There's something powerful that happens when students step onto a stage and the entire community shows up for them. Events like this bring families, staff, and students together in a way that builds pride, connection, and a real sense of belonging.
I have been working 24-hour shifts for 16 years, and it has ruined my health. There is no such thing as a 24-hour workday anywhere in the world, and it must stop immediately.
Billed as 'the world's biggest, most comprehensive festival celebrating women, girls and non-binary people', Women of the World festival, or WOW for short, has announced its return to the Southbank Centre next year. WOW is the brainchild of theatre director Jude Kelly CBE, who launched the festival in 2010 when she was artistic director at the Southbank Centre.
Covering Climate Now was formed in 2019 in response to the climate silence that then prevailed in much of the press, especially in the United States. Over the years that followed, hundreds of newsrooms joined our effort, and press coverage of the story began to reflect the scale of the crisis. Newsrooms beefed up their climate reporting teams; they confronted misinformation that sought to play down the problem; they thought creatively about how to find the climate connection on every beat.
NYC Pride, which organizes the main Pride March in New York City on the final Sunday in June, unveiled its 2026 theme, For All of Us, which is inspired by a quote attributed to the late Marsha P. Johnson. This year's theme aims to pay tribute to LGBTQ trailblazers like Johnson while also emphasizing the need to support marginalized members of the community, according to NYC Pride.
Artists accepting awards at this year's Grammys ceremony have used their time on the podium to denounce the United States government's crackdown on immigrants. Artists, including Bad Bunny and Billie Eilish, wore badges reading ICE OUT and used their acceptance speeches at Sunday's ceremony to express their outrage over the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids that have provoked furious protests and resulted in several deaths on the streets and among those in detention.
Presented with improbable dignity in a golden box is a hanging ornament in the shape of the Trevi Fountain that comes with a "complimentary papal blessing." Its roughly shaped details would be dull if the whole thing weren't drowned in glitter. Under the shop lights, this perfect miniature of late Baroque architecture explodes in shine: a beacon promising a brighter future and a better life.
From February 15 through February 21, the museum will host its annual Black Future Festival, a weeklong slate of performances, workshops, and hands-on programs designed to give children and families space to imagine the next century of Black creativity, resilience, and innovation. The festival runs during New York City public schools' midwinter recess and fills the museum's galleries with movement, sound, and art-making.
From April 10-26, the Big Umbrella Festival returns with nearly three weeks of free and pay-what-you-can performances, workshops and installations, all tailored for neurodivergent audiences. Big Umbrella, which launched in 2018, was the first large-scale performing arts festival of its kind and it's only grown more ambitious since. This year's edition spans dance, theater, comedy, music, visual art and outdoor installations, welcoming kids, adults, families and first-time arts-goers into spaces designed to be flexible, relaxed and judgment-free.
Ground Control Touring held their fourth annual Abortion Access Benefit Series on Saturday, with shows in NYC, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Austin raising funds for independent abortion clinics. The NYC edition, which happened at Bowery Ballroom, featured performances from Been Stellar, Golden Apples, Holidays in United States, Joyer, Sharp Pins, Victoryland, and Widowspeak, and DJ sets from Maurice, Icky!/Shower Curtain, Lip Critic, and Mgna Crrrta, with Sienna Hubert-Ross hosting, and you can see pictures from the night by Emilio Herce below.
The 68th Grammy Awards aren't just a night of music industry awards, but a rock star celebration of music itself. There was a slew of showstopping performances at this year's awards ceremony, hosted at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, one of which featured all seven nominees for the best new artist category inlcuding Olivia Dean, Lola Young, and Sombr. Other performances included the in memoriam segment of the show, which featured country superstar Reba McEntire performing at the Grammys for the first time.
In early January, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, a concert benefit for Palestine and Sudan conjured all the fury of an acoustic night at the local coffee shop. Musicians played stripped-down songs on a stage decorated with rugs, floor lamps, and couches. Members of the audience, mostly 20-somethings and teens, leaned in and filmed intimate performances by their favorite cult artists.
The televised main event begins at 8 p.m. It will air on CBS and stream on Paramount+ With Showtime. Leading this year's nominations is Kendrick Lamar, who has nine nods and will be looking to repeat in several categories, including Song of the Year and Record of the Year. Trailing the rapper are Lady Gaga, Jack Antonoff, and producer Cirkut, who have seven apiece. You can read the full nominations list here. (Pitchfork earns a commission from purchases made through affiliate links on our site.)
A MARTINEZ, HOST: As we finish this year, let's listen to some of the musicians we lost in 2025. Sam Moore was half the R&B powerhouse Sam & Dave. He sang on smashes such as "Hold On, I'm Comin'," "I Thank You" and this one. (SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SOUL MAN") SAM AND DAVE: (Singing) I'm a soul man. I'm a soul man. MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: We also lost the guitarist on that song, Steve Cropper. He defined the sound of Memphis soul with the Stax Records House Band. He appeared on hits by Otis Redding, Booker T. & The M.G.'s and Wilson Pickett.
Returning to Flushing Meadows Corona Park on June 5 through June 7, the musical event will feature headliners Lorde, Stray Kids and A$AP Rocky alongside a slew of other big-name artists, including Major Lazer, 2Hollis, Kali Uchis, Baby Keem and more. Presale tickets will go on sale this Thursday, January 8, at 10am EST. You can sign up for a presale passcode right here. Keep in mind that all ticket prices will increase at 11am on Thursday, when the public on-sale kicks off.
