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MONDAY

LIVE MUSIC

A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie Past Event Like List
Bronx-bred rapper A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie—who, fun fact, was once sued for clogging a toilet—will bring his effortless flows, catchy hooks, trap beats, and smooth R&B style to Seattle on his Better Off Alone tour in support of his album of the same name. The Billboard-charting album features appearances from A-listers like Young Thug, Cash Cobain, Future, Lil Durk, Fridayy, and Mariah the Scientist. AV
(WaMu Theater, SoDo)

Green Day - The Saviors Tour
The Saviors tour is named after Green Day's latest album, but the gel-haired trio is giving the people what they really want—the entirety of Dookie and American Idiot, and hopefully more of Billie Joe's blistering anti-Trump antics. They're also bringing along alt-rockers the Smashing Pumpkins, punk revivalists Rancid, and teen phenoms the Linda Lindas. Sounds like a hella long concert for a Monday, but if you're a fan of the bands, perhaps today will be the greatest day you've ever known. JW
(T-Mobile Park, SoDo)

TUESDAY

FILM

Five Minutes to Live! Remind Like List
If there's anything missing from the typical movie theater experience, it's a democratic voting process and a lil' bit of intrigue. Right? Right??? If you agree, you'll dig Five Minutes to Live, wherein the Beacon will screen the first five minutes of four different mystery movies. The crowd will then vote on which flick to watch in its entirety. It's kind of like a real-life choose-your-own-adventure game, staged within the theater's cozy blue-and-red rows. Keep an open mind if your flick pick doesn't end up on top—no one likes a grumpy movie-goer. LC
(The Beacon, Columbia City)

LIVE MUSIC

Beabadoobee: This Is How Tomorrow Moves Past Event Like List
Upon my first listen of This Is How Tomorrow Moves, I had the sudden urge to dig up my childhood CDs, including Michelle Branch's Hotel Paper, Vanessa Carlton's Be Not Nobody, and Corinne Bailey Rae's self-titled debut. Like the young pop singer-songwriters of the early aughts, Beabadoobee (aka Beatrice Laus) embraces the polished sparkle of radio-friendly pop while never sacrificing her earnest authenticity. The album feels like reading through that fuzzy purple diary tucked away at your parent's house—grounding, reflective, and a little sappy. She will be joined by indie pop duo Hovvdy and viral singer-songwriter Keni Titus. AV
(Chateau Ste. Michelle, Woodinville)

Charly Bliss Past Event Like List
On their new album Forever, Charly Bliss have shed what was left of their indie rock exoskeleton and taken flight as a polished pop band. Opening track “Tragic” could be a Taylor Swift song if it weren’t for the whirligig guitars, and “Back There Now” is as fun and boppable as anything Charli XCX released during her Sucker/“Boom Clap” era. In fact, track for track, the band seems to invite comparisons to some of today’s most beloved pop girlies. Do I miss the days when CB would recklessly blast through crispity, crunchity upbeat rock songs where vocalist Eva Hendricks would scream between lyrics about jumping so high on the trampoline that you pee your pants? Sure. But the band has always known the power of some well-placed punk patina, and I’m guessing they still will when they play the Crocodile in September. STRANGER MANAGING EDITOR MEGAN SELING
(The Crocodile, Belltown)

Divide and Dissolve Past Event Like List
Australian duo Divide and Dissolve—whose mission is to "[honor] their ancestors and Indigenous land, oppose white supremacy, and work towards a future of Black and Indigenous liberation"—will return to Seattle for a night of instrumental doom metal. I'm not a big metalhead, but I find their orchestral flourishes and slow-paced crescendos to be cathartic and, at times, soothing. They will support their new album Systemic alongside experimental rock trio Reverse Death and sludge metal outfit Serial Hawk. AV
(Sunset Tavern, Ballard)

Sky Ferreira Past Event Like List
Indie sleaze queen Sky Ferreira—whom comedian John Early recently called "one of the last artists working with melody"—will return to Seattle for the first time in over a decade. Considering that she hasn't released an album since 2013, you can expect to hear nostalgic tracks from her debut album, Night Time, My Time, which soundtracked many of my sleepless teenage nights scrolling Tumblr. AV
(Neptune Theatre, University District)

