Stay safe out there, Seattle! As always, get tested and stay home if you feel sick—and get your booster while it's hot. Speaking of omicron, we advise checking directly with venues for the latest updates—including health guidelines, postponements, and cancellations—before heading out.

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Jump to: Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday | Multi-Day

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MONDAY

FILM

Cybernetic Love: A Guide to Italo Disco Past Event Like List
 Stranger Suggests: Hop on your Vespa for Cybernetic Love: A Guide to Italo Disco, a funky audiovisual tour of the elusively-chic Italo disco genre. Prepare for plenty of synth-heavy beats; this surreal '80s movement is the musical equivalent of a summer evening at a Mediterranean discotheque.
(The Beacon, Columbia City)

MUSIC

Ian Sweet with Bunny
Past Event Like List Ian Sweet, an indie-pop project fronted by Jilian Medford, will capture your heart with their undeniable hooks and emotional soul-bearing lyricism. The band will play in support of their latest album, Show Me How You Disappear, which is their deepest and most vulnerably powerful body of work to date. Chicago singer-songwriter Bnny will kick things off with her angelic acoustic tunes.
(Barboza, Capitol Hill)

READINGS & TALKS

Chuck Klosterman presents The Nineties: A Book Past Event Like List
Chuck Klosterman, noted culture critic, columnist, and award-winning author, returns with a novel-length analysis of the nineties. Delving into the love-it-or-hate-it decade, The Nineties reckons with slacker apathy, glossy magazines, MTV, and more.
(Third Place Books, Lake Forest Park)

VISUAL ART

The Black and Tan Collection Past Event Like List
The Black and Tan Club's illustrious history as one of Seattle's first interracial establishments inspires Bonnie Hopper's paintings in this exhibition. Hopper's oil paintings of the legendary nightclub's musicians feel personal while celebrating the city's early Black jazz scene.
(Museum of History & Industry [MOHAI], South Lake Union)

TUESDAY

MUSIC

MadeinTYO + UnoTheActivist
Past Event Like List Rappers MadeinTYO and UnoTheActivist will take the stage in support of their 2021 album collaborative album, Yokohama, which takes inspiration from its namesake, one of the busiest train stations in the world and a regular stop for MadeinTYO as a child. The night will start off with an opening set from rapper BIGBABYGUCCI.
(Neumos, Capitol Hill)

Static-X with Fear Factory, Dope, Society 1: Rise Of The Machine Tour Past Event Like List
Break out your Tripp pants because it's time to relive your late '90s nu-metal days. Spiky-haired legends Static-X, whose melding of industrial, metal, and disco might just be exactly what you need to unwind from the work week, will headline. They will be joined by fellow industrial headbangers Fear Factory, Dope, and Society 1.
(The Showbox, Downtown)

WEDNESDAY

MUSIC

Manchester Orchestra
Past Event Like List In the 2010s, Atlanta-based band Manchester Orchestra bridged the gap between emo and indie with their reflective alt-rock sound. Their 2021 album, The Million Masks of God, tries something grander and more cinematic with towering melodies that meditate on the highs and lows of life.
(Moore Theatre, Belltown)

THURSDAY

READINGS & TALKS

Tiffanie Drayton: Black Womanhood and the Toll of Racism
Past Event Like List  Stranger Suggests: Journalist Tiffanie Drayton expands on her 2020 book, Black American Refugee, in this talk, challenging the omnipresent influence of racist, classist, and sexist structures that she faced as a young immigrant in the United States from Trinidad and Tobago. Drayton questions the stark differences in quality of life for Black and white Americans, calling out disparities in neighborhood safety, education, financial stability, and more.
(Town Hall, First Hill)

FILM

Where the House Was: Film Screening & Performance
Past Event Like List Where the House Was tells the story of the Hugo House tear-down, braiding together narratives of its founder, the literary organization's writers, and the surrounding Capitol Hill neighborhood. This screening, hosted by director Ryan Adams, celebrates Hugo House's 25th anniversary and will feature musical performances by Steve Fisk and Lori Goldston.
(Hugo House, Capitol Hill)

MUSIC

FLETCHER Past Event Like List
Witness a superstar in the making with a performance by Cari Elise Fletcher, known simply by her surname, who has stood out with her confessional singer-songwriter sensibilities delivered in a pop package that oozes sincerity and warmth.
(Neumos, Capitol Hill)

