Want more? Here’s everything we recommend this month: Music, Visual Art, Literature, Performance, Film, Food & Drink, This & That.
Dälek, Lamarr Family Values
Oct 8
America’s most uncompromising hip-hop group, New Jersey’s Dälek, have been enlightening and blowing minds since 1998. A staunch advocate for POC’s rights, MC Dälek (aka Will Brooks) trenchantly rails against oppression and strife, from now to centuries back, with an authoritative bellow and a conspiratorial sneer while he and producer/instrumentalist Mike Manteca fuse industrial noise, drone, and funk into towers of sonic power. Their newest album, 2026’s Brilliance of a Falling Moon, takes a flamethrower to the fa$cist ruling class. This decade’s awful times have motivated Dälek to rise to even higher heights of lyrical causticity and sonic brutality. After 28 years of public service in the underground-hip-hop trenches, they’ve proved themselves to be the true heirs to Public Enemy’s crown. (Funhouse, 8 pm, 21+) DAVE SEGAL
Gary Bartz NTU Troop
Oct 11
Earshot Jazz Festival did us a solid by booking Gary Bartz NTU Troop. The iconic 86-year-old jazz saxophonist has played with Charles Mingus, Miles Davis (see Live-Evil), McCoy Tyner, and other legends, and he still sounds vital. Launched in 1969, NTU Troop—featuring the late, great Andy Bey on vocals—helped to lay the foundation for what’s become known as spiritual jazz. Their blend of soul, funk, African folk music, hard bop, and free jazz resulted in several albums that stimulate both body and mind. Currently, Bartz is supporting a serene, uplifting new album he cut with London-based Your Brother’s Keeper, Where Rivers Meet. One of Bartz’s most indelible songs is 1977’s “Music Is My Sanctuary,” and it behooves us to realize that his is ours, too. (Triple Door, 7:30 pm, all ages) DAVE SEGAL
somesurprises, Ilyas Ahmed, Morgan Henderson
Oct 16
Formerly the bedroom project of singer-songwriter Natasha El-Sergany, somesurprises has evolved through the years into a dynamic duo with synthesist and guitarist Josh Medina, blending soothing folk with electronic elements and shoegaze-inspired fuzz. Their latest EP, Year Without Spring, is appropriately reverbed (which, in my opinion, is a lot of reverb) and will most definitely sound amazing in the Good Shepherd Center’s spacious Chapel Performance Space. They will be joined by Portland-based experimental artist Ilyas Ahmed and multi-instrumentalist and Stranger Genius Award short-lister Morgan Henderson (Blood Brothers, Fleet Foxes). For fans of: Broadcast, La Luz, Mazzy Star, Phoebe Bridgers, and Slowdive. (Chapel Performance Space, 7:30 pm, all ages) AUDREY VANN
DJ Shadow Celebrates 30 Years of Endtroducing…..
