By MIKEL TOOMBS May Day events in Seattle created quite a “ruckus,” as a certain local publication put it. And now one May night, Tuesday…
Read Full ArticleActor-musician Will Oldham brings his road show to Wolf Haven
By MIKEL TOOMBS Will Oldham, best known as iconoclast indie musician Bonnie “Prince” Billy (bonus points for the superfluous quote marks), established his Pacific Northwest…
Read Full ArticleRecord Store Day/Seattle features live sets by Dierks Bentley and others
By MIKEL TOOMBS Happy Record Store Day, lower Queen Anne! OK, the Seattle neighborhood isn’t the only one to enjoy the benefits of the annual…
Read Full ArticleCONCERT PREVIEW: New Multitudes pay tribute to Woody Guthrie
By MIKEL TOOMBS If you like Woody Guthrie (and isn’t it un-American not to?), this band is your band. Yim Yames (My Morning Jacket front…
Read Full ArticleCONCERT PREVIEW: The Deep Dark Woods are gloriously gloomy
By MIKEL TOOMBS “I’ve got these blues that I just can’t lose.” Welcome to the gloriously gloomy Americana of the aptly named The Deep Dark…
Read Full ArticleBUMBERSHOOT: Five best bets for a fabulous festival weekend
by GENE STOUT Think of Bumbershoot as a treasure hunt. The three-day festival beginning Saturday, Sept. 3, and concluding Monday, Sept. 5, is a cultural…
Read Full ArticleCONCERT REVIEW: Jeff Bridges plays Bad Blake at Chateau Ste. Michelle
By GENE STOUT The real Bad Blake drinks wine, not whiskey. Movie star and musician Jeff Bridges, who portrayed down-and-out, whiskey-swilling country singer Bad Blake…
Read Full ArticleSinger-songwriter Eilen Jewell is the retro queen of the minor key
By MIKEL TOOMBS Eilen Jewell earns another retro grade “A” with her new album, “Queen of the Minor Key.” Eilen fans (rhymes with “ceilin’ fans”)…
Read Full ArticleCD REVIEW: New Star Anna album is ‘a raw, rockin’ experience’
By MIKEL TOOMBS Star Anna looks more than a bit like Brandi Carlile in her recent photos, but don’t let that fool you. Apart from…
Read Full ArticleSeattle’s Out to Lunch series boasts a stellar lineup — for free
By MIKEL TOOMBS Rodney Crowell, The Paperboys, Wheedle’s Groove, Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks, Star Anna & the Laughing Dogs, Portland Cello Project, Pearl…
Read Full ArticleBrett Dennen kicks off West Coast tour in earth-loving style
Performing songs from his hot-selling fourth studio album, “Loverboy,” singer-songwriter Brett Dennen kicked off the West Coast leg of his current tour with a show…
Read Full ArticleA ‘repurposed’ Neptune Theatre reopens June 17 with Mark Lanegan
By MIKEL TOOMBS If you attended any of the Seattle International Film Festival screenings at the Neptune Theatre, you’d be forgiven for thinking it was…
Read Full ArticleTexas-bred songwriter Sarah Jarosz renews her Northwest connection
By MIKEL TOOMBS I once had the distinct pleasure of witnessing Jewel get kicked out of a bar at which she would soon perform. No,…
Read Full ArticleQ&A: Brandi Carlile rocks the symphony with ‘Live at Benaroya’
By GENE STOUT Seattle singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile, whose voice is among the most powerful and stirring in the Northwest, calls her new CD “a rock…
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