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, the silken-voiced host of TV's "Soul Train," created.

On the Beat:  Whatever her drama-queen tendencies, Kelly Clarkson can really, really sing, even if it's often hard to tell just how good she is when she has to fight to be heard.

For most of the band's existence, Green Day came across as a gang of lovable goofballs - as easy to like as they were hard to take seriously. But that changed with Green Day's 2004 magnum opus, "American Idiot," an honest-to-God rock opera that has made the transition to theatrical production. It opens Tuesday in Raleigh.

What you hear in Jay-Z's voice on the new song, "Glory," isn't bravado, or arrogance, or even the unchained joy of a new father wanting to pass out cigars to everyone in the room. It sounds more like relief, an earned exhale.

A fixture of the Triangle's acoustic music scene, Danny Gotham is a respected music teacher, performer and recording artist.

Having emerged into the top echelon of violinists, James Ehnes is now recording the most basic standard repertoire, always with distinction, though not necessarily trumping the best among the acres of past recordings.

Most mainstream jazz these days remains rooted in the 1960s, a time noted for hard bop, pentatonic scales, modal harmonies, increasing use of African and South American influences and the introduction of jazz-rock and electronic keyboards.

Usually, when one thinks of African-American scholars, the thought gravitates toward stately, seasoned gentlemen like Cornel West, Henry Louis Gates or Stanley Crouch - you know, old guys.

When Kathleen Edwards first emerged a decade ago, it was hard to imagine she'd ever escape Lucinda Williams' shadow.

The N.C. Symphony pays tribute to the tango in its programs tonight and Saturday in Raleigh's Meymandi Concert Hall.

From his college days as Lyle Lovett's roommate at Texas A&M, through his solo career, Robert Earl Keen has made music as poetic and penetrating as the songs of such fellow Texas songwriters as Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark.

We don't have dates yet, we do have acts for the big 2012 arena-country shows at Raleigh's Time Warner Warner Cable Music Pavilion at Walnut Creek. And let's just say this year's schedule is mighty heavy on The Usual Suspects (and is actually most notable for who isn't on it, at least not yet):