Oct 17
There is a scene in the documentary Scratch that perfectly captures DJ Shadow. He is in the basement of a Davis, California record store. He is sitting cross-legged on the floor, among stacks and stacks of dusty and abandoned records. The ceiling is low. Pipes are visible. The light in this stuffed space has a glow that’s otherworldly. It is indeed spiritual, and this is how his 1996 masterpiece, Endtroducing….. sounds. It’s the spirituality of sampling. This is why his album will never die. It is just too pure to erode or decay like a body. It instead floats in an ether of forgotten songs, singers, riffs, melodies. Both Blackalicious and DJ Shadow formed, along with Latyrx, the foundation of the legendary Bay Area collective Quannum. If Blackalicious were intellectual rappers, DJ Shadow was something of a medium, a person with the powers of clairaudience. (Paramount Theatre, 8 pm, all ages) CHARLES MUDEDE
Tyondai Braxton
Oct 20
The son of legendary experimental saxophonist Anthony Braxton, Tyondai’s anything but a nepo baby. He’s earned his lofty status in underground music through his exploits in former best band in the omniverse Battles, who took math rock to rarely matched realms of rhythmic complexity, melodic whimsicality, and electronic tomfoolery. Braxton departed Battles in 2010 and since then has been focusing on a solo career that’s veered from vaulting orchestral and electroacoustic composition to abstract electronic music that could discombobulate Autechre fans’ neurons. On Braxton’s mind-bending new album, Splayed Werks, he conjures alien sound worlds that expand the vocabulary of electronic-music composition. This is a rare seated show at Vera, so STFU and listen. (Vera Project, 7 pm, all ages) DAVE SEGAL
Debt Rag, Miscomings, DJ Martin Douglas
Oct 21
Astute local music critic and DJ Martin Douglas has coordinated another strong bill for his Trick Bag series. Olympia’s premier experimental-rock band, Debt Rag, puts punk and no wave in a cyclotron, resulting in concise, idiosyncratic songs that send diabolical heat and sparks through your sensorium. The trio’s music and lyrics possess the urgency and righteous rage that this perilous timeline demands. Check out their latest album, It Is Clear What’s Going On, for proof. Seattle’s Miscomings seemingly have absorbed the harsh lessons of the legendary No New York comp and transformed them into tracks that come at you like a herd of amphetamine-spiked porcupines, with bonus doses of Minutemen-like funk. Exhilaration awaits you. (Sunset Tavern, 8 pm, 21+) DAVE SEGAL
MOPOP’s Icons of Pop Culture Gala With Salt-N-Pepa
Oct 22
MOPOP’s Icons of Pop Culture Gala is probably your only chance to see the queens of hip-hop, Salt-N-Pepa, at a venue this tiny (unless you time-travel back to 1986). The duo, with DJ Spinderella, of course, will perform classics like “Whatta Man,” “Shoop,” “Let’s Talk About Sex,” and “None of Your Business” at the 250-capacity Sky Church. I really hope they also play a few songs from their criminally underrated 1997 album Brand New, which is rich with wordplay and glossy ’90s production, in the same vein as Lil’ Kim’s Hard Core. And look, I recognize that the $250 ticket price is no small thing, but if you’ve ever paid Ticketmaster/Live Nation hundreds of dollars, don’t think twice about supporting the MOPOP with their future exhibitions, youth education programs, and community initiatives. (MOPOP, 8:30 pm, 21+) AUDREY VANN
Ken Ishii, Cory Simpson
Oct 25
