As hip-hop has evolved into an established international culture and multi-billion-dollar industry far removed from its underground urban origins, some artists are bringing the genre back to its conscientious and groundbreaking roots. The Blue Scholars, a Seattle-based, Hawaiian-influenced duo, is…

The Big Surprise Tour -- a musical ode to string band fiddling, working man's music and American folk troubadours -- began earlier this month in New Hampshire and is headed down to Nashville.

It's easy to walk into any of the myriad free art museums here in Washington and find days' worth of great stuff to see. But what about the chances of you getting your artwork up in one of those museums?…