Throwing Muses frontwoman Kristin Hersh: ‘I was compelled to make music after cracking my skull open’

The alt-rock veteran answers your questions on Buddhist time travel techniques, duetting with Michael Stipe, and her autobiographical new album

Arlene Smith obituary

Singer with one of the first ‘girl groups’, the Chantels, whose 1950s hit Maybe sold more than a million copies

Feisty, funny and for real – how new opera the Galloping Cure puts drama at its heart

Missy Mazzoli’s bold new work is about the opioid crisis. The director of its world premiere staging tells of bringing it to life, from tragic arias to blood rehearsals – and a flock of singing sheep

Ravyn Lenae: Blue Island review – from Suicide to Squarepusher, grunge to Janet, a pop one-off plots her unique path

Evoking everyone from Janet Jackson to Squarepusher, the US singer follows up her huge hit Love Me Not with stylistic diversity – and lyrics that defy her doubters

Blue Note to bring world-famous jazz club to London

Grammy-winning pianist Robert Glasper will headline opening of club’s first UK venue in Covent Garden next month

Demise of the monoculture: why so many have never heard UK’s record-breaking No 1 single

Sam Fender and Olivia Dean’s Rein Me In is longest-running No 1 single in UK chart history, and yet it seems to have passed many people by

‘If you yell at everything, no one’s gonna listen’: Kelly-Dawn Hellmrich on the Australian musicians rewriting the rules

In a new book ‘for every artist who felt pushed away, or talked over’, the Camp Cope bassist has interviewed the likes of Amy Taylor, Marcia Hines and Courtney Barnett about motherhood, abuse and respect

Should a tech tycoon be able to pay his way into conducting a world-class orchestra? And should they really sell tickets?

Elon Musk may be able to buy a trip to Mars, but when the super wealthy pay to be conductors – as Canadian tech entrepreneur Mandle Cheung is doing – it makes a mockery of a meritocracy in classical music

I’m Every Woman: The Chaka Khan Musical review – Queen of Funk’s jukebox epic lacks the X factor

Alexandra Burke is valiant in the leading role but the superstar’s story is squandered in this sprawling and uneven show

‘Like Backstreet Boys, but less sultry’: how the Jonas Brothers notched up 20 years of pop stardom against the odds

Unlike their Disney peers, the toothsome trio didn’t pivot to being sexy – and they’re now at their stadium-filling peak. Fans and collaborators explain their unique, cheesy appeal

Phoebe Bridgers: Lost Weekend review – long-awaited return is a thrilling, daring study in dislocation

After sweeping the Grammys and being scrutinised by the press, Bridgers deploys electronics and unsettling sound design to brilliantly evoke emotional turmoil

‘This isn’t some vendetta’ – Tulisa Contostavlos on taking on the tabloids, sex tapes and shame

The N-Dubz and X Factor star’s career went into freefall after an elaborate sting by the Sun on Sunday, and she’s still campaigning for tougher press regulation. But will it work?

‘I put a raging dent in Neil Young’s forehead!’ Tim Pope on his riotous videos for the Cure, Bowie, Queen, Soft Cell and more

He dressed Freddie Mercury as a prawn, got Paul Weller to wear lipstick, locked the Cure in a flooded wardrobe and created a 75ft penis for Hall & Oates. Pope looks back on is wild adventures with titans of music

The Guardian view on 80 years of public funding for the arts: more vital than ever

Editorial: Arts Council England has been much criticised in recent years. A new chair offers hope for a weary cultural sector

Liberated from its ludicrous libretto: how the magnificence of Oberon can be properly heard at last

Full of panache and originality, Weber’s grand opera is the work of a composer at the height of his powers – but its plot is a load of nonsense. The conductor of its Proms premiere celebrates its brilliance