Urban AZ’s first Spoken Word Showcase brings together a range of poetic performers, along with R&B artists Dwele and Bilal with a band, at 8:30 p.m. Saturday, May 18 at Celebrity Theatre in Phoenix.

The 2013 legislative session began with a unanimous vote in the House and the Senate to appropriate emergency funding for additional Child Protective Services staff. With that vote, lawmakers affirmed child safety as a top priority.

The Norwegian directing team of Joachim Roenning and Espen Sandberg, whose biopic of World War II resistance fighter Max Manus was a huge hit on home turf, have turned to another native hero for "Kon-Tiki." One of the most-vaunted escapades of the 20th century, Thor Heyerdahl's 1947 Peru-to-Polynesia expedition by raft gets glossy big-screen treatment in this efficiently told action-adventure. Delivering visual drama and understated character study, sometimes in disappointingly formulaic fashion, the feature has its incisive moments but falls short as both epic and intimate portrait.

My Mom & Dad were born in 1921, married in 1943. They grew up during the Great Depression and lived through WWII. Tonight on PBS I watched “Celebration: Stephanie Blythe Meets Kate Smith” where an opera singer sang songs made famous by Kate Smith during the 30s-40s and WWII era. I only vaguely remember Kate Smith, but apparently she was more successful than about any other star of the time, and I remember my Mom loved Kate Smith. One of her iconic songs was:

Fittingly for a guy who’s about to become “big time,” Dion Jordan’s life has been hectic.

Arizonans who have to seek protection from creditors in bankruptcy court soon will be able to hang on to more of what they own.

 

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.

She may have grown up in Michigan, but Jana Kramer is country at heart. The former “One Tree Hill” actress entered into the music scene in 2012 with the release of her self-titled debut album. She has since been enjoying success in the genre — gearing up for a tour with Blake Shelton, planning her wedding with fellow country music star Brantley Gilbert, and heading to Arizona for a performance at Country Thunder, the annual music festival in Florence. In between it all, she chatted briefly with the Tribune about her career and what fans will experience this weekend at her show.

SALT LAKE CITY — For the first time in the event's 183-year history, a woman led a prayer Saturday at the semiannual gathering of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

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.

Arizona grocery magnate, education advocate, philanthropist, and one-time gubernatorial candidate Eddie Basha, Jr., passed away Tuesday afternoon.

If you've been following the news, you might have seen this story out of the UK. A boy rang up a $2,500 bill with in app purchases. http://mashable.com/2013/03/04/kid-app-store/ Here's how his parents could have avoided that.**OUR WEBSITE:http://www.datadoctors.comFOLLOW US:http://facebook.com/datadoctorshttp://youtube.com/datadoctorshttp://pinterest.com/datadoctorshttp://twitter.com/thedatadocOUR RADIO PROGRAM:http://www.datadoctors.com/radio**

For all the flak that our state’s education system has taken over the years (I’ve dealt some of it), we proudly lead the nation in an important segment: career and technical education.

They brought folk back to mainstream radio long before The Lumineers and Of Monsters And Men hit it big, with blissful, down-home tunes popping up in jaunty car commercials and adorable father-daughter YouTube covers. This weekend, you can find the 10-piece Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros at the McDowell Mountain Music Festival in Phoenix, where they’ll be rubbing shoulders with the likes of The Shins, Dr. Dog and The Roots.

LOS ANGELES -- I’m here in a nice getaway from too-early 90-degree temperatures back in the East Valley this weekend. Low 80s here.

It’s no surprise that Chelsea Bain has been attending NASCAR races since she was 5 years old. Her dad, Emmett “Buddy” Jobe, brought NASCAR to Phoenix International Raceway in 1987. Now, Bain is more involved in NASCAR than she ever has been, but not as a spectator — as a rockin’ country musician.

Mesa’s Cemetery sits on about 50 acres of land near the north western part of the city.

As if a festival celebrating beer and barbeque couldn’t get any better, it just did: Rock bands Smash Mouth and Hoobastank will headline The Great American Barbeque & Beer Festival on March 23.