Category Archives: Arts and Culture

Grammy Museum’s New Exhibit Celebrates Legendary Songwriters With Kurt Cobain’s Guitar, Prince’s Purple Rain Glasses, and More

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The Grammy Museum is opening a new permanent exhibit that puts the spotlight on the people who actually write the songs.

Tower of Song: Iconic Songwriters & Recordings opens May 28 in Los Angeles, bringing together artifacts from both the Grammy Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. It’s a partnership that makes sense, shining a light on the craft behind the hits.

The crown jewels are wild. Kurt Cobain’s Mosrite Gospel guitar that he used to write most of Nevermind. Prince’s gold-rimmed glasses from Purple Rain. Miles Davis’s red lacquer trumpet. Keith Moon’s gold Premier drum kit from Tommy. Jim Morrison’s personal notebook. Frank Sinatra’s microphones from Capitol Records sessions.

On the songwriting side, there’s Neil Diamond’s handwritten lyrics for “Song Sung Blues,” Diane Warren’s Yamaha DX 7 keyboard she used to write countless hits, and the LinnDrum and Ensoniq synthesizer Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis used to create Rhythm Nation 1814.

The exhibit includes an original film featuring Alan Menken, Carole King, Warren, and Jimmy Jam discussing their creative process. There’s also a digital interactive asking visitors to break down what makes these Hall of Fame songs actually work.

The opening night features a public program with Jimmy Jam and Warren breaking down their craft, followed by a reception.

For indie songwriters grinding it out, this is validation that the craft matters.

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Pearl Jam, Alabama Shakes, and Maná Set to Headline Ohana Festival’s 10th Anniversary

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Ohana-Festival-2026Ohana Festival is hitting a milestone, and the lineup reflects it. Pearl Jam, Eddie Vedder & Friends, Tyler Childers, and Maná will headline the three-day event at Doheny State Beach in Dana Point, California, running September 25 through 27.

The 10th anniversary edition also includes Alabama Shakes, Fontaines D.C., Billy Idol, Pixies, Rilo Kiley, Jon Batiste, Men I Trust, and Bad Religion across more than 30 acts and three stages.

Since Eddie Vedder founded the festival in 2016, Ohana has become a standout on the festival circuit, mixing world-class music with environmental activism and surf culture along the Southern California coast. Pollstar named it Music Festival of the Year four times, most recently in 2026.

The Cove, a dedicated area within the festival grounds, focuses on oceans, conservation, Indigenous voices, and community action. The Storytellers Stage hosts panels with environmentalists, activists, and pro surfers, while The Cove Gallery displays hundreds of curated art pieces tied to music and board culture. Proceeds support nonprofit partners through the Vitalogy Foundation.

Ten Club presale starts Tuesday, May 12 at 10 a.m. PT. General presale follows Thursday, May 14 at noon PT. Tickets include GA, VIP, and Ultimate VIP packages. More info at ohanafest.com.

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Film Forum Bringing 35mm “Third Man” Print to NYC, Old-School Photochemical Style

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Third-Man-2026Film Forum is screening a new 35mm print of Carol Reed’s “The Third Man” from June 12-25, and they’re doing it the analog way.

Unlike most classic film prints made today, which are digitally restored then output to film stock, this print was created photochemically in a lab from the original 35mm elements. Haghefilm and L’Immagine Ritrovata handled the work for Studiocanal, keeping the process true to the film’s origins.

The 1949 noir, starring Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, and Orson Welles as Harry Lime, was shot across five weeks of double shifts in Vienna. Cinematographer Robert Krasker won an Oscar for his shadow work, and Anton Karas’s zither theme became a worldwide phenomenon.

Welles lit his own scenes and wrote much of his dialogue, including the famous “cuckoo clock” speech. The film won the Palme d’Or at Cannes and was named one of the 10 best-shot films of cinema’s first 50 years by American Cinematographer.

