Want more? Here’s everything we recommend this month: Music, Visual Art, Literature, Performance, Film, Food & Drink, and This & That.
Slayyyter, Pearly Drops
Sept 4
With a sound described as “Charli XCX on whippets” and a look modeled on the MySpace-era aesthetic and Y2K bimbo queens, Slayyyter is the bratty, trashy-fabulous diva that the chronically online gays have been waiting for. The “anti-pop star” and former Cookie Monster pajamas girl’s third studio album, WOR$T GIRL IN AMERICA, is a no-skips wonder that sounds like it’s been freshly ripped from a hot pink iPod Nano, inspired by her teen years in St. Louis. The lead single “Beat Up Chanel$” evokes, as the lyrics go, “drunk high school nights in parking lots, hanging at the skate park watching the boys, longing for designer items I couldn’t afford,” while “Brittany Murphy” expresses Slayyyter’s suicidal thoughts and her identification with the late Uptown Girls actress. The Showbox stop on her world tour is an opportunity to see an unstoppable artist at the top of her game—plus, a dollar of each ticket sold will be donated to local LGBTQ+ organizations. (Showbox,
8 pm, all ages) JULIANNE BELL
Reflections: Gigi Masin, Cole Pulice
Sept 4
It seems like a glorious dream that Seattle’s finally hosting Gigi Masin—in a First Hill church yet. The Italian musician is revered for his ambient, jazz, and electronic fusions as a solo artist, in the group Gaussian Curve, and in collaboration with heavies such as dub-techno great Rod Modell and sublime jazz/library-music keyboardist Greg Foat. Masin’s 1986 debut album Wind introduced his preternaturally pretty and calm melding of piano-centric ambient and mellow, ECM-esque jazz, like a European spin on Harold Budd, but with occasional forlorn vocals. Fun fact: The beautifully pastel composition “Clouds” from Les Nouvelles Musiques de Chambre, Vol. 2 (with This Heat drummer Charles Hayward) was sampled by Björk and Post Malone. The new Movement might be Masin’s most diverse album yet, shifting from luxurious languor to enigmatic, beat-driven chillouts to laid-back, jazzy house. Arrive early for Cole Pulice’s float-y sax-and-electronics set. (Trinity Episcopal Parish Church, 8 pm, all ages) DAVE SEGAL
Bumbershoot 2026
Sept 5–6
Phew! Another music festival? But it’s September! Isn’t it time to go back to school and drink hot cocoa under a cozy blanket and pretend to care about football? No! There is still summer fun to be had, as exhausted as you may be, because Bumbershoot is taking over the Seattle Center September 5 and 6 with two days of music, comedy, art, wrestling, fashion, and so much more. (Like, literally there is a mermaid???) We know how overwhelming festivals can be, and this year’s Bumbershoot lineup, while smaller than previous iterations, is still loaded with so much good shit. Bikini Kill! De La Soul! Noname! Peaches! So we did your homework for you and wrote up every! single! band! playing over the weekend, as well as all the fun arts and culture and cat stuff. We crammed it all into an exhaustive guide that you can pick up around town, at the festival, and online here. Sleep is overrated anyway. (Seattle Center, times vary, all ages) MEGAN SELING
MEZZFEST: Fan Club, Sux, Ononos, Dish Pit, Scott Yoder, and more
Sept 6
Esteemed Italian restaurant Mezzanotte’s end-of-the-summer block party is back for the third year in a row! Take a “Georgetown pause” and come check out this all-time lineup of staff, friends, and locals as Mezzanotte’s garden patio sonically transforms to rival even the sounds of passing planes. For the cost of $20 (a Seattle fiver), there are eight bands—Fan Club, Sux, Ononos, Dish Pit, Scott Yoder, Brat, Microfoam, and Understater—and it starts at 4 p.m. and wraps up around dark (take that, Zoo Tunes), so you can be in bed early Sunday night. All ages are welcome, and kids get in free. (Mezzanotte, 4 pm, all ages) DYLAN BUECHE