READINGS & TALKS

Connie Chung Past Event Like List
Celebrating the release of Connie: A Memoir, news pioneer and every reporter's favorite reporter, Connie Chung, will visit Seattle. Chung's storied career revved up when she became the first woman to co-anchor the CBS Evening News, breaking barriers in a typically white, male-dominated field and navigating racism and sexism while scoring scoops on Watergate. Tickets to the talk (aside from pay-what-you-can spots) include a copy of the household name's "sharp, witty" memoir. LC
(Town Hall Seattle, First Hill)

WEDNESDAY

LIVE MUSIC

Orville Peck: Stampede Tour Past Event Like List
After taking the world by storm with his Sub Pop-released debut album, Pony, the mysteriously masked cowboy known as Orville Peck found himself collaborating with country-pop queen Shania Twain, modeling for fashion labels such as Dior and Ivy Park, and rubbing elbows with mainstream names on the Grammy red carpet. Now supporting his third album, Stampede, Peck will lasso his way right into your heart with his deep baritone vocals and cinematic queer-anthems. Don't miss opening sets from country queens Nikki Lane and Emily Nenni. AV
(Chateau Ste. Michelle, Woodinville)

Peter Hook & The Light Past Event Like List
Stranger music critic Dave Segal writes: "Peter Hook is going to milk his legendary legacy with Joy Division and New Order for as long as he wants, and nobody can stop him—not even former bandmates Bernard Sumner, Gillian Gilbert, and Stephen Morris, who are not thrilled with their former bassist’s activities. Nevertheless, with his son Jack Bates on bass, Hook has made a solid living re-creating, in the flesh and in their entirety, albums by Joy Division and New Order. Warning: Hook's singing makes Sumner's sounds like Ian Curtis'." Nevertheless, the band is spotlighting the beloved Joy Division and New Order compilation albums, both entitled Substance. AV
(The Showbox, Downtown)

READINGS & TALKS

Author Talk: Renee Erickson, Sunlight and Breadcrumbs Past Event Like List
You're most likely already familiar with James Beard Award-winning chef and restaurateur Renee Erickson via her fleet of nationally acclaimed Seattle restaurants, including The Walrus and the Carpenter, The Whale Wins, and Bateau. Now, she's following up her cookbooks A Boat, a Whale & a Walrus: Menus and Stories and Getaway: Food & Drink to Transport You with her latest release Sunlight and Breadcrumbs: Making Food with Creativity and Curiosity. Kind of like a version of The Artist's Way for food lovers, the new book tells the story of how Erickson, a former art school student, reconnected with her creative side through painting, photography, ceramics, and cooking. Pore over pages packed with elegant, unfussy recipes like melted anchovy toast, raspberry and pecan crumble cake, and white beans with pork sausage, lemon peel, and green herbs—you'll no doubt find yourself inspired to exercise your own imagination in the kitchen. Erickson will stop by Fremont Abbey for a chat with bestselling author J. Kenji López-Alt, followed by a Q&A and signing. JB
(Fremont Abbey Arts Center, Fremont)

THURSDAY

COMEDY

fun & flirty: a comedy/dating show Remind Like List
Dating is downright spooky business, so any opportunity to laugh at the whole process of "finding the one" is more than welcome. Enter Fun & Flirty Productions, which blends comedy and "interactive dating experiences" to make the whole shebang a little more survivable (and also very funny). PowerPoint master and professional singles consultant Zahnae Aquino will be joined by local humorists on stage. Hey, there are weirder ways to meet your soulmate. LC
(Comedy/Bar, Capitol Hill)

READINGS & TALKS

Rae Armantrout Past Event Like List
One of the most complex, vibrant voices in American poetry, Pulitzer Prize winner Rae Armantrout, will offer a reading from her latest collection, Go Figure, called "a welcome balm for uncertain times" by Publishers Weekly. Armantrout's new work is interested in an "ongoing attempt/ to catalog the world," observing the planet's escalating disasters with a curious, precise pen. LC
(Elliott Bay Book Company, Capitol Hill)

