In a first, Jason Mraz to play outdoor show in Myanmar

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Jason Mraz will make history next month when he performs in Myanmar to raise awareness about human trafficking. Mraz will headline a free outdoor concert on Dec. 16 at People’s Square in Yangon, at the base of Shwedagon Pagoda. The Grammy-winning …

Justin Bieber defies the haters to win big at American Music Awards

“I feel like I’m going to be here for a very long time,” the pop/rock male artist winner says at the American Music Awards, where Nicki Minaj and Taylor Swift also grab trophies.

Reissues put the Beatles back on vinyl

For Mike Mettler, the editor-in-chief of Sound + Vision magazine, music enthusiast and passionate devotee of vinyl records, last week’s release of the Beatles’ original studio album remasters on stereo LP represented “The Holy Vinyl Grail, Part I.” “It’s the world’s greatest band in the …

Philly rapper Asher Roth loves the sounds of Chicago

Since vaulting to fame on the strength his 2009 hit single “I Love College,” Philadelphia artist Asher Roth finally feels as if he has found his place in the hip-hop world. Explaining the environment as “similar to high school,” Roth, who performs Monday at Reggie’s …

CSO’s all-Russian program short on interpretative fire

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s all-Russian program, heard Wednesday night at Symphony Center, received middle-of-the-road interpretations from regular guest conductor Charles Dutoit, neither pushing the program’s showstopper quality nor offering the sort of rigorous examination that can reanimate staples.

A former Chess Records hitmaker finds her voice as a S. Side preacher

Back in the ’60s, Mitty Collier was part of the Chess Records stable. But after a crisis, she stopped singing secular music and turned her life over to Christ in 1972. Now 71, he recounts her spiritual journey in a play Saturday.

Speaking With... Peter Tork of The Monkees 11.16.12

How many bands out there can lay claim to a signature walk? The Monkees sure can. Their arms-over-shoulders, foot-crossover-step walk became their calling card. And then there was all that music that touched a chord with a generation of teens and young adults already rocked …

Club Hopping 11.16.12

‘CNTRL: BEYOND EDM’

Electronic dance music has become popular enough to boast its own acronym, so now some of its icons are taking to the road not only to perform but to educate and inspire. Canada’s Richie Hawtin and Germany’s Loco Dice and a revolving …

Shane Harper gets to live out his Disney dream

Shane Harper’s Disney dream has come true.

The star says he feels as if he is sitting on top of the world. Between acting and singing gigs, the 19-year-old performer relishes his current career opportunities and his cute blonde girlfriend. . . . And on …

Madonna goes ‘Gangnam Style’ with PSY in concert

NEW YORK — Madonna has gone “Gangnam Style.” Korean pop star PSY joined the pop icon Tuesday night during her second show this week at Madison Square Garden. They danced to his pop culture anthem “Gangnam Style” and to her jam “Music” in front of …

A century later, ‘The Rite of Spring’ remains revolutionary

Visceral, jarring and raw, “The Rite of Spring” sounded like nothing anyone had heard before its near-riotous debut almost a century ago. The classical music world is celebrating the centennial of Stravinsky’s revolutionary work throughout the 2012-13 season, with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra showcasing it in five concerts starting Wednesday.

Bob Dylan at the United Center: A river runs through it

The legend’s recital in Americana floats on sounds from the mighty Mississippi.

Dutoit offers clarity to children’s classic, Beethoven stalwart

The itinerant and highly experienced Swiss conductor Charles Dutoit is a guest both regular and welcome at Chicago Symphony Orchestra concerts.

Wilson Phillips rides the crest of a career resurgence

If ever there was a personality that could quite literally jump through the phone lines, it belongs to one-third of pop trio Wilson Phillips — Carnie Wilson. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to be unloading groceries while we talk,” she explains, ending the sentence …

Speaking With .... Nathan Pacheco 11.09.12

Classical/pop crossover has a new standard bearer. Alongside the likes of Josh Groban, Andrea Bocelli, Katherine Jenkins, Il Volo and Sarah Brightman, you can now count Nathan Pacheco among the stars of the increasingly popular music genre.

Pacheco — who’s on his first headlining tour …