KEXP Presents: The Cactus Blossoms with Kacy & Clayton Past Event Like List
Get your fix of harmony-driven folk-rock with a doubleheader, starting with Minneapolis-based brother band The Cactus Blossoms. The pair's timeless melodies beam with their unmatched harmonies and haunting production, which fittingly made an appearance in the Twin Peaks reboot back in 2017. Canadian roots duo Kacy & Clayton will follow with their weightless alt-country tunes fit for a cross-country road trip.
(Tractor Tavern, Ballard)

The Light That Fills the World Past Event Like List
Meditate with players from the Seattle Symphony who will provide an immersive experience of nature-inspired music composed by Pulitzer Prize winner John Luther Adams.
(Chapel Performance Space, Wallingford)

Watchhouse (formerly Mandolin Orange) Past Event Like List
When they say less is more, you have to wonder if they're talking about Mandolin Orange. The understated North Carolina duo draws an awful lot of beauty out of not much sound. Music that's quiet and pretty isn't new or novel, of course—but Mandolin Orange's 2015 album, Such Jubilee, is just so quiet and pretty, it feels like a new frontier in minimalist, melodic Americana. Instrumentally, Mandolin Orange's songs usually subsist on the gentle chop of something stringed, an elegant fiddle part, the gorgeous vocal harmonies of Emily Frantz and Andrew Marlin, and that's about it. BEN SALMON
(Moore Theatre, Belltown)

DRAG

So You Think You Can Drag? Past Event Like List
So You Think You Can Drag? is a recurring 10-week drag competition hosted by the iconic Cookie Couture at brand-new bar and venue The Comeback! Season three of the competition promises a drag-tastic prize package to the winner, including $5,000.
(The Comeback, SoDo)

PARTIES & NIGHTLIFE

22 & good 4 u: Taylor Swift vs. Olivia Rodrigo Past Event Like List
Celebrate pop songstresses Taylor Swift and Olivia Rodrigo by dancing it out to an alternating set of their love songs and breakup songs. It's okay to cry!
(Madame Lou's at the Crocodile, Belltown)

FRIDAY

MUSIC

Circuit Des Yeux with somesurprises Past Event Like List
 Stranger Suggests: Circuit des Yeux, a project consisting of Chicago-based singer-songwriter Haley Fohr, brings avant-garde into indie rock with her four-octave vocals and distinctive stylings on the 12-string guitar. She will play in support of her most recent album, -io, after a set from Seattle-based bedroom project turned four-piece rock band somesurprises.
(Fremont Abbey Arts Center, Fremont)

Hiss Golden Messenger
Past Event Like List MC Taylor’s songs have always felt weighed down by something. Through seven full-lengths under the Hiss Golden Messenger moniker, Taylor’s reedy tenor labors under the shadow of some guilt looming right above him, while his nimble alt-country ensemble—seemingly always ready to just jam, man—stays reserved, looking over their shoulders. With this month’s Heart Like a Levee, the weight now has a definite shape: responsibility. Following his 2014 Merge Records debut, Lateness of Dancers, these 11 songs emerged as the newly day-job-less Taylor reckoned with his obligations to his family, his music, and himself. If the playing is any indication, embracing responsibility can feel like a burden lifted; the new record sees the band fortify their sound with a swagger that’s as much Memphis or Muscle Shoals as it is Nashville. NATHAN TUCKER
(Neptune Theatre, University District)

SATURDAY

FOOD & DRINK

Juice Club at Saint Bread
Past Event Like List The pop-up Juice Club, which Stranger contributor Jordan Michelman called "a roaming series of natural-wine bottle parties with an experiential, interactive bent," is back after a hiatus, complete with DJ tunes and burritos. Be sure to bring your own wine glass.
(Saint Bread, Portage Bay)

DRAG

Level Up: RPDR Season 14 Showcase Series Past Event Like List
The queens of RuPaul's Drag Race season 14 will each have their turn to flaunt their charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent at this new showcase. This week, chatty NYC queen Jasmine Kennedie will take you to new heights.
(Queer Bar, Capitol Hill)

FILM

Flying Saucer Cinema Past Event Like List
Flying Saucer Cinema's latest film discussion series spotlights 1950s-60s lowbrow sci-fi and psychotronic film. Sci-fi film fanatics Mark Daniels (Scarecrow volunteer and "Treks in Sci-Fi" podcast guest host) and Eric Cohen (longtime psychotronic film club leader) will lead these online conversations.
(Scarecrow Video, University District)

