Seattle’s Fleet Foxes, which wowed us with its ethereal, self-titled debut album in 2008, will release its second album, “Helplessness Blues,” May 3 on the…
Read Full ArticleCD REVIEW: Seattle’s Barbara Ireland turns back time on delicious new disc
Seattle singer-songwriter Barbara Ireland’s new album is a world apart from the glam-punk she once performed as a member of The Fags and other bands.…
Read Full ArticleCD REVIEW: Pearl Jam’s ‘Live on Ten Legs’ celebrates a 20-year legacy
On its 20th anniversary live album, available Tuesday, Jan. 18, Pearl Jam is careful to avoid the greatest-hits trap that can fossilize a band’s career,…
Read Full ArticleCONCERT REVIEW: X braves the cold to usher in a punkish new year
By MIKEL TOOMBS How cold was it Friday night in Seattle? It was so cold that X guitarist Billy Zoom (he was the one with…
Read Full ArticleCD REVIEW: ‘Ain’t Nothin’ Like Christmas’ with Shelby Lynne
With the launch this year of her own recording label, Everso Records, Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Shelby Lynne was finally free to release a first-time Christmas CD…
Read Full ArticleNew York City trio The Narrative benefits from a ‘feminine presence’
By MIKEL TOOMBS The Narrative adds a different storyline to the emo sound with the decidedly feminine presence of singer-keyboardist Suzie Zeldin (isn’t there a…
Read Full ArticleCONCERT REVIEW: Sold-out Wild Flag show makes a splash at High Dive
By MIKEL TOOMBS If you’d flagged the Friday night (Nov. 12) show at the High Dive as merely a two-thirds Sleater-Kinney reunion, you were wildly…
Read Full ArticleCharlie Louvin and Seattle’s Mark Pickerel share musical roots
By MIKEL TOOMBS There are at least two United States of Americana events to note this week. Just in time for Veterans Day, Charlie Louvin,…
Read Full ArticleSeattle meets Iceland in free Seattle City of Music Festival concert
Sister cities Seattle and Reykjavik, Iceland, are coming together for a unique showcase of live music at 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 5, at the Crocodile…
Read Full ArticleCONCERT PREVIEW: Auburn’s He Is We has a Taylor Swiftian ingenuousness
By MIKEL TOOMBS “Is this more than a crush?” He Is We singer Rachel Taylor asks on “Blame It on the Rain,” one (actually two)…
Read Full ArticleRising Texas singer-songwriter Sahara Smith has a really haunting sound
By MIKEL TOOMBS When Sahara Smith was introduced to me as a “222-year-old rising Texan artist,” I knew I had to check her out. Pretty…
Read Full ArticleCD REVIEW: Shakira’s new album, ‘Sale el Sol’: ‘I’m crazy but you like it’
By MIKEL TOOMBS If Shakira hasn’t yet appeared in Seattle, maybe it’s because she hadn’t found the ideal venue. Judging by her largely Spanish-language new…
Read Full ArticleChow down on first City Arts Fest kicking off Wednesday in Seattle
As its name suggests, City Arts Fest covers a lot of ground artistically. The inaugural Heineken-sponsored festival Oct. 20-23 includes music, theater, dance, readings and…
Read Full Article‘Grievous Angel: The Legend of Gram Parsons’ makes its Seattle debut
In 1973, musician and writer Michael Bate interviewed Gram Parsons, known as “the original cosmic cowboy.” Six months later, the pioneering country-rocker (and father of…
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