Sarah Henning

While she was still in her 20s, Wynonna Judd emerged as the Aretha Franklin of Nashville -- sassy and spiritual, voluptuous and bold, with a voice formidable as freight train. Although Wynonna's last original CD was released five years ago, the Grammy-winning artist's diva status was cemented long ago, with 20 No. 1 hits as a solo artist ("No One Else on Earth," "What the World Needs Now is Love") and with her mother as The Judds ("Why Not Me" and "Young Love.")

Alaska's purveyors of hip-hop are stepping up their game with a new, weeklong festival crammed with artists ready to show and prove. At Bernie's Summer Solstice House of Hip-Hop -- which runs Tuesday through June 21 at Bernie's Bungalow -- each evening focuses on one of five pillars of hip-hop culture: DJs, emcees, spoken-word artists, graffiti artists and b-boys (break dancers).

At a time in Nashville when many country stars are joined at the hip with their stylists and wouldn't know a combine if it ran 'em over, Trace Adkins stands out.

Although "The Celebrity Apprentice" introduced Trace Adkins to a whole mess of folks outside the country music scene, he said America didn't get a good look at the real Trace Adkins. He said the real Trace -- faced with some of those notoriously nasty fellow contestants -- would've started a fistfight. Or two. Or 10. But because he was on TV representing a charity, he kept his instincts in check.

Known for her profanity-laden commentary on race (and sex and her weight problems and gay issues and her Korean mother), Cho brings her "Beautiful" tour to Anchorage Monday. If you're wondering how Cho is tackling this "Beautiful" theme, just look at her Web page, where she's bursting out of a belly-baring mesh top, seductively biting on a straw stuck into a bottle of Kikkoman soy sauce. Lite soy sauce, of course.

Tok greeted Marian Call five years ago with a Thanksgiving blizzard, a harbinger of her long, sometimes bitter journey to become an Alaskan.

It seems like whenever Hollywood needs a sassy sidekick, Wanda Sykes gets the call. Smart-mouthing has been Sykes' onscreen M.O., from playing Jane Fonda's beleaguered assistant Ruby in "Monster-in-Law" to her recurring role on "Curb Your Enthusiasm," where she played herself. Or the persona audiences expect of her, anyway.

In the past 18 months, Bearfoot has opened for Lyle Lovett and performed at the Kennedy Center. In July, the Anchorage-bred band will jam alongside folks like Ricky Skaggs and Ralph Stanley at Merlefest in Wilkesboro, N.C., a 13-stage music festival that drew more than 76,000 people last summer.

John Darnielle, the frontman and main songwriter for The Mountain Goats, has earned a reputation as one of the most prolific and literary lyricists in American indie rock. The Goats have released eight albums in the past eight years, distinguished by laid-back acoustic instrumentation, Darnielle's pinched-nose vocals and lyrics that have to be chewed, not swallowed.

For Jerry O'Boyle, an "extensive shaving process" is just part of the job. His physical transformation into ham-loving mama Edna Turnblad requires almost as much work backstage as onstage.

Casual country music fans will remember Marty Stuart as 1991's Country Star Most Likely to Blind Fans With His Outfits. The man wore enough rhinestones to guide airplanes onto a landing strip, and he appeared to have a wheat field growing out of his follicles. The flashy image often overshadowed his time-tested talent and electrified honky tonk hits, such as "Hillbilly Rock," "Tempted" and "Burn Me Down."

Funny what 15 years, a personal training certificate and some tats can do.