Velocity Presents: G^2: King Lear in the Forest
Past Event Like List King Lear In The Forest explores identity and psyche within a metaphoric forest, which acts as a stand-in for mysterious territories of the mind. The performance was created by duoship G^2 as part of a two-week residency at The Center at West Park in New York City. The film, shot by Daniel Hess, documents this site-specific, ongoing performance.
(Northwest Film Forum, Capitol Hill)

MUSIC

Cautious Clay
Past Event Like List Originally from Cleveland, OH, Cautious began his artistic journey at the age of seven when he picked up classical flute. His studies led him deep into the worlds of blues and jazz, and by the time he hit college in Washington, D.C., he’d added a number of other instruments to his repertoire in addition to songwriting and production. Now based in Brooklyn, Cautious is consistently working on music for both his own project and for others.
(The Showbox, Downtown)

James Brandon Lewis & Chad Taylor
Past Event Like List Revel in an evening of exploratory jazz with tenor saxophonist James Brandon Lewis and drummer Chad Taylor, supporting their collaborative album, Code of Being, which blends the traditions of gospel, free jazz, funk, and hip-hop for a vision of urgency and beauty. 
(Chapel Performance Space, Wallingford)

JoJo Past Event Like List
Those born in the mid-to-late '90s will remember the first time they heard 14-year old JoJo sing her 2004 chart-topping hit "Leave (Get Out)", a quintessential tween break-up song that will make you want to recklessly get your ears pierced at Claire's. Her R&B-inspired production, emotional lyrics, and sassy side ponytail stood out against the upbeat bubble-gum pop that commanded the charts at the time. After appearing in a handful of movies and being featured in a memorable episode of MTV Cribs, JoJo seemed to disappear from the limelight. Now, the singer is back on the road just after her recent appearance on The Masked Singer.
(Showbox SoDo, SoDo)

Mayday Parade
Past Event Like List Although Mayday Parade rose to fame during the skinny-jeans era, they maintained a devoted fanbase and have continued releasing albums throughout the decade. On their seventh studio album, What It Means To Fall Apart, the alt-rockers move further from their hard-hitting scene kid phase and into something more acoustic.
(Neptune Theatre, University District)

serpentwithfeet: DEACON’S TOUR Past Event Like List
 Stranger Suggests: Fresh off a collaboration with Björk for her Cornucopia tour, serpentwithfeet will bring his otherworldly tenderness to the stage in support of his 2021 album, Deacon. The album is a passionate study in love, particularly Black queer love, which flourishes with his soaring vocals, '90s influenced melodies, romantic lyricism, and experimental production.
(Neumos, Capitol Hill)

Smerz with Ouri Past Event Like List
Norwegian duo Smerz makes deconstructed pop that effortlessly blends classical music, hip-hop, R&B, and electronics. Their unique sound and audio-visual arrangements have led them to performances at the museums Tate Modern and MOCA Geffen. The pair will perform in celebration of their debut full-length, Believer, alongside South American electronic producer Ouri.
(Fremont Abbey Arts Center, Fremont)

Sound Off! 2022 - Live Music Showcase Past Event Like List
 Stranger Suggests: Now in its 21st year, MoPOP's Sound Off! will give local, under-21 bands a chance to take the floor at Sky Church. Throughout these three nights, each band will show off their original music for this showcase of young local talent.
(Museum of Pop Culture [MoPOP], Uptown)

SUNDAY

FOOD & DRINK

Seattle Cocktail Week
Past Event Like List  Stranger Suggests: This spirited weeklong event puts a spotlight on the movers and (cocktail) shakers of the Seattle bar scene with special libations available at venues, plus events, tours, a "Bartender's Circle Summit," and more. Saturday’s Cocktail District event at Bell Harbor Conference Center, a "carnival of cocktails," will feature pop-up cocktail bars, classes, tastings, experiences, food, take-home spirits, and other festivities.
(Various locations)

