The 12-member International Care Ministries children’s’ choir will perform in the Valley next week as part of their current North American visit. International Care Ministries is a partner of Feed My Starving Children, which has a packing site in Tempe.

Bring your lawn chairs or picnic blankets to Freestone Park for an evening of complimentary music from popular Valley blues band Cold Shott and the Hurricane Horns. Food and beverages are available for purchase. Alcohol and glass containers are prohibited.

Jan Jeffcoat will host “A Night of Miracles” 7 p.m. May 4 at Phoenix's Comerica Theatre to benefit The Breast Cancer Society of Mesa.

New York • When he first started working with Imagine Dragons, music producer Alex da Kid was looking for some inspiration for the Broadway musical, “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark.”

LOS ANGELES — Lily Tomlin's admiration for elephants began when she met Ruby and Billy.

Zaharis Elementary's Lemonade Club presented $414 to Academy Award winner, author and musician Jeff Bridges, international spokesperson for Share Our Strength: No Kid Hungry, last week. Principal Mike Oliver shared this story:

Zaharis Elementary's Lemonade Club presented $414 to Academy Award winner, author and musician Jeff Bridges, international spokesperson for Share Our Strength: No Kid Hungry, last week. Principal Mike Oliver shared this story:

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Coachella is over and Lollapalooza is sold out. Bonnaroo's nearly there, too. But eager fans need only be patient: Wait a few years and chances are you'll have a star-studded music festival of your own within driving distance.

The Phoenix Symphony gives a concert for kids, performing selections from “The Lion King,” “Carnival of the Animals,” and “Flight of the Bumble Bee,” among others. Arrive an hour early and participate in face painting, a zoo craft and the “instrument petting zoo.” Attendees are encouraged to dress up as their favorite animal or bring their favorite stuffed animal.

‘It’s been ten years, now,” the strong voice said on the phone. Mari Justin is a breast cancer survivor. She, along with hundreds of thousands of breast cancer veterans have faced the demons and now crusade alongside those who are fresh on the battlefield.

While Thursday's opening day at Country Thunder was the shortest day concert-wise, there was no disappointment in the four acts that took the stage – especially not when it came to headliner Brantley Gilbert.

The 300-plus-member Phoenix Children’s Chorus will be heard nationally with the broadcast of their appearance on National Public Radio’s “From the Top.” One of the most popular weekly music series on public radio, the show reaches more than 700,000 listeners on 250 stations across the country.

Why is the East Valley Tribune, Ahwatukee Foothills News, and our friends at AEG Live giving away free tickets to see Bon Jovi in concert?

Critics have dubbed Dwight Yoakam a music sponge for transcending the country genre and absorbing different musical styles, making his brand of hip, honky-tonk music accepted among rock audiences. His latest album -- his first original recording in seven years -- is a testament to that.

CHARLESTON, S.C. — Charleston is awash in history and Southern charm and becoming widely known as a culinary town. Each year it hosts major events ranging from the Spoleto Festival USA to the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition and the Family Circle Cup Tennis Tournament. But there are a lot of free things to do for visitors drawn to the city founded in 1670. Here are some suggestions:

Want to hear some jazz? The place to be is Gilbert’s Highland High School this weekend.

Downtown Chandler’s nice most anytime, but it’ll be a particularly good spot to while away a few hours April 5-6.

On Jan. 16, students from 14 Valley schools gathered at Gilbert’s Higley Center for the Performing Arts for the Building Bridges program to fight bullying in schools. In May of last year, Kyrene Altadeña Middle School students participated in the Bully Academy Webquest, an online course involving reading articles, watching videos about bullying and most importantly, talking about it. After all, this is about how young people learn to express their emotions. In November 2011, students from Chandler’s Tarwater Elementary School spent a day focused on kindness, respect, and friendship.

One perk of living in the East Valley is our vibrant music and art scene. We regularly enjoy national and international performers, but we are also blessed with talented local musicians and artists. You can experience that for yourself Saturday at the Mesa Arts Center, where the Symphony of the Southwest and the Youth Symphony of the Southwest perform Ravel’s famous arrangement of Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition,” along with other works by Brahms and Strauss.

The Tony and Grammy award-winning actress and singer will not perform Friday, March 29 as planned. Her performance has been rescheduled to Saturday, December 21.