Ken Ishii was the first Japanese solo electronic-music producer I got hip to, thanks to his 1995 album Flare dazzling me with its ingenious textures and dynamic rhythms. Throughout the ’90s, Ishii released a grip of phenomenal records in which IDM, techno, funky breaks, and ambient converged into fascinating hybrids. Shamefully, I lost track of him in the ’00s, but, whoa, Ken’s still creating and DJing like a madman, including a 2019 collab with Detroit techno legend Jeff Mills. Whether he’s performing his own cuts or spinning others’ in his wide-ranging sets, Ishii manifests a distinctive brand of dance-floor hypnosis. At Substation, he’ll be DJing, along with Cory Simpson, a prime mover in Seattle’s techno scene who heads the Depth crew. (Substation, 7 pm, 21+) DAVE SEGAL
The Chicks
Oct 25–26
Do you remember where you were when the Chicks premiered “Not Ready to Make Nice”? I was 10 years old, sitting on the couch getting ready to leave for school when it first played on VH1. While I won’t pretend I understood the conflict at hand, I had seen ex-fans burning their CDs on the news, and I didn’t like the outrage toward the three sparkly women who made the only country music I liked. “Not Ready to Make Nice” isn’t just a courageous political statement that doubled down on their criticism of Bush, but it’s an excellent pop song. Even when I was 10, with almost no understanding of politics, the bubbling rage and frustration carried through and inspired me. And, in a time when artists are still being punished for speaking out against war (see: Macklemore, who was kicked off Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour last month for advocating against Palestinian genocide), the legacy of the Chicks’ Taking the Long Way is a reminder that being on the right side of history is always worth it, even if it means loss of money or an audience you didn’t want in the first place. The trio will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the album by playing it in its entirety for two consecutive nights at Benaroya Hall. (Benaroya Hall, 8:30 pm, all ages) AUDREY VANN
Frankie Cosmos
Oct 26
Wanna feel old? It’s been 10 years since Greta Kline, aka Frankie Cosmos, released her 2016 studio album Next Thing, which contains some of her most well-known songs, including “Fool,” “Sappho,” and “Outside With the Cuties.” The dreamy, wistful record features influences from poet Frank O’Hara and musician Arthur Russell, with Kline’s floaty vocals and contemplative lyrics layered over soft synths. It packs the emotional punch of a coming-of-age film into the span of 28 minutes and 28 seconds and defined my 20s—in fact, I am having an existential spiral realizing that it’s been a decade since I attended the Vera Project show for Frankie Cosmos’s West Coast tour promoting this album alongside former Seattle favorites iji (now based in Los Angeles). Kline and her band will return to Seattle to celebrate Next Thing’s anniversary at the Crocodile, with an opening set by hometown heroes Coral Grief, and I fully expect it to heal me. (Crocodile, 8 pm, all ages) JULIANNE BELL
Kacey Musgraves, the Brudi Brothers
Oct 26–27
I’ve been a fan of Dolly Parton’s spiritual successor Kacey Musgraves since her 2013 single “Follow Your Arrow,” and it’s been a treat to watch her career evolve over the years. Her bittersweet latest album, Middle of Nowhere, finds her deep in her single era, evoking both liminal spaces and her Texan roots—the title comes from a sign she spotted in her hometown that read, “Golden, Texas: Somewhere in the middle of nowhere.” It’s by turns horny, as on the touch-starved bop “Dry Spell” (“Ain’t nobody’s tool up in my shed / Ain’t nobody’s boots under my bed”), and heartbreaking, as on the ballad “Hell on Me.” She also works out a 15-year feud with country star Miranda Lambert on the remix in their duet “Horses and Divorces”: “It’s all whiskey under the bridge.” Seattle-based sibling busker trio the Brudi Brothers will kick off Musgraves’s show at Climate Pledge Arena. (Climate Pledge Arena, 7:30 pm, all ages) JULIANNE BELL