The Stranger Genius Awards w/Shabazz Palaces
Sept 12
The Genius Awards is a ceremony where we give six big-ass checks to Geniuses of Film, Food, Literature, Music, Performance, and Visual Art! There will be drag (the event is hosted by Miss Texas 1988 and Lady GuGu), there will be DJs (past Genius Award-winner Erik Blood is in town; La Mala Noche closes the evening with a basement dance party 10–11 p.m.), there will be trophies (handmade by local art wizard Mary Anne Carter). Past Genius Award winners Shabazz Palaces will headline; their lead single “Ahh World (I Won The Alpha Bet)” off their excellent upcoming album, It’s a Style Sport, says to “put your money where your mouth is”—our thoughts exactly. A party, a ceremony, a show, all in the name of CELEBRATING ART. What more could you want for 10 bucks? Speaking of style, do you have a special or weird thing in your closet that you never get to bust out? Now is the time! Personally, I’m aiming for something between an opulent magician and Miss Scarlet from the 1985 Clue movie. (Moore Theatre, 6:30 pm, all ages) EMILY NOKES
R Day: Dehd, Telehealth, Kadabra, Lace Cadence
Sept 12
Seattle’s annual Line Fest is here! Roll down to Georgetown to stand in a line to stand in line for another line to run into 30 people you know and not really catch up because they’re in a different line and neither one of you really wants to forfeit your spot in line. I certainly hope drinking beer doesn’t make you have to pee. The R stands for Rows of people standing in a line. You’re going to go no matter what because it’s free, there is beer, and quality bands are playing—Dehd and Seattle’s own Telehealth—but you should at least know what to expect. (The Old Rainier Brewery, 4 pm, 21+) DYLAN BUECHE
JPEGMAFIA, redveil, Matt Proxy
Sept 17
JPEGMAFIA has experienced enough of America to feel warranted in sending spitballs at the populace from the back of the class. From a childhood in Flatbush, Brooklyn, where his brother was shot, to formative years in Alabama, to serving overseas in (and being honorably discharged from) the US military, the life of the rapper/producer born Barrington DeVaughn Hendricks reads as fabled source material. In turn, Hendricks has chosen violence; his weapons: culturally referential industrial glitch production and machine gun-cadence raps that are more often than not screamed at the audience live. As his moniker suggests, he is both ’net savvy and iron(y)clad in his devotion to ruffling feathers on topics political, racial, and those related to posers and/or your girl. While nimble on the mic in a Donald Glover-doing-Death Grips kind of way, his production—where jagged SOPHIE-style e-dustrial meets punk meets tweaked sample candy flipping—has proven the most durable, both in headphones and live. Suffice to say, any JPEGMAFIA experience is a maximalist one. Enter at your own risk. (Showbox SoDo, 7:30 pm, 18+) TODD HAMM
Container, J.R.C.G.
Sept 18
Working out of the overlooked electronic-music hub of Providence, Rhode Island, Container (aka Ren Schofield) has been releasing gripping technoise records for 15 years. His albums and EPs on prestigious labels such as Spectrum Spools and Alter abound with tracks that zip and zigzag with a pent-up fury. The splenetic beats splat with an unpredictability that’ll have you dancing spasmodically while the abrasive textures will trigger huge adrenaline spikes. The latest Container album, Yacker, might be the wildest yet. Basically, Container is techno for noise-rockers. So it makes sense that Tacoma’s fiercest and greatest band, J.R.C.G., will co-headline this show. Led by drummer/vocalist Justin Gallego, they fuse aggressive rock, rugged funk, ornery electronic music, and feisty Latin rhythms into exhilarating soundtracks for end times. (Black Lodge, 7 pm, all ages) DAVE SEGAL
Chelsea Wolfe, Jonathan Hultén
Sept 18