The Sound of Seattle: Eva Walker + Jacob Uitti, Molly Sides, Jimmy James, Vitamin D, and Marco Collins: Past Event Like List
A lot has been written about the Pacific Northwest’s music history, but in their new book, The Sound of Seattle, authors Eva Walker and Jacob Uitti tell the region’s stories through the songs that put it on the map. Walker, vocalist for the Black Tones and a long-time KEXP DJ, and her journalist husband, Uitti, start their journey in the 1940s with tunes from Tacoma’s own Bing Crosby and Garfield High School alum Ernestine Anderson. From there, they travel into the present day—with some surprising pit stops along the way. Yes, there’s Nirvana and Mudhoney, but also the Fartz, the Emerald Street Boys, IMIJ, and Blimes and Gab. At the Town Hall event, Walker and Uitti will discuss the past, present, and future of local music with Thunderpussy vocalist Molly Sides, the True Loves guitarist Jimmy James, DJ and emcee Vitamin D, and radio DJ Marco Collins. STRANGER MANAGING EDITOR MEGAN SELING
(Town Hall Seattle, First Hill)

FRIDAY

LIVE MUSIC

Air Play Moon Safari Past Event Like List
French electronic duo AIR is stopping by on their first tour in seven years to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their debut album Moon Safari. If you've somehow made it through the last two decades without hearing the album, know that it's probably the most 1998-sounding music ever to exist. The album is spacy, sexy, jazzy, and light as, well, air. It's an album you'd expect to hear at a high school makeout party (were those a real thing, or just something in TV shows?) AV
(Benaroya Hall, Downtown)

PERFORMANCE

Bob The Drag Queen: This Is Wild World Tour Past Event Like List
Bob the Drag Queen will step into Seattle purse first on the heels of their emcee gig on Madonna's Celebration tour. Known for astute observations like "Harriet Tubman would beat Spiderman's ass," the season eight RuPaul’s Drag Race winner is embarking on their first headline comedy world tour. I recommend pregaming for the shenanigans with Gay Barz. LC
(Moore Theatre, Belltown)

READINGS & TALKS

Author Talk: Kristina Cho, 'Chinese Enough' Past Event Like List
I'm a big fan of Kristina Cho's James Beard Award-winning debut cookbook Mooncakes & Milk Bread, which demonstrates how to turn your kitchen into your personal Chinese bakery with sweet and savory recipes like steamed barbecue pork buns, hot dog flower buns, juicy dumplings, almond cookies, and crackly-topped pineapple buns. (It's also the first book of its kind to focus exclusively on Chinese bakeries and cafés.) That's why I'm so excited for her follow-up Chinese Enough, which revolves around savory dishes that "blend the flavors of traditional Cantonese cooking with California ingredients and a Midwestern sensibility," resulting in something "neither entirely Chinese nor entirely American, but Chinese enough." I'm hungry just thinking about dishes like San Francisco garlic noodles, miso pork meatballs, creamy tomato udon, smashed ranch cucumbers, and chili crunch salmon rolls, and the chapter on banquet-worthy dishes alone is enough to inspire you to plan a Babette's Feast-level bacchanalian bash. Kristina will chat with local baker and Pieometry author Lauren Ko. JB
(Book Larder, Fremont)

Danez Smith Past Event Like List
"When you’re talking about Danez Smith, the old page-poet/stage-poet dichotomy simply dissolves. Their stage poems contain all the precision of the most well-crafted lyrics, and their page poems burn with the fire of any performance poet. Smith's versatility (plus their tireless hustle and talent) has made them one of the most successful poets working in any form of contemporary poetry in the United States—be it slam, academic, “experimental,” or whatever," Stranger news editor Rich Smith wrote back in 2018. The wordsmith will return to town to celebrate the release of Bluff, a "powerful reckoning with their role and responsibility as a poet [from] the Twin Cities," written after the George Floyd protests of 2020–23. LC
(Town Hall Seattle, First Hill)

SATURDAY

FOOD & DRINK

U District Chow Down & Street Party Past Event Like List
Hit the Ave for the fourth edition of this annual end-of-summer food walk and community festival. Stroll around the neighborhood and procure $5 bites and drinks from over 60 participating restaurants, including spicy tingly beef biang noodles from Xi'an Noodles, salted egg Biscoff lattes from Sip House, mini Oreo "croffles" from Cafe Canuc, ice cream croissant taiyaki from Oh Bear, cheddar cheese balls from Chi Mac, and more. Plus, put your appetite to the test with a hot dog contest, try out "bobbing for boba," and enjoy a variety of live music performances and food and drink demos. JB
(University District, University District)

LIVE MUSIC

Cigarettes After Sex Past Event Like List
Yes, the band name Cigarettes After Sex is extremely cringy, but their music is so lovely that it almost makes up for it. The trio revives the reverb-heavy dream pop of Mazzy Star, Cocteau Twins, and Julee Cruise in an accessible fashion, garnering an impressive list of famous fans including Kylie Jenner, David Lynch, Lana Del Rey, and Françoise Hardy (this band might be the only thing these four have in common). The band will support their third album, X's, which marks their first new music in five years. AV
(Climate Pledge Arena, Uptown)

