The Essence Festival of Culture has ended in New Orleans with performances by Janet Jackson and a special tribute to Frankie Beverly & Maze.

President Joe Biden has celebrated the Juneteenth holiday early with a concert on the White House South Lawn.

Associated Press entertainment reporter Marcela Isaza poses backstage at the 63rd Grammy Awards at the Los Angeles Convention Center, Thursday, March 11, 2021. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)LOS ANGELES – I have covered the Grammy Awards for the Associated Press for 15 years. Built around performances, full of singing and shouting, and with the biggest crowd of any awards show, the Grammys seem uniquely wrong for a world still in the coronavirus pandemic. The AP workspace is set off with high, thick black curtains, and they are constantly replenishing us with masks and hand sanitizer. AdOutside the sprawling building, carpenters and technicians have been building the stages that will be a hub for Sunday’s awards.