MUSIC

Robert Glasper 'Black Radio'
Past Event Like List  Stranger Suggests: Award-winning musician Robert Glasper's dizzying career includes film scoring, touring, producing, composing, and more. Glasper's genre-defying album Black Radio cemented the musician as a tastemaker and trailblazer; he's since developed within the genres of jazz, hip-hop, and R&B. Hot off a Grammy win for "Better than Imagined" in 2021, Glasper's forthcoming album Black Radio 3 bodes well for the continuation of his success.
(Moore Theatre, Belltown)

FILM

Moving History – Doris Chase: A Bridge to Awareness
Past Event Like List Seattle artist Doris Totten Chase's inspiring career is the subject of this documentary, which focuses on her video dance work. As a wife and mother, Chase's life was marked by complex relationships, social expectations, work-life balance, and feminism. An adventurous spirit led Chase down many aesthetic paths; she created paintings, sculptures, poetry, music, and dance works that were both contemplative and bold.
(Northwest Film Forum, Capitol Hill)

Sankofa
Past Event Like List This screening of Haile Gerima's Sankofa by Ava DuVernay’s ARRAY collective will be supplemented with community dialogue about the film's central themes. In Sankofa, a Black American woman, Mona, voyages back in time to a plantation where she becomes Shola, a slave. This experience leads Mona to confront and better understand her ancestry, particularly in her rich interactions with others, like Nunu, who holds strong memories of her life in Africa before slavery.
(Northwest Film Forum, Capitol Hill)

READINGS & TALKS

An Evening with Fran Lebowitz
Past Event Like List  Stranger Suggests: Fran Lebowitz's status as a cultural legend is undeniable; her sardonic tone has consistently stood out over decades of social commentary. For this event, she'll chat with beloved Seattle writer and performer David Schmader, whose column “Last Days: The Week in Review” found its home in The Stranger for 18 years.
(Benaroya Hall, Downtown)

MULTI-DAY

MUSIC

Eddie Vedder And The Earthlings Past Event Like List
Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder will play two consecutive nights in his hometown just ahead of the release of his highly anticipated album, Earthling, which features collaborations with icons Stevie Wonder, Elton John, and Ringo Starr. Looks like we’ll be getting a plugged-in version of Vedder this time around, after a decade-long solo career of primarily acoustic songs.
(Benaroya Hall, Downtown, Monday-Tuesday)

The War on Drugs Past Event Like List
There’s a paradox at the heart of the War on Drugs. For a band so baldly influenced by the freewheeling Americana of Springsteen, Petty, and Dylan, their music can sound strangely tense and stultifying. The most obvious cause is WoD mastermind Adam Granduciel’s reputation as a fastidious studio obsessive. Most War on Drugs songs are rich with detail: layers upon layers of guitar and synth, carefully calibrated vintage effects. But the music, though frequently gorgeous, rarely has room to breathe. Instead, it bellows—Granduciel’s work has increasingly taken on an anthemic, shouting-toward-the-cheap-seats quality. ANDREW GOSPE
(Paramount Theatre, Downtown, Monday-Tuesday)

PERFORMANCE

Freestyle Love Supreme
Past Event Like List Predating the phenomena of Hamilton and In the Heights, Broadway performance Freestyle Love Supreme is a Tony Award-winning show that combines hip-hop, comedy, and crowd improvisation to create a completely unexpected experience. Created by Thomas Kail, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Anthony Veneziale, Freestyle Love Supreme is never the same show twice.
(Seattle Repertory Theatre, Uptown, Monday-Sunday)

THEATER

The Mystery of Irma Vep
Past Event Like List What is a man, other than a miserable pile of secrets? The Mystery of Irma Vep is a vampiric satire of Victorian melodrama and monster-pulp, written by the great playwright, performer, artist, and theater-rebel Charles Ludlam. (Not to be confused with the similarly great Charles Pierce or Charles Busch, who have engaged in similar lines of work in slightly-overlapping eras.) Ludlam was a fascinating and wonderful weirdo whose work only occasionally filters up to mainstream media: A passing appearance on Miami Vice; a hysterical female impersonation next to his old friend Madeline Kahn on the forgotten '80s sitcom Oh Madeline. This particular play is his most famous (what, you’ve never seen his other masterpiece, Turds in Hell?) and features two actors playing eight characters in a quick-changing, cross-dressing, scenery-chomping romp. In the same way that Serial Mom is a good entry into the work of John Waters, consider Irma Vep a comfortable introduction to Ludlam’s ridiculous and revolutionary style. MATT BAUME
(Erickson Theatre Off Broadway, Capitol Hill, Monday-Sunday)