This matters because photochemical preservation is increasingly rare. Most repertory houses default to digital restorations. Film Forum’s commitment to analog processes keeps the craft alive for filmmakers and audiences who care about how classics are preserved and presented.

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Drama Desk Awards Announces Nominees for 70th Anniversary Ceremony

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drama-desk-awardsThe Drama Desk Awards revealed nominations for its 70th edition, returning to The Town Hall on May 17 after the venue went dark during the 2020 shutdown.

Beau the Musical and Mexodus lead with 10 nominations each, followed by The Seat of Our Pants with nine. Death of a Salesman and Ragtime also scored big, with eight and six nods respectively.

The Drama Desks stand apart as the only major theater award honoring work across Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off Broadway. This year’s nominees span from big revivals to scrappy originals, with contenders including Preston Max Allen’s Caroline, Jordan Tannahill’s Prince Faggot, and the immersive Masquerade reimagining of Phantom of the Opera.

The ceremony will honor Tom Schumacher, former Disney Theatrical Productions president, with the Harold S. Prince Award. Richard Maltby Jr. and David Shire receive the William Wolf Award for their decades of collaboration and mentorship.

Nathan Lane, Laurie Metcalf, and John Lithgow compete for Outstanding Lead Performance in a Play, while Joshua Henry, Caissie Levy, and Brandon Uranowitz are up for Musical honors.

Tickets are available now at DramaDesks.com. For a full nominations list and the complete announcement video, visit the Drama Desk website.

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Spike Lee’s Apartheid Story “Apart” Heads to Tribeca

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apartSpike Lee co-wrote an animated short about friendship under apartheid, and it’s making its world premiere at Tribeca Festival next month.

“Apart” follows two boys, Themba and Joel, whose bond is tested by the violence and racism of apartheid-era South Africa. The film was directed by Pola Maneli, a South African artist whose work has appeared on the cover of The New Yorker and hangs in the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Grammy-winning South African musician Black Coffee supervised the music, while fashion designer Laduma Ngxokolo designed isiXhosa-inspired wardrobe for the characters.

The 15-minute short blends traditional 2D animation, cutout, 3D, and 2.5D techniques. Over 600 days, a crew of 266 people produced 18,000 frames using 14 different software tools. The animation style nods to woodcut prints, the DIY art form used to spread anti-apartheid messages and evade censorship.

The entire film was made by human artists, no AI involved.

“Apart” screens twice at Tribeca as part of the Animated Shorts program curated by Whoopi Goldberg: June 6 at Spring Studios and June 13 at AMC 19th Street East.

For indie creators, it’s a reminder that handmade animation still matters, especially when telling stories rooted in history and cultural resistance.

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Lorenzo de Felici’s RED ROOTS Gets the Robert Kirkman Stamp of Approval, Plus Variant Covers That’ll Make You Drool

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red-rootsRobert Kirkman doesn’t throw praise around lightly, but he’s calling *Red Roots* “the comic series you’ve been waiting your whole life for.” That’s a hell of an endorsement.

Lorenzo de Felici, the artist behind *Oblivion Song* and *Void Rivals*,is stepping up as both writer and artist for this new ongoing series from Image Comics. And if you know de Felici’s work, you know this is going to be something special.

The premise? A professional killer and a high school teacher whose lives get tangled up in some terrifying, mysterious force. Yeah, we’re already in.

But let’s talk variants for a second. *Red Roots* #1 is launching with an absolutely stacked lineup of covers. Ryan Ottley (*Invincible*). Mike Mignola (*Hellboy*). Luana Vecchio (*Lovesick*). Riley Rossmo (*The Moon is Following Us*). Jason Howard (*The Astounding Wolf-Man*). This is basically a who’s who of badass comic artists.

De Felici made waves when *Void Rivals* became one of the biggest launches of 2024, it’s on its 12th reprint and still selling like crazy. His creative partnership with Kirkman on that book and *Oblivion Song* proved he’s got the chops. Now he’s going solo, and the hype is real.

