National Entertainment

NEW YORK — Sam Hunt’s sophomore album opens and closes with two of the most personal songs he’s ever written, as he draws from his own life to paint candid portraits for listeners.

NASHVILLE — Ashley McBryde doesn’t have any problem with using real people to inspire her country songs and revealing the sordid details of their lives, even if she’s dishing dirt about her own family and friends.

Hamilton-raised Broadway star Nick Cordero is in hospital in Los Angeles undergoing tests for COVID-19 after being admitted with pneumonia.

TORONTO — Creators of the freshly minted subscription streaming platform Quibi had a tough sell on their hands even before the COVID-19 pandemic spiralled us into uncertain financial times.

NASHVILLE — Pop superstar Taylor Swift is helping out a Nashville record store closed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Grimey's co-owner Doyle Davis said Thursday the store got a call last week from Swift's publicist asking how Swift could help.

NEW YORK — James Patterson has a history of helping independent bookstores. The bestselling novelist has donated millions in recent years to booksellers, while also giving millions to schools and libraries and literacy programs.

From finding ways to help others cope to sheltering in place to cancelling events, here’s a look at some of the ways the entertainment industry is reacting to the spread of the coronavirus, which most people recover from but can cause severe illness

NEW YORK — Dav Pilkey is going to the cats. The million-selling author of the “Captain Underpants” and “Dog Man” series is starting the “Cat Kid Comic Club,” Scholastic announced Thursday. The first book will be released Dec. 1.

TORONTO — Organizers behind the Toronto International Film Festival say they're still planning to go ahead with the annual movie marathon from Sept. 10-21.

NEW ORLEANS — Ellis Marsalis Jr., the jazz pianist, teacher and patriarch of a New Orleans musical clan, died late Wednesday from pneumonia brought on by the new coronavirus, leaving six sons and a deep legacy. He was 85.