Pitbull: Party After Dark Tour Past Event Like List
Time travel back to the 2010s with an evening of throwback hits from Mr. Worldwide himself. Bald-headed legend Pitbull will perform Latin pop classics like "Timber (ft. Ke$ha)," "Time of Our Lives," and "Give Me Everything (ft. Ne-Yo, Afrojack, & Nayer)"—you probably know more of his songs than you realize! And, most importantly, T-Pain will open the show. Seriously, this man is an unsung musical genius. Just the thought of hearing "I'm Sprung" live gives me chills. AV
(White River Amphitheatre, Auburn)

OUTDOORS

Washington State Parks Free Days Remind Like List
Celebrate the 30th anniversary of National Public Lands Day with an entrance fee-free day. On a typical day, access to one of these natural gems will set you back $10 for a one-day pass or $30 for an annual pass, so fee-free days like this help make the outdoors accessible to all. The closest parks to Seattle proper are Bridle Trails in Kirkland and Saint Edward State Park on the northern shores of Lake Washington; both are about a 30-minute drive. SL
(Various locations)

READINGS & TALKS

Unpoetry at The Frye Past Event Like List
Local poet Eric M. Acosta will lead this museum tour and ekphrastic writing workshop, which will mine Frye's galleries (specifically new shows Mary Ann Peters: the edge becomes the center and Boren Banner Series: Samantha Wall) to "explore the bond between language and art." Frye's partnership with Unpoetry fosters new conversations inspired by its current exhibitions—local drummer Casey Adams, performance artist Changing Bodies (Madhava), Poetry Séance creator Emily J. Mundy, and dance collaborators Hannah Rice and Alia Swersky will also share their perspectives. LC
(Frye Art Museum, First Hill)

MULTI-DAY

COMEDY

I Saw You: A Comedy with Heart Past Event Like List
See someone? Say something. I Saw U, The Stranger's take on Craigslist Missed Connections, returned in March, which means you can read pickup lines like "How's your praxis? Because I think we could be more than just a theory ;)" whenever you want. Unexpected Productions has since devised an improvised response to the column, transforming the weekly listings into comedy sets that "imagine what would happen if the individuals actually went out on a date." I hope they address the love blossoming at Biscuit Bitch. LC
(Unexpected Productions' Market Theater, Pike Place Market, Friday–Saturday)

Tina Friml Past Event Like List
In November of last year, I was scrolling through my Instagram feed when I saw a post by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon of a redheaded woman—wearing clothes I wish I owned—coming out from behind the curtain. A fan of comedy, I held off on moving on before I heard her say, “I am a fully functioning disabled adult living in NYC, I’ve got very ‘You go, girl’ energy.” My eyes widened, and she continued: “A lot of people see me and then think I suffer from cerebral palsy, which I don’t.” A compelling line coming from a person with impacted speech and CP hands. “I have cerebral palsy. I suffer from people.” I was stunned. A woman with visible disability chumming up a crowd and cracking Jimmy Fallon up about living her best life as a disabled person left me asking: WHO IS TINA FRIML? STRANGER CONTRIBUTOR MINDIE LIND
Read more in The Stranger's fall Arts + Performance Guide.
(Here-After at the Crocodile, Belltown, Friday–Saturday)

EXHIBIT

Almost Live! (Almost an Exhibit) Remind Like List
Seattleites of a certain age who make jokes about Ballard residents driving around with their seatbelts hanging out from underneath closed car doors will be very stoked for the Museum of History and Industry’s newest exhibit. Almost Live! (Almost an Exhibit) is a collection of props, costumes, and clips from the weekly sketch comedy show that defined—and poked fun at—the Pacific Northwest region from 1984 to 1999. On Tuesday, September 24, MOHAI will host the Fashion Lecture: Almost Grunge! event with Clara Berg, creator of @AlmostStyle on Instagram. STRANGER MANAGING EDITOR MEGAN SELING
(MOHAI, South Lake Union, Monday–Sunday)