beabadoobee, Wisp
Oct 29
I’m hard-pressed to think of many artists who reinvent themselves as effortlessly and confidently as Beatrice Laus, better known by her stage name beabadoobee. The Filipino British singer-songwriter rose to fame with her debut single, “Coffee,” which went viral on YouTube in 2017 and blew up even more after it was sampled on Canadian rapper Powfu’s TikTok-popular 2019 song “Death Bed (Coffee for Your Head).” Two years after her indie-pop album This Is How Tomorrow Moves, she’s adopting an edgier, grungier sound with her new album Pylon, which incorporates ’90s alt influences and enlists Hayley Williams, Pinegrove’s Evan Stephens Hall, Deftones’ Chino Moreno, and Turnstile’s Brendan Yates as collaborators. Laus’s ethereal vocals recall the Cranberries’ Dolores O’Riordan over fuzzy, shoegaze-tinged guitars, simmering with heartbreak and nostalgia—the album gets its title from the pylon towers she’d gaze at out the window while homesick on tour. Up-and-coming nu-gaze artist Wisp will join her on her first arena tour. (Climate Pledge, 8 pm, all ages) JULIANNE BELL
Rebecca Black, BAYLI
Oct 30
Rebecca Black has successfully shed the skin of her notoriously cringe viral bop “Friday.” Today, her public persona leans into her status as a queer icon, hyperpop sensation, and collaborator of genre rule-breakers like Dylan Brady (100 gecs), Big Freedia, and Dorian Electra. On her sophomore album, Age of the Exhibitionist, she harmonizes about kink and pleasure à la Madonna’s Erotica. Explaining to Out Magazine her hopes for the album, Black said, “I hope [listeners] sweat, I hope they fuck, I hope they do everything they need to do. There really is a song for everything on this record.” Brooklyn-based artist BAYLI will open with her signature blend of club, rap, and pop bangers. (Showbox, 7 pm, all ages) AUDREY VANN
More
Michigander, Chapel Oct 7, Sunset Tavern, 8:30 pm, 21+
Snax’s Karaoke Oct 7, Rabbit Box Theatre, 9 pm, all ages
Acid Mothers Temple, Magick Potion, IROIRO Oct 7, Clock-Out Lounge, 9 pm, 21+
Earshot Jazz Festival 2026 Oct 7–25, various venues, times vary
Transylvanian Dance Jazz Concert Oct 9, Good Shepherd Center, 7:30 pm, all ages
The Menzingers, Hot Water Music, Weakened Friends Oct 10, Neptune Theatre, 7 pm, all ages
The Dresden Dolls Oct 10, 5th Ave Theatre, 8 pm, all ages
Julian Priester Oct 10, Seattle Jazz Fellowship, 7:30 pm, all ages
Kishi Bashi, Geographer Oct 10, Crocodile, 6 pm, 21+
Zookraught, IX of Swords, Black Ends, Two Week Notice Oct 10, Sunset Tavern, 9 pm, 21+
Branford Marsalis and Dianne Reeves Celebrate John Coltrane Oct 10, Town Hall, 8 pm, all ages
Automatic, Donzii Oct 10, Neumos, 8 pm, 21+
The Spooooooky Sapphic Soirée Oct 10, Asylum Collective, 9 pm, 21+
Jeff Goldblum & The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra with the Seattle Symphony Oct 11, Benaroya Hall, 4 pm, all ages
Aaron Pond, Abbey Blackwell, Fredy Andrés, Eric Acosta, MSHR Oct 11, Vermillion, 7 pm, 21+
Iron & Wine, Ken Pomeroy Oct 13, 5th Ave Theatre, 8 pm, all ages
Warren Dunes, Litvar Oct 13, Rabbit Box Theatre, 8 pm, all ages
Doja Cat Oct 15, Climate Pledge Arena, 7:30 pm, all ages
