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 ArticleCONCERT REVIEW: Eddie Vedder strums his stuff for hometown fans
By GENE STOUT Eddie Vedder was clearly thrilled to be home after a long string of dates on his solo “Ukulele Songs” tour. Speaking to…
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 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…
Read Full ArticleCONCERT REVIEW: Paul Simon still vital after all these years
By JO ANN RIGGS It was a true Kodachrome moment. Paul Simon, who’d played WaMu Theater in Seattle on April 15, debuted the club portion…
Read Full ArticlePeter Frampton, Jeff Bridges, B-52s heading to Chateau Ste. Michelle
The 2011 summer concert series at Chateau Ste. Michelle features a lot of top musicians and one movie star — Jeff Bridges — who performs…
Read Full ArticleSongwriter Sam Phillips to receive prestigious Denise Levertov Award
By MIKEL TOOMBS She’s been nominated for two Grammys, under both her Christian name Leslie and her self-adopted one, but Sam Phillips has never won…
Read Full ArticleCD REVIEW: Paul Simon returns with ever-graceful ‘So Beautiful’
By MIKEL TOOMBS As he has since at least 1956, when Simon and Garfunkel first became a duo, Paul Simon ponders the mysteries of the…
Read Full ArticleTractor Tavern celebrates spring with ‘engagingly quirky’ Olof Arnalds
By MIKEL TOOMBS Bumper sticker recently spotted in Seattle’s Phinney Ridge neighborhood: “FLEE BALLARD.” (That car hadn’t gotten far.) No matter how trendy it’s become,…
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