Bilal Qureshi

The Indian-American composer discusses writing for film, and explains how traveling alone from New York to India and back helped inspire his newest album.

With his intense stage presence and relentless drive to improve, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan single-handedly brought Qawwali, a form of Sufi devotional music, to the West and the non-Muslim world. In the process, he influenced an unlikely array of music around the world.

The composer is at the forefront of a movement to capture the sound of the new Britain — a place that's home to a young generation with roots in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Nitin Sawhney's latest album is called London Undersound.

Every summer, Charlottesville, Va., hosts an annual Woodstock of sorts for photography lovers and practitioners called the Look3 Festival of the Photograph. One of the most popular exhibits — YourSpace — celebrates the achievements of everyday photographers.

Bars like Whitlow's on Wilson near Washington, D.C., are drawing crowds with an increasingly popular video game called Rock Band. Players can take the stage as rock stars — singing or playing guitar, drums or bass to their favorite hits.