Entertainment

Need a good laugh? We look at the expanding and serious business of comedy, and how the Queen City is getting in on a booming industry.

The Lovin’ Life Music Festival has announced its headliners for next year’s multiday music festival in uptown Charlotte.

The annual arts and culture festival returns to uptown Charlotte March 31-April 16. New installations this year include a dozen inflatable gnomes, a giant sea monster made of wooden chairs, an alley transformed by local art and more.

This year's parade, by the numbers, included 16 giant balloons, 28 floats, 40 novelty and heritage inflatables, 12 marching bands, 10 performance groups, 700 clowns and one Santa Claus.

Actors Eva Longoria, America Ferrera, Rosie Perez, Rosario Dawson, Zoe Saldana and Gina Rodriguez are also directors, producers and activists.

Rosetta Tharpe was a huge star in her era and set the template for rock and roll. So why was she absent from popular consciousness after her death — and why did it take decades to revive her legacy?

Farah Jasmine Griffin's 2001 book on Billie Holiday posed a challenge to biographers and our understanding of Holiday. Here, she reflects on her changing connection to Lady Day since its release.

Everyone in Lulu Wang's family knew her grandmother was dying — except her grandmother. Her new film about that episode stars Awkwafina in a surprisingly funny feature about terminal cancer.

The 50th anniversary Jazz Fest: The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival box set, out now, focuses on jazz legends and rising stars from the region.

Thanks to a sure(ish) grip on Marvel's mutants-as-metaphor approach to storytelling, the film brings a classic comics storyline to life. Sure, it's melodramatic — but that's the X-Men for you.