The legendary Chaka Khan kicks off the Festival this summer when she returns for a special night of music at the Kool Haus on Thursday, June 19 - 8pm.

Life+Times caught up with Trombone Shorty to talk about his new album, Say That To Say This,and the influence of hip-hop on his music.

A heartfelt & moving story of how instruments made from recycled trash bring hope to children whose future is otherwise spiritless.

Grammy-winning banjo legend Bela Fleck tours the country playing acoustic banjo. But he uses technology to write music and edit recordings, as we discovered when we met him recently on a tour stop.

From Life+Times:

Strictly using the Internet to keep up with Roy Hargrove is a difficult task. He’s not on Twitter, not very active on Facebook and no longer has his own website. He also hasn’t put out any studio albums since 2009. He’s a bit of an enigma online. Don’t be fooled however, Hargrove is still going quite strong, especially considering the struggle that exists for many.

Now Magazine recently came out with their Year in Review issue and guess who made the Top 10 Concerts?

From NPR Music:

Had you been watching The Tonight Show with Jay Leno one Monday night last March, you might have seen pianist Robert Glasper leading his Experiment band from the NBC studios in Burbank, Calif. Had you preferred the Late Show with David Letterman, you might have seen bassist and singer Esperanza Spalding front a horn-heavy ensemble at the Ed Sullivan Theater in midtown Manhattan.

If you've ever been to Toronto, then you know there isn't one thing that really defines us. Instead, there are various factors at play that make this one of the best cities to live in and visit!

For list lovers, December is one of the greatest times of the year, not for the holiday season but because everyone has a year-end best-of list!