FESTIVALS

Walk the Block Past Event Like List
This year, Wa Na Wari's annual Central District festival has transitioned into a free event spanning two days! Centered around the theme “Who We Are...Where We Are...How We Are," the fundraiser amplifies the anti-displacement organizing work of Wa Na Wari’s CACE 21 program. Friday’s Walk the Block Institute will feature creative community-building workshops and a keynote from Miami-based architect and educator Germane Barnes. The beloved Walk the Block Art Festival takes place on Saturday, celebrating Black art with an afternoon walk through the Central District, where fresh installations and performances will be on view in businesses, parks, porches, and other common spaces. Catch stimulating visual and sculptural art, video installations, live music, dance parties, community stories, and more. VIP ticket holders will get treated to food from chef Donna Moodie, an aura photo, and a headlining performance by soul songstress Aliah Sheffield. SL
(Wa Na Wari, Central District, Friday–Saturday)

FILM

Against Civilization: Six Films Past Event Like List
The Beacon's latest film series is a solid way to engage in some not-so-subtle nihilism. Against Civilization's flicks emphasize a quote by anarcho-primitivist John Zerzan: “As our plight deepens, we glimpse how much must be erased for our redemption.” Whew. This weekend, the cinema will screen Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke, which impressively managed to translate a story of Yakushima Island spirits, old-growth forests, and warring 14th-century Japanese clans into a mainstream US release. LC
(The Beacon, Columbia City, Monday–Sunday)

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Past Event Like List
It's not complicated. If Winona Ryder is on the screen, I'm seated in the audience. Even a reprisal of Beetlejuice, in which a frankly annoying spirit haunted a family back in the '80s, will suffice as long as Ryder appears. Director Tim Burton and star Michael Keaton return for this fashionably late sequel, which follows three generations of the Deetz family (including Lydia, who's now a mom, played by Ryder) as they return home to Winter River and discover a portal to the afterlife that's been carelessly left open. I'm betting someone says a certain name three times. LC
(SIFF Cinema Downtown, Belltown, Monday–Thursday)

Derek Jarman: Do We Continue to Grow Marigolds Even as The Emergency Sirens Blare? Past Event Like List
Although his death of AIDS-related illness in '94 cut his life and career criminally short, Derek Jarman's revolutionary directorial style sent shockwaves through the queer cinema canon that still reverberate now. Modern directors using avant-garde aesthetics, poetic sensuality, and experimental storytelling techniques like Andrew Haigh, Xavier Dolan, and Luca Guadagnino have Jarman to thank—I said what I said. Jarman's gutsy, myth-drenched films will make your September more vivid and romantic, with screenings of the homoerotic Roman Empire-set Sebastiane (complete with a Brian Eno score), the writhing, angry AIDS crisis epistle The Garden (featuring Tilda Swinton), and BLUE, Jarman's final work, in which the director "fills the screen with blue—still and unyielding for an hour and nineteen minutes." LC
(The Beacon, Columbia City, Monday–Wednesday)

Do The Right Thing Past Event Like List
One of the best scenes in one of the best movies of the remarkable year 1989, Do the Right Thing, concerns something we are now very familiar with, gentrification. Set on a hot summer day in Brooklyn, the scene goes like this: Black Buggin Out (played by Giancarlo Esposito) gets accidentally run into by white Clifton (played by John Savage), who is wearing a Larry Bird top and leaves a mark on Buggin Out’s brand-new white Air Jordans. Buggin Out: 'Who told you to step on my sneakers? Who told you to walk on my side of the block? Who told you to be in my neighborhood?' Clifton: 'I own this brownstone.' Buggin Out: 'Who told you to buy a brownstone on my block, in my neighborhood, on my side of the street? Yo, what you wanna live in a Black neighborhood for, anyway? Man, motherfuck gentrification.' Then Buggin Out asks: 'Why don’t you move back to Massachusetts?' Clifton: 'I was born in Brooklyn!' STRANGER SENIOR WRITER CHARLES MUDEDE
(Central Cinema, Central District, Monday–Wednesday)

2024 HUMP! Part Two Past Event Like List
Dan Savage's pioneering erotic film fest premiered an all-new lineup of sexy films featuring all genders and orientations earlier this year. Since 2005, HUMP! has brought inclusive, creative, and kinky films to the big screen—and since this year's fest features not one but two feature-length lineups, you can scope out the sex-positive fest yet again for a tantalizing treat. Part two includes 25 brand-spanking-new feasts for your eyeballs, including "smokin' hot paranormal encounters, a mind-bending space carnival, spine-tingling ASMR, [and] all the thermal eye candy you can eat." It's worth a venture outside of your sex dungeon, but you can still wear the latex catsuit. LC
(On the Boards, Uptown, Thursday–Saturday)

