time when members of the Red Hot Chili Peppers greeted any mention of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with laughter, derision or both. The upstart L.A. punk-funk-rock band wasn’t much of a favorite of the music critics and other tastemakers who make up the hall’s nominating committee.

Bruce Springsteen guitarist Steve Van Zandt says touring without saxophonist Clarence Clemons is sure to be emotional for the E Street Band and its audience.

Rapper Ja Rule has been getting advice behind bars from two once high-powered men: ex-New York State Comptroller Alan Hevesi and ex-Tyco International CEO Dennis Kozlowski.

When this proud city welcomed back hometown hero Don Cornelius last year, it wasn't just Chicago-style - it was "Soul Train" style, complete with Afro wigs, bell bottoms and hip-shaking in the streets.

Rapper K'Naan is upset that Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney used his song "Wavin' Flag" during his Florida primary victory speech.

In an era when Beyonce and Jay-Z are music royalty, when Barack Obama is the nation's chief executive, and when black stars in the cast of a TV show are commonplace, it may be hard to grasp the magnitude of what Don Cornelius created once he got his "Soul Train" rolling.

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band will perform at Harlem's historic Apollo Theater next month.

The coroner who oversaw the inquest into the death of singer Amy Winehouse has resigned after her qualifications were questioned, her boss said Wednesday - raising the possibility the investigation may have to be held again.