Musical instrument designers are pushing their creations in new and unexpected directions. In the process, the instruments themselves are becoming a lot more than just tools for making music.

Vancouver-based Brasstronaut’s sound has developed over the years to include six members playing instruments such as flugelhorn, lap steel and trumpets in addition to their usual line up.

The Nour Festival will be celebrating contemporary arts and culture from across the Middle East and North Africa, from 1 October. It will be a borough-wide event based in Kensington and Chelsea.

IFestival Materiais Diversos makes its first stopover in Brazil. 13 Portuguese artists and nine Brazilian artists bring body, movement, dramaturgy and music to Alcanena, Minde and Torres Novas.

Facing The Music is an exhibition focusing on the portraiture and documents of British composers. The collection shows works painted and photographed by a hoard of different artists and assistants.

To celebrate 50 years of political independence for Trinidad and Tobago, literature producer Melanie Abrahams and composer Dominique Le Gendre have teamed up to stage a free festival.

We’re in the age of the iPhone. Nearly everyone has one. how is the music industry coping with the influx of apps?

Grasscut is a Brighton-based electro-pop band. Formed by Andrew Phillips and Marcus O’Dair in 2009, the band has gone on to achieve widespread critical acclaim.

The Stone Roses’ recent homecoming gig in Manchester has been hailed as a triumph. For those of you who still want more, Dennis Morris’ photo essay on the rise of the band’s career should suffice.

Now in its third year, LCA Award and Exhibition boasts one of the largest contemporary art prize funds in the country. This year’s shortlisted artists will compete for the £10,000 prize.

We Face Forward is a season of art and music from West Africa, celebrated across Manchester’s galleries, museums, music venues and public spaces, as part of London 2012 Festival.

Gabby Young and Other Animals is a flamboyant eight-piece British pop band, bringing together ragtime, jazz and Balkan influences.

To hear a 3D recording for the first time is an eerie moment. The sensation of something making a noise from behind your left ear, or over to the right, or in the distance at your two o’clock position, is at first unnerving, and then amazing.

Glyndebourne Opera Festival, held in the grounds of the Sussex country house that gives it its name, is steeped in tradition. It was founded by Sir John Christie and his wife, Audrey Mildmay.

As part of the Wakefield Artwalk, Hepworth Wakefield has teamed up with Wichita Recordings to present an evening of free live music featuring indie folk band’s Peggy Sue alongside DJ Nick Scott.

National identity in music is a hugely complex subject. Where you come from doesn’t just shape the music you make; it shapes how people perceive it and you.

Since their last album, School of Seven Bells has shrunk from a trio to a duo. Their latest album Ghostory makes a bold statement: the band is very much alive.

Now in its second year after a successful launch, the Roundhouse’s Reverb Festival aims to dismantle the stuffy, jargon-loaded image of classical music.

It’s hated by artists, ridiculed by label owners and seems to have outworn its welcome by nearly two decades. So why is the label Intelligent Dance Music still being used?

Meet the Staves: three sisters from Watford in their early 20s compelling talents. Their second EP, Mexico, features three delicately assembled ballads.