Local Sightings Film Festival 2024 Past Event Like List
Back in 2015, Stranger senior staff writer Charles Mudede wrote, "What is this city becoming? What have we lost in the rush and thrust of all these new developments? To whom does this growing city belong? The brilliant Local Sightings Film Festival will show films that reveal the answers to these questions, through features, shorts, and animation that are born here or hereabouts. There's much to see and much to talk about." The premise of the hybrid festival hasn't changed much since then—Local Sightings returns for its 27th anniversary this year, offering up another round of curated screenings and transforming the city into a hub for indie filmmakers who forgo New York or LA for the Pacific Northwest's endearing eccentricity. The always-great, hyperlocal film festival also offers opportunities for regional filmmakers, emotional storytellers, and documentarians to meet at the festival's events. LC
(Northwest Film Forum, Capitol Hill, Monday–Sunday)

Omni Loop Past Event Like List
They had me at "Ayo Edibiri time travel movie," but Brazilian director Bernardo Britto's Omni Loop is intriguing for other reasons, too. The film follows a quantum physicist who's stuck in a time loop "with a black hole growing in her chest" (yikes) and a mere week to live. When she meets a gifted student (Edibiri), they work together to save her life. One Letterboxd reviewer called Omni Loop "the hidden gem of SXSW," and since this year's fest featured buzzy films like Civil War and Babes, that feels like a solid endorsement. LC
(SIFF Cinema Uptown, Uptown, Monday–Thursday)

The Shining Past Event Like List
Perhaps one of my most "well, duh" opinions is that The Shining is fucking awesome. The book, of course, but also Stanley Kubrick's slow-burn masterpiece, even if Stephen King hates it. The flick's spine-chilling setting, replete with lonely halls and snowy mazes, owes a hefty amount of its dramatic effect to the Pacific Northwest, too—it features the iconic exterior of the Timberline Lodge. Also, if you need more convincing, the recently passed scream queen Shelley Duvall graces the screen, whether or not Nicholson and Kubrick really deserved her. All work and no play makes anyone a dull boy, so check into Room 237 (aka SIFF Cinema Downtown) for this fresh 4K restoration. LC
(SIFF Cinema Downtown, Belltown, Friday–Sunday)

The Substance Remind Like List
As soon as I learned that The Substance was directed by Coralie Fargeat, the French filmmaker behind Revenge, my favorite "hot girl hunts evil men" film, I was on board. Fargeat's style might be described as New New French Extremity—while the aughts-era stuff was gratuitously brutal to women (Noé's Irreversible comes to mind), Fargeat's approach calls upon grotesque, everyday misogyny—assault in Revenge, beauty standards in The Substance—to craft twisted counterattacks and fuck with her audience a little. Fargeat's newest film stars Demi Moore as an aging celeb who's game to inject herself with a black market serum to become younger and more beautiful. I'd say "couldn't be me," but then again, I've got a lot more aging ahead of me. Perhaps that underlying anxiety is part of the point. LC
(SIFF Cinema Uptown, Uptown, Monday–Thursday)

FOOD & DRINK

Northwest Tea Festival 2024 Past Event Like List
Channel your inner Uncle Iroh at the 14th edition of this two-day festival dedicated to all things tea, "from the cultural to the historical and the sensory to the scientific." Whether you're a casual tea fan or a devoted aficionado, you're invited to enjoy samples, presentations from noted tea experts, and browse teas and teaware for sale. JB
(Seattle Center Exhibition Hall, Uptown, Saturday–Sunday)

HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH

MEXAM NW Festival 2024 Remind Like List
Hispanic Heritage Month runs from mid-September to mid-October, a time during which many Latin American countries celebrate their national independence days. MEXAM NW Festival is an exhilarating multi-event, multi-venue festival curated by the Consulate of Mexico in Seattle that showcases the vibrancy of Hispanic and Mexican American culture. The festival kicks off with live mural painting and celebrations in Lakewood and Auburn and concludes in mid-October with a Día de los Muertos concert. Expect tons of Latin American food, mariachi bands, folk dancing, arts and craft markets, and community joy. SL
(Various locations, Friday–Sunday)

