Around the Nation

Here are some of this week’s arts and culture stories from public broadcasters around the nation.

Charles Bradley is best known for his performances as a James Brown impersonator, but he’s also an artist in his own right. Now, “Black Velvet,” as he is known, has released his first album, which WNET features on “Soundcheck.”

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Before becoming a photojournalist and a painter, respectively, KC Ortiz and Jordan Nickel thrived making illegal art on Chicago’s streets. Chicago News Cooperative features their work.

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Last Thursday, Sundance announced the lineup for its January festival in Park City, Utah. KPBS looks at two films with San Diego connections that made the cut: “That’s What She Said” and “I’m Not A Hipster.”

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OPB features hip-hop artist MOsley WOtta, a play on words meant to remind us that we’re all “mostly water.”

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The Boston-based rock-folk band Kingsley Flood performs on WBUR. Lead singer Naseem Khurisay says its latest EP, “Colder Still,” examines the quintessentially American pursuit of happiness, which he thinks is more about choices than material success.

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WHYY Friday Arts takes a look at the art of candy with a profile of the country’s oldest continually operated confectionary manufacturer, owned by the Berley Brothers in Philadelphia.

Watch Friday Arts for December 2011 on PBS. See more from FRIDAY ARTS.