Chelsea Wolfe is at her best when her songs take a turn for the unexpected. See: the shocking rush of tempo change at the end of her 2017 track “Twin Fawn” that could jump-start a car, or the gorgeous, floating-into-the-light arpeggios that bloom amidst the vampirish “Sick” from 2013’s Pain Is Beauty. Something similar happens halfway through the late album slow-burner “Death Is Not the End” from her recent The Dark LP, when a wall of distortion installs itself inside of a quiet moment that, in Wolfe’s world, has become too quiet for comfort. In the absence of such moments that grab hold of the listener, however, Wolfe’s songs have the tendency to meander aimlessly through the still life of her American Gothic scenes, or worse, become predictable. Aside from the above moment, The Dark is her first solo effort (we won’t speak of her Converge collaboration) to fall into such pitfalls, with the added knock of an overly clean production, which saps the caught-in-the-woods allure of her previous recordings. Wolfe’s catalog runs deep, though, so there should still be plenty to be scared by. (Moore Theatre, 8:30 pm, all ages) TODD HAMM
Gouge Away, Cherub Chains, Foxglove
Sept 22
Florida, the syphilitic penis rotting the brain of our country, has given us a plethora of cathartic, captivating punk rock through the years. Against Me!, Hot Water Music, Less Than Jake (lol jk), and Gouge Away, a band that simultaneously sounds like it sprouted from the Washington, DC post-punk scene circa 2001 while also recalling the more guitar-driven wall of noise aspects of the coincidentally vaginal bands Mannequin Pussy and Perfect Pussy, with GA vocalist Christina Michelle’s lung-purging hollers hitting just as hard as Meredith Graves’ famous distorted rage. Also on the bill are Seattle’s Cherub Chains, a hardcore band Asian Verified columnist Michael Wong turned me onto when he described seeing them live for the first time thusly: “The sound was raw, thunderous, a wall of riffs that collapsed into screaming urgency. [Vocalist Molly Nguyen] let out the kind of rallying cry that is hard to make out among the chaos, but the emotions are indelible. You feel it in your chest before your brain catches up.” (Substation, 7 pm, 18+) MEGAN SELING
Mike D 5D
Sept 28
For the last 15 years, Michael Diamond has been laying low musically, with the Beastie Boys’ Hot Sauce Committee Part Two (2011) being the rapper/drummer’s last substantial appearance on record. You could be forgiven for thinking the 60-year-old hip-hop icon had retired to a life of playing basketball and listening to obscure jazz LPs in his California mansion. So, the release of the exciting new Thank You album under the Mike D 5D handle might be the music-biz surprise of the year. Mike roped in sons Skyler and Davis, Medicine bassist Eddie Ruscha, and a few high-ranking pop/R&B session musicians to help him realize his comeback. Diamond’s still funky af, and he’s fused electronics with big rock energy, occasional troubadour sincerity, and Ian Svenonius-style testifying for a varied batch of mature, party-igniting bangers. Special kudos for the stinging electro-funk rager “Crypto,” which lambastes the dubious financial platform. (Showbox, 8 pm, all ages) DAVE SEGAL
Show Me the Body, Whispers, Lip Critic, Truck Violence
Sept 28
New York progressive punk trio Show Me the Body has always cut their art like a skater with a pen knife. Their early shows often took place under bridges, in basements, or on a whim if a kid on the internet invited them across state lines to do a flop-house show during a tour off-day. Their recorded material is equally raw collage work. Imagine heavily distorted punk played with banjo/bass/drums, spoken word ruminations surprisingly smoothly interlaced with hardcore tracks; imagine feeling fulfilled by the result. The trio has never compromised their cutting edge, even when introducing electronic elements or swapping in drummers; in fact, pushing the envelope has become a core tenet (see: Corpus I and II, their electro-punk/rap mashup duology). Their latest, Alone Together, contains all of the above and horns, breakbeats, and pigeons. (El Corazon, 7 pm, all ages) TODD HAMM