PERFORMANCE

Funny Girl Past Event Like List
Before the film adaptation of Funny Girl unleashed Barbra Streisand upon the world in 1968, it was a bittersweet, quickly beloved Broadway musical that told the tale of a scrappy New Yorker who dreamed of stardom. This revival production pens another love letter to the theater with a reprisal of Jule Styne and Bob Merrill's original score, plus tap choreography by Ayodele Casel, additional choreography by Ellenore Scott, and direction from Michael Mayer. LC
(Paramount Theatre, Downtown, Tuesday–Sunday)

Guards at the Taj Past Event Like List
Rajiv Joseph's Obie Award-winning play follows two Imperial Guards in 17th-century India, where from their morning post, they gaze upon the newly completed Taj Mahal. Okay, just pause for a moment and imagine that. Here's an image if you need help. Got it? Now meet me back here. The narrative grows complicated when the pair are ordered to perform an "unthinkable task"—per the New York Times review of the production, Guards at the Taj "raises potent questions about the human price paid throughout history." LC
(ArtsWest, Junction, Monday–Sunday)

LIZZIE: A Rock Musical in 40 Whacks Past Event Like List
I know what I like, and what I like is musical theater based on legendary murder mysteries. This one's so well-known there's a devilish children's song named after it. Lizzie Borden was put on trial (and acquitted—she was Teflon Don in the courtroom, I guess) for taking an axe to her mother and father in Fall River, Massachusetts, in 1892. LIZZIE explores the heated days leading up to and following the murders with a "guitar-driven rock score," "fake blood and gore," and enough "implied sexual abuse/incest" to warrant a trigger warning. Proceeds from the production benefit Legal Voice, which works in Pacific Northwest courtrooms, legislatures, and communities to "create and enforce strong, equitable laws and empower people to know their rights." LC
(Broadway Performance Hall, Capitol Hill, Friday–Saturday)

Mouthwater Festival: A Disabled Dance Festival Remind Like List
Envisioned as the "beginning of an arts hub by and centering Black and Indigenous disabled artists to present, collaborate, and get uplifted for their crafts," the Mouthwater Festival espouses values we can get behind, anticapitalism and antifascism among them. The fest brings together artists with disabilities from across the country for solidarity, community-building, and over a dozen artsy events. I'm looking forward to Vanessa Hernández Cruz's experimental piece Soul Seeker and the Mouthwater Cabaret, featuring performances by India Harville, Saira Barbaric, Mx. Pucks A’Plenty, and others. LC
(Various locations, Monday–Sunday)

reSET ALL STARS Past Event Like List
12th Avenue Arts' annual reSET program is turning 10 this year, marking a whole decade of reimagined choreography created with mainstage scenery backdrops. They'll celebrate the series by bringing back some reSET "all-stars" for two weekends of "set-specific" performances. I'm stoked to see what Keyes Wiley, Alyza DelPan-Monley, Kaitlin McCarthy, Kelly Langeslay, Fox Whitney, Mark Haim, Angel Aguayo, and Cherdonna Shinatra dream up with the set design of Cowboys with Questions. LC
(12th Avenue Arts, Capitol Hill, Monday–Friday)

SPAM New Media Festival Past Event Like List
The Spam New Media Festival began in 2023 with activations at Freeway Park (and collaborating art institutions) by the University of Washington’s Digital Arts and Experimental Media (DXARTS) Ph.D. candidates. DXARTS students aren't afraid to get weird with it, so the experience made the city a little more interesting with free sound performances, videos, and "sculptural interventions" inspired by the idea of salvage, data sets, collective memory, and archives. This year, the festival returns for three days, taking over the historic Georgetown Steam Plant with works by 36 wide-ranging new media artists. Expect explorations in "video game technologies, animatronics, radio interventions, e-textiles, audio-visual installations, and digitally mediated sculptural works," including brainwave-powered VR, a Chinese cyberfeminist archive, electromagnetic "ghost sensors," an inflatable Puerto Rican vejigante mask, and Fantastic Ingenuity, a "multifaceted conversation of Afrofuturism." LC
(Georgetown Steam Plant, Georgetown, Friday–Sunday)