Fiesta de Putxs Oct 15, Chop Suey, 9 pm, 21+
As Many Weirdos as Possible: Kelli Canary, Kerri Harrop, Steph and Bruce Fairweather, DJ Sean Malik, David Booker, DJ Trent Von Oct 16, Town Hall, 6:30 pm, all ages
The 8-Bit Big Band with the Seattle Symphony Oct 16, Benaroya Hall, all ages
Killer Clowns From Outer Space: Alien-Clown Carnival Rave Oct 17, Asylum, 10 pm, 21+
Shaboozey Oct 18, Paramount Theatre, 8 pm, all ages
Cheekface, Waitress, Dude York Oct 18, Crocodile, 7 pm, all ages
Mom Jeans, Harrison Gordon, Sobs Oct 18, Showbox, 7:30 pm, all ages
Hulder, Antichrist Siege Machine, Secterror Oct 18, Substation, 6:30 pm, 18+
Frog Oct 19, Neumos, 7 pm, all ages
Nice as Fuck featuring Jenny Lewis, Erika Forster, and Tennessee Thomas Oct 20, Nectar Lounge, 5 pm and 8:15 pm, 21+
Digable Planets: Blowout Comb 30th Anniversary Tour Oct 20, Neptune Theatre, 8 pm, all ages
This Is Lorelei, Colin Miller Oct 21, Nuemos, 7 pm, 21+
Sidney Hauser, Sasha Berliner Oct 22, Town Hall, 7:30 pm, all ages
Shakey Graves, Wild Pink Oct 22, Showbox at the Market, 8 pm, 21+
Resavoir, Greg Uhlmann Oct 22, Barboza, 7 pm, 21+
Where’s Beth, Lilly Miller, Coach Phillips Oct 22, Tractor Tavern, 7:30 pm, 21+
Phoebe Bridgers, Alex G Oct 23, Climate Pledge Arena, 7:30 pm, all ages
Maskerade: Queer Halloween Party Oct 23, Asylum, 9 pm, 21+
Bobbyy x AKAI Solo, Stas THEE Boss, DERO Oct 23, Clock-Out Lounge, 9:30 pm, 21+
Geese, Bill Orcutt Oct 23, Paramount Theatre, 8 pm, all ages
Dummy, Golomb, Spiral XP Oct 23, Tractor Tavern, 8:30 pm, 21+
Dinosaur Jr., Stef Chura Oct 23–24, Neptune Theatre, 8 pm, all ages
Bedouine, Other Delights Oct 24, Ballard Homestead, 7:30 pm, all ages
Freddy Fuego Oct 24, Town Hall, 9 pm, all ages
Lesbian Werewolf Chainsaw Massacre: High Camp Halloween Party Oct 24, Asylum, 9 pm, 21+
Møtrik, Screen Frogs Oct 24, Baba Yaga, 7 pm, 21+
Seattle Philharmonic Orchestra Presents: Demons, Vampires, Witches Oct 24, Benaroya Hall
Protomarytr, Accessory Oct 27, Nuemos, 7 pm, 21+
The Dillinger Escape Plan, Squid Pisser Oct 27, Neptune Theatre, 8 pm, all ages
Ho99o9, N8NOFACE, Slay Squad Oct 27, Substation, 8 pm, 21+
Julia Jacklin Oct 28, Moore Theatre, 8 pm, all ages
Henry Mansfield Halloween Party with Ghost Fetish, Old Man of the Woods, Zara Oct 28, Hidden Hall, 7 pm, 21+
Mothica’s Halloween Extravaganza Oct 28, Neumos, 7:30 pm, all ages
Twilight Cover Night: Wiseacre, Poached, DJ Kennady Oct 29, Chop Suey, 8 pm, 21+
Everclear, American Hi-Fi Oct 29, Showbox, 8 pm, 21+
Cumbia de Muertos V Oct 30, multiple locations, 7 pm, 21+
Joy Oladokun Oct 30, Moore Theatre, 8 pm, all ages
I’m Not Okay: Emo Halloween Party with DJ Baby Van Beezly Oct 30, Nectar Lounge, 9:30 pm, 21+
Den Tapes Halloween Bash III Oct 30–31, Sunset Tavern, 7:30 pm, 21+
BOO Seattle: Haunted Mansion Oct 30–31, WAMU Theater, 5 pm, 18+
Hollerween: Frankie and the Witch Fingers Oct 30–31, Baba Yaga, 7 pm, 21+
Halloween Cover Show: The Love Cats (the Cure), Sour Times (Portishead) Oct 31, Clock-Out Lounge, 8 pm, 21+
Kepi Ghoulie, the Bloodtypes, Head Oct 31, Slim’s Last Chance, 8 pm, 21+
The Lost Boys Vampire Ball: Prom Date Mixtape Oct 31, Hidden Hall, 8 pm, 21+
Slip Halloween 2026 Oct 31, Kremwerk Complex, 10 pm, 21+
Freakout Matinee: Laboratorios Morena, Gadfly, Buddy Wynkoop, Weep Wave Nov 1, Conor Byrne Pub, 1 pm, 21+
Gilla Band, Piss Nov 1, Neumos, 7 pm, 21+
Ian Sweet Nov 3, Baba Yaga, 8 pm, 21+
Gorillaz, Little Simz, Deltron 3030 Oct 31, Climate Pledge Arena, 7:30 pm, all ages
Find all these listings and more on our sister site, EverOut Seattle! EverOut.com/Seattle.