*Red Roots* #1 drops April 29 at your local comic shop. Nine different covers to choose from, including a 1:25 black-and-white virgin cover by de Felici and a 1:50 B&W Mignola variant. Yeah, you’re gonna want to talk to your shop about this one early.

This is what indie comics should be — bold swings from creators who’ve earned their stripes. De Felici’s got the talent and the momentum. Now we get to see what he can do when he’s calling all the shots.

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Art House Cinema Week Kicks Off Across New York City

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made-in-nyNew York City is shining a spotlight on independent film as the first-ever Art House Cinema Week New York begins today, running March 20–26.

The citywide initiative, backed by the NYC Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment and Art House New York, brings together nearly 30 independent theaters for a week of special programming, discounted tickets, and community-focused screenings.

The event also includes 5,000 free tickets funded by the city, aimed at making art house cinema more accessible. Additional perks include discounted memberships and concessions, with select groups—such as students, teachers, veterans, and SNAP/EBT cardholders—eligible for free admission at participating locations.

Designed to encourage audiences to reconnect with local theaters, the week highlights the role of independent cinemas as cultural and community hubs across the city.

More details and full programming are available at arthouseny.org.

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VR Documentary Lacuna to Make International Premiere at SXSW

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The VR documentary Lacuna will make its international premiere at SXSW as part of the festival’s XR Spotlight section.

Directed by Maartje Wegdam and Nienke Huitenga Broeren and produced by Corine Meijers, the immersive project invites viewers into the fragmented memories of Sonja, as she reflects on a moment of loss during the Second World War. The experience combines conversations with Sonja, animation, 3D modeling, and personal footage to explore how memory—and the absence of it—can shape identity.

Lacuna previously world premiered at the Cannes Film Festival’s Cannes Immersive program and is designed as both a remembrance project and a broader reflection on how people reconstruct the past through imagination.

The VR experience will be available during SXSW’s XR Spotlight Experiences, running daily from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Fairmont Hotel in Austin through March 17.

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Film Forum to Present Ernst Lubitsch Retrospective The Lubitsch Touch in April

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Film Forum

Film Forum will celebrate legendary filmmaker Ernst Lubitsch with a special 13-film retrospective titled The Lubitsch Touch, beginning Tuesday, April 7 in New York.

The series will feature weekly screenings of some of Lubitsch’s most influential films, including Ninotchka, The Shop Around the Corner, Trouble in Paradise, Heaven Can Wait, Design for Living, Cluny Brown, and To Be or Not to Be, among others.

Known for his sophisticated humor and subtle visual storytelling, Lubitsch helped shape the modern romantic comedy and movie musical after moving from Germany to Hollywood in the early 20th century. His distinctive style became widely known as “The Lubitsch Touch.”

The series will run Tuesday evenings with select additional screenings, highlighting Lubitsch’s enduring influence on classic Hollywood cinema.

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Berlin Silver Bear Winner Living the Land Opens at Film Forum April 3

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living-the-landThe Berlin International Film Festival award-winning drama Living the Land will have its U.S. theatrical premiere at Film Forum on April 3.

Directed by Huo Meng, the film earned the Silver Bear for Best Director at the 2025 Berlin International Film Festival and marks the filmmaker’s second feature. The coming-of-age story unfolds in rural China during the early 1990s, a period of rapid industrial change.

The film follows Chuang, a sensitive 10-year-old boy whose parents leave their wheat-farming village to seek work in the city. Left in the care of his extended family, Chuang witnesses the rhythms of rural life through the guidance of his outspoken great-grandmother and independent-minded aunt.

Told from the child’s perspective, Living the Land captures a community at the edge of transformation as traditional village life begins to disappear.

Following its Berlin premiere, the film has also screened at international festivals including Vancouver, Valladolid, and the International Film Festival of India. The film is distributed in the United States by Film Movement.

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