Tricky
Sept 30
Tricky’s trip-hop classic Maxinquaye (1995) is a kind of ruins of the ’80s pop sound. Fragments of Trevor Horn are here, shards of Grace Jones are over there, and tremors of the Bomb Squad are felt everywhere—indeed, this is the “Aftermath.” One can also read Maxinquaye, which became associated with the Bristol Sound (Portishead, Massive Attack) as a kind of electronic mirror erected not towards the future but to the past, the last world. What we see by feeling this album, and also his masterpiece, Nearly God (1996), is that of the 20th century setting along the landscape of the ’80s. The song “Feed Me,” at the end of Maxinquaye, best expresses this essentially British dusk. Martina Topley-Bird, one of Tricky’s greatest discoveries, sings: “Feed me when I’m hungry drink me till I’m dry / The dream of yesterday becomes another lie / you feed me lies—distortion—the English disaster / no one is free from love for one master.” Tricky’s second album, Pre-Millennium Tension (1996) extended, to the point of utter darkness, the dusk in “Feed Me.” Tricky is a living legend. (Neumos, 7 pm, all ages) CHARLES MUDEDE
Nick Hakim, Arima Ederra
Oct 2
Nick Hakim, the bard of the Outer Boroughs, has the voice of an angel, and most often, a vision to match. His songs, never in a rush to sensationalize his talents as a singer or guitarist, hit a sweet spot between Helado Negro, the often name-checked D’Angelo, and Bon Iver, and like those artists, his ear for slightly warped production and progressive song structures is where his soul shines through. Not everyone gets all gushy about the wispy tendrils of song Hakim provides, though—in fact, many a critic has accused him of staying too far in the pocket. “For godsakes, Nick, let your star shine!” they say. I will point you in the direction of a song called “Endlessly Waiting,” and let you decide for yourself. The track, from this summer’s I Can See, presents a haunting, dissonant piano line splashed upon itself, rolling on the ebb and flow of a hi-hat tick as Hakim’s aching lines are swallowed in a cave of reverb. If you also find yourself happily melting into each patiently stretched fiber of the song, I’ll see you there. (Neumos, 8 pm, 21+) TODD HAMM
More
Tame Impala, Dominic Fike Sept 2, Climate Pledge Arena, 7 pm, all ages
Osees featuring Brigid Dawson, Traps PS Sept 2–3, Neumos, 7 pm, all ages on Sept 2 and 21+ Sept 3
Black Ends, Zastava, Radium Girls Ultra Sept 3, Black Lodge, 7 pm, all ages
Deck’d Out: Riz Rollins, Kid Hops, Brit, Supreme La Rock Sept 3, Monkey Loft, 7 pm, 21+
Pond, Painted Vein Sept 3, Showbox, 8 pm, all ages
Mini Trees, Coral Grief, Exiter Sept 3, Tractor Tavern, 8 pm, 21+
Southern Culture on the Skids, Poi Rogers Sept 4, Tractor Tavern, 8 pm, 21+
Sam Weber Sept 5, Rabbit Box Theatre, 8 pm, all ages
Trash Sound Conglomerate, Big Smack, Ol’ Doris Sept 5, Add-a-Ball, 8 pm, 21+
AC Slater Sept 5, Substation, 10 pm, 21+
Kelela Sept 8, Showbox, 8 pm, all ages
Bettye LaVette Sept 8–9, Triple Door, 7:30 pm, all ages
Brandon Flowers Sept 9, Showbox, 8 pm, all ages
Haute & Freddy, Rubin Brothers Sept 10, Neumos, 7 pm, all ages
Sean Downey, ff00ff, Queen Shmooquan, Last Eye, DJ Firedrill Sept 10, Baba Yaga, 8 pm, 21+
Cowboy Disco: Henry Mansfield, Vanilla Abstract, Rae Sept 10, Tractor Tavern, 8 pm, 21+
Red Touches Yellow, Lonelygirl15, Gored, Dolls Die Twice, Depiction of Man Sept 11, the Black Lodge, 7 pm, all ages
Den Tapes Presents: Pitschouse, Luxury, 222 Sept 12, Add-a-Ball, 8 pm, 21+
Weezer, the Shins, Silversun Pickups Sept 13, Climate Pledge Arena, 7 pm, all ages
Pallbearer, Ordh, Heldscalla Sept 13, Substation, 8 pm, 21+
Boys Go to Jupiter, Alt Bloom Sept 14, Baba Yaga, 8 pm, all ages