VISUAL ART

Audineh Asaf: Remember Me Past Event Like List
First-generation Iranian American artist Audineh Asaf was raised hearing stories of imprisonment, execution, and persecution under an oppressive regime. After immigrating to the United States, Asaf's world still felt shaped by her cultural identity, and the "ongoing struggle for freedom in Iran" also found its way into her distinctive multimedia artworks. Drawing from both American quilting and Persian weaving practices, Asaf's tapestries "illuminate and humanize the experiences of individuals who have faced unimaginable hardship," while textured collages depict political prisoners, poets, and protestors whose fearless perspectives serve as inspiration. LC
(Gallery 4Culture, Pioneer Square, Monday–Thursday; closing)

Eric Chamberlain: CAKES Past Event Like List
Because artists are, first and foremost, people with typical lives like the rest of us, I'm always intrigued when an artwork is inspired by someone's day job. For the last decade, Eric Chamberlain has been painting dishware—think pitchers, vases, platters, cake plates, baking dishes, and bowls—inspired by his employment at a housewares store. Chamberlain's practice involves "studying and pondering the items on display," then painting them from memory back in his studio, so the results feel immediate, intuitive, and delightfully wonky. LC
(Shift Gallery, Pioneer Square, Friday–Saturday; closing)

Jeffry Mitchell: Alligators, Elefants, & Alphabets Past Event Like List
"If Jesus comes back, I'm introducing him to Jeffry Mitchell," former Stranger writer Jen Graves once opined. "Jeffry can bring Christ up to speed on things like humor and gayness and art, and Jesus can feel good about what humanity's been up to, and together they can visit the Berninis in Rome." The self-proclaimed "gay folk artist" creates work that is flatly impossible not to love. It’s playful, human, and elaborate, with a friendly vitality that nods to the importance of both meticulous craft and self-acceptance. This solo exhibition of Mitchell's work features sculptural works in clay, neon, and wood, plus works on paper, which are "foundational" to his detailed process. LC
(Traver Gallery, Downtown, Tuesday–Saturday; closing)

Nikki McClure: Something About the Sky & Other Wonderings Past Event Like List
McClure is the kind of person who will, say, wrap up an interview at her home on a breezy July day by suggesting a spontaneous dip in the sea. It was there, in that post-interview moment, that it clicked. We became a frame of her artwork. The water circling out from our bodies, the sunlight dancing across the surface of the sea, the seal coming over to say hello. You can feel the magic yourself this summer at her career-spanning solo exhibit at the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art. The show, Something About the Sky & Other Wonderings, includes pieces ranging from her very first art show in 1996 to her latest book, Something About the Sky. And, in true McClure style, she’s made a little room for visitors to soak in their own creativity. STRANGER MANAGING EDITOR MEGAN SELING
(Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, Bainbridge Island, Monday–Sunday; closing)

Recent Acquisitions Remind Like List
Centering artists with "deep connections" to the Pacific Northwest, the Frye's latest exhibition features born-and-raised Portlanders, Seattle transplants, and others who have shaped the artistic scene in our neck of the woods. I'm excited to hear that personal fave Ellen Lesperance's paintings informed by knitting patterns are part of the mix, as well as Margie Livingston's "paint objects," Natalie Ball's assemblages, Olympia-born group Tracy + the Plastics' digital video, and other multimedia works. LC
(Frye Art Museum, First Hill, Saturday–Sunday; opening)

Tip Toland: Behind the Scenes Past Event Like List
Tip Toland's hyperrealistic aged figures bring eccentric new life to the ceramic bust medium, a form that feels underutilized in contemporary art. Seeking to "empathetically and intimately examine the latent parts of ourselves that are nagging to be reckoned with," Toland's expressive sculptures—paired with large-scale pencil drawings in Behind the Scenes—feel beautifully strange and intimate. I'm especially intrigued by ALWAYS THE DIPLOMAT | 34689, a ceramic and mixed-media sculpture of an elderly man flanked by two monstrous hand puppets. LC
(Traver Gallery, Downtown, Tuesday–Saturday; closing)

Warren Dykeman: FAST FLUX TEST Remind Like List
In Warren Dykeman’s fifth solo exhibition at studio e, block-like figures are rendered in composite view—think ancient Egyptian art—while other pieces feature vases of tangled vines or ultra-stylized "pastures." It didn't surprise me to learn that Dykeman is a graphic designer by day; his style patchworks a folksy sensibility with a smart, contemporary flair. Dykeman grew up in Kennewick, just outside the Hanford Nuclear Reservation; this solo exhibition pulls its title from a “fast neutron” nuclear test reactor at the Hanford site, and feels infused with forgotten Americana. LC
(studio e, Georgetown, Thursday–Saturday)