The Department of Cultural Affairs had faced $43 million cuts in the mayor’s original proposed budget, which would have reduced operating funds to major museums, theaters and zoos by 50 percent and caused some 1,000 employees in the cultural sector to be laid off.

American music legend Rickie Lee Jones kicks off a three-night stint at City Winery Tuesday. Download a live acoustic version of her "Must Be Love" here.

Leonid Federov, one of the great names in Russian rock and roll, makes a rare New York appearance at Joe's Pub on Thursday. Download his "Portuguese" here.

One of the 88 "Pop-Up Pianos" that have materialized in city parks in the past month has gone missing, according to a spokesperson at Sing For Hope.

The Django Reinhardt Festival is in town again, and this time young-blood guitar whiz Samson Schmitt is leading the pack, billed as the "Yong Lions of Gypsy Jazz." Download "Honeysuckle Rose" here.

On Tuesday, the city's Landmark Preservation Commission approved the creation of a new historic district in Brooklyn's predominantly West Indian-American and Hasidic Jewish neighborhood of Crown Heights: the Crown Heights North II Historic District.

Mariachi El Bronx sounds like the kind of musical project that might have started as a comedy sketch: hard-edged Los Angeles punks surprise fans by being true to their hearts and releasing a traditional mariachi album.

The oldest surviving synagogue in Queens is about to get a major facelift. Work has begun on the restoration of the 100-year-old Tifereth Israel temple in Corona thanks to a major grant from the city and the efforts of preservation groups around the city.

Shusmo — drawing its name from the Arabic word for “whatchamacallit” — is a band that strives to be hard to describe. Download “Longa Nakreez,” which pairs gritty production quality with stellar musicianship here.

It could be the end of a New York City staple. At the famed H&H Bagels on 80th Street and Broadway on Wednesday, Upper West Siders flocked to the city’s most famous bagelry to stock up on what could be their last supply of sesames and poppies as rumors spread of the store’s closing.

Roy Ayers, the man who invented the modern-day slow jam, plays Highline on Wednesday night as part of the Blue Note Jazz Festival. Download his "Everybody's Groovin'" here.

Passersby walking down Wall Street on Tuesday afternoon came across some unusual sights and sounds. Around forty iPhone owners came together in a circle outside the New York Stock Exchange to perform an experimental 8-minute music piece called “GROUP,” as part of the Make Music New York Festival happening around the city.

Even though they're not cooking any food, Broadway theaters are getting letter grades from the city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. The Broadway venues, along with Off-Broadway and movie theaters, are included in the city's restaurant grading program because they operate concession stands. Many of the stands aren't performing very well.

This weekend at Herbert Von King Park in Bed-Stuy, the post-everything improvisers known as Burnt Sugar the Arkestra Chamber pay tribute to the Godfather of Soul. Download “There Was a Rock Me (Remix)” here.

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the historic Freedom Rides, music producer Hal Willner assembled a cast of politically minded musicians to play Celebrate Brooklyn on Thursday night. Download "Rain Fall" by Eric Mingus, the son of the legendary jazz bassist Charles Mingus.

In past years, the MoMA Nights performances, which take place Thursdays in July and August, have been connected to the museum's exhibits. But this year, Conan selected artists who work within a specific genre in unconventional and idiosyncratic ways.

Laetitia Sadier, of Sterolab fame, hits the Rock Shop stage Wednesday night. Download her Tropicalia infused "One Million Year Trip" here.

The New York fixture Elysian Fields brings its eclectica to Le Poisson Rouge Tuesday night for its first new album release party in a decade. Download "Change" here.

Monday night, the Apollo inducts one of America's most beloved keyboard players into its Hall of Fame. WNYC talked to several local musicians about Stevie Wonder and his work.

Vibraphone prodigy Warren Wolf Jr. brings two mallets and his fiery solo style to the Jazz Standard Thursday night. Download his "Re-Examination" here.