Dogstar, the Backfires Sept 15, Showbox, 8 pm, 21+
Public Image Ltd, Plague Vendor Sept 15, Neptune Theatre, 8 pm, all ages
Hildegard 26: Crystal Beth, Mt Fog, Leeni, Alice Does Computer Music, Old Man of the Woods Sept 16, Vermillion, 7 pm, 21+
The Music of Studio Ghibli with the Seattle Symphony Sept 16, Benaroya Hall, 7:30 pm, all ages
Dark Thoughts, Fan Club Sept 16, Black Lodge, 7 pm, all ages
Manchester Orchestra, Brother Bird Sept 16, Neptune Theatre, 8 pm, all ages
Good Flying Birds, Stoneyard Sept 16, Vera Project, 8:30 pm, all ages
Carsie Blanton, the Burning Hell Sept 17, Tractor Tavern, 8 pm, 21+
Stephen Wilson Jr., the Lone Bellow Sept 17–18, Paramount Theatre, 7:30 pm, all ages
Johnny Blue Skies & the Dark Clouds Sept 18, Climate Pledge Arena, 8 pm, all ages
The Front Bottoms, GDP, Nite Wave Sept 18, Showbox SoDo, 8 pm, all ages
Zookraught, the Snares, Acapulco Lips Sept 18, Add-a-Ball, 8 pm, 21+
Lady A Sept 18, Rabbit Box Theatre, 7 pm, all ages
Bexley, Marble, Tiny Monsters Sept 18, Baba Yaga, 8 pm, 21+
King Youngblood, Long Dark Moon, the Great Ooze Sept 18, Sunset Tavern, 9 pm, 21+
Bobby Bare Jr., Hoist the King Sept 19, Tractor Tavern, 1:30 pm, 21+
Real Don Music, Eric Howk, Timmy Booth Sept 19, Sunset Tavern, 5:30 pm, 21+
Pasatono Orquesta Sept 19, Kerry Hall, 5:30 and
7:30 pm, all ages
Opening Night with Yuja Wang Sept 19, Benaroya Hall, 6 pm, all ages
The Bad Things with Mister Ink Sept 19, Rabbit Box Theatre, 8 pm, all ages
Melanie C Sept 19, Showbox, 8:30 pm, 21+
Man Plus, Midnight Crescendo, Straight to Video Sept 19, Slim’s Last Chance, 8 pm
Thievery Corporation Sept 20, Showbox SoDo, 8 pm, 21+
Journey Sept 21, Climate Pledge Arena, 7:30 pm,
all ages
Arlo Parks, Baird Sept 21, Showbox SoDo, 8 pm, all ages
Sleep Sept 21–22, Neptune Theatre, 8 pm, all ages
Radiator Hospital, Dusk Sept 23, Vera Project, 7 pm, all ages
Sweeping Promises, Eraser, Casual Hex Sept 23, Baba Yaga, 7 pm, 21+
Lily Allen Sept 24, Paramount Theatre, 8 pm, all ages
Xian and James Ehnes Sept 24–27, Benaroya Hall, times vary
Big Thief, Porches Sept 25, Remlinger Farms, 6 pm, all ages
The B-52s, Devo, DJ Cummerbund Sept 25, Climate Pledge Arena, 7 pm, all ages
Candlebox, Sweet Water, Sponge Sept 25, Paramount Theatre, 7 pm, all ages
Sondre Lerche Sept 25, Triple Door, 7:30 pm, all ages
Chat Pile, Soul Glo, Virga Sept 25, Showbox SoDo, 7:30 pm, all ages
Portrayal of Guilt, NØ MAN, Smirk Sept 25, Vera Project, 7 pm, all ages
Alok, Whatever Mike Sept 25, Moore Theatre, 8 pm, all ages
Peter Hook & the Light Sept 25, Showbox, 8:30 pm, 21+
Heavy Bloom, Desperate Electric, Biddadat Sept 26, Add-a-Ball, 8 pm, 21+
Chance the Rapper Sept 26, Paramount Theatre, 8 pm, all ages
Champagne Bubblebath, Annie J Sept 26, Hidden Hall, 9 pm, 21+
Ceremony, Dry Socket, Verity Den Sept 27, Substation, 5 pm, 18+
Brian Fallon & the Painkillers Sept 27, Neumos, 7 pm, 21+
Michelle Branch Sept 27, Showbox, 8 pm, all ages
Forbidden Feline Festival 2026: Faunix, Student Nurse, Skullkat, Trash Panda Go Kart, Negative Passengers, guests Sept 27, Slim’s Last Chance, 2 pm, 21+
Tristen, guests Sept 28, Sunset Tavern, 8 pm, 21+
She & Him Sept 29, Moore Theatre, 8 pm, all ages
Lizzie Steiner Sept 29, Good Shepherd Center, 7 pm, all ages
The Hayley Williams Show, Magdalena Bay, Rico Nasty Sept 30, White River Amphitheatre, 7 pm, all ages
Alicia Witt Oct 1, Rabbit Box Theatre, 7:30 pm, all ages
Casa Sueño, Vinta, Quid Quo Oct 1, Tractor Tavern, 8 pm, 21+
Dave Hause & the Mermaid, American Steel, Dead Bars Oct 2, Sunset Tavern, 7:30 pm, 21+
Dave Hause & the Mermaid, American Steel, Tim Hause Oct 3, Sunset Tavern, 7:30 pm, 21+
Deer Tick, Presley Haile Oct 3, Neumos, 8 pm, 21+
Creed Bratton from The Office Oct 3, Nectar Lounge, 5:30 pm, 21+
Jungle, Rio Kosta Oct 3, Climate Pledge Arena, 8 pm, all ages
Find all these listings and more on our sister site, EverOut Seattle! EverOut.com/Seattle.