FILM

Dan Savage's HUMP! 2022 Opening Film Festival Past Event Like List
 Stranger Suggests: Keep it in your pants during this delightfully dirty program curated by prolific sex columnist Dan Savage. The HUMP! Film Festival features an indie showcase of sex-positive short films running the gamut of body sizes, shapes, ages, sexualities, genders, kinks, and fetishes.
(On the Boards, Uptown, Wednesday-Saturday)

Four Portraits: Films by African American Women Directors
Past Event Like List  Stranger Suggests: Written and directed by African American women, the four cinematic portraits in this series—Losing Ground (1982), The Watermelon Woman (1996), Love & Basketball (2000), and Eve’s Bayou (1997)—highlight the diversity of lived experience among Black women in the U.S. Organized by cinema programmer Hana Peoples, these screenings celebrate the future of Black women both on screen and behind the camera.
(Northwest Film Forum, Capitol Hill, Wednesday-Thursday)

German Cinema Now! PANKOW '95 Past Event Like List
 Stranger Suggests: Set in an alternate reality where the East won the Cold War, Pankow '95 tells the story of an institutionalized musicologist desperate for freedom and the strange characters who help him along the way. Goethe Pop Up Seattle presents this zany film as part of their recurring German Cinema Now! programming, and encourages viewers to dress up in their funkiest '80s sci-fi garb for their chance to win a Northwest Film Forum gift card.
(Northwest Film Forum, Capitol Hill, Wednesday-Thursday)

VISUAL ART

Christina Quarles Past Event Like List
LA-based painter Christina Quarles positions her fleshy renderings of bodies every which way—on their knees, backs, sides, shoulders. Their limbs are long, composed of colored tones of pink, brown, and green, with paint that drips down the canvas. It’s sexy and weird and full of feeling. This self-titled show at the Frye is a survey of Quarles’ work from the past three years and is the largest presentation of hers to date. It also marks the US debut of what the press materials call “a large-scale installation that playfully references trompe l’oeil.” In addition to paintings, Christina Quarles will also feature drawings “which will often include text that references vernacular language and popular culture.” Dope! JAS KEIMIG
(Frye Art Museum, First Hill, Wednesday-Sunday)

Christopher Paul Jordan and Arnaldo James: In the Interim (Ritual Ground for a Future Black Archive) Past Event Like List
This collaborative exhibition, In the Interim, is between Christopher Paul Jordan—of AMP Memorial Pathway fame—and Arnaldo James. Jordan and James have their eyes on preserving Black oral tradition and “the facilitation of intergenerational dialogue” between Black people. The exhibition is centered around a soundproof recording booth where Black visitors are invited to record prophecies, predictions, and musings about the future. These recordings will then be encrypted and stored on a hard drive. When the show closes, the encryption key will be held in a time capsule and buried somewhere on the Frye’s grounds to be made publicly available 100 years from now (if we’re not all underwater). The show will also include a new series of paintings and photographs from Jordan and James that “address themes of inversion and immersion, evoking the underworld and the otherworldly." JAS KEIMIG
(Frye Art Museum, First Hill, Wednesday-Sunday)

Pained Vistas Past Event Like List
Curated by Jon Feinstein and Roula Seikaly, this collection of photographs and videos "engage landscapes as terrains framed by conflict, trauma, and beauty," from the United States' legacy of slavery and systemic racism to the entrenched conflict between Palestinians and Israelis to the worldwide reckoning on climate catastrophe.
(Photographic Center Northwest, Central District, Monday-Sunday)

MUSIC

Wintergrass 2022 Past Event Like List
Escape the late winter freeze and warm up with a weekend of bluegrass music. Artists from near and far will gather to play their twangy, resonant music at this annual festival. This year's lineup includes The Travelin' Mccourys, Sister Sadie, Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper, Della Mae, and many more.
(Hyatt Regency Bellevue, Thursday-Sunday)

OPERA

Blue
Past Event Like List This timely portrait of an African American family follows the birth of their son, who is later murdered by a police officer. Community, church, and sisterhood become vitally important in the aftermath of this traumatic event. From librettist Tazewell Thompson and composer Jeanine Tesori, Blue won Best New Opera in 2020 (Music Critics Association).
(McCaw Hall, Uptown, Saturday-Sunday)