MONDAY 4/20
(FILM) Based on the 1934 play of the same name by Lillian Hellman, this 1961 film directed by William Wyler follows two former college classmates, Karen (Audrey Hepburn) and Martha (Shirley MacLaine), who open a private boarding school for girls. When one of their students misconstrues an overheard conversation, a pernicious rumor begins to spread that the two women are lesbian lovers, leading to devastating consequences. Though the film appears on its surface to be a straightforward critique of gossip—MacLaine said in the 1996 documentary The Celluloid Closet that she and Hepburn never discussed their characters’ sexuality—it also serves as a prescient exploration of moral panic and homophobia that’s (unfortunately) still relevant today. Prepare to sob and to feel more hatred for a child than you ever thought possible. (Beacon Cinema, times vary) JULIANNE BELL
TUESDAY 4/21
(MUSIC) The only complaint I’ve heard about Cory Wong’s live show is that it might be too upbeat? The guitarist is known for joyfully leading a funk band of almost a dozen members onstage, occasionally sharing wholesome stories and bringing out humorous stage props. Wong’s unique jazz-funk style of guitar blends with the talented musicians around him—including an entire horn section and the vocals of his longtime Vulfpeck collaborator Antwaun Stanley—to create energetic songs that you can lose yourself in. Grab a ticket and get ready for a night full of mischief, laughter, dancing, and the grooviest guitar licks. (Paramount Theatre, 8:30 pm, all ages) SHANNON LUBETICH
WEDNESDAY 4/22
(MUSIC) The scarlet-haired, gold-toothed singer and musician Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson, better known by her stage name CMAT, is the people’s princess of Ireland, or, as she puts it, “Dunboyne Diana” (a reference to her humble hometown). Since receiving a boost from a little-known artist named Charli XCX, she’s won over the girls and gays with her witty, acerbic lyrics and playful ethos. CMAT doesn’t pull punches—her hit single “Take a Sexy Picture of Me” takes direct aim at pedophilic beauty standards and misogynistic trolls, so much so that I felt deeply uncomfortable listening to its satirical lyrics for the first time: “And make me look 14, oh / Or like 10, or like 5 / Or like 2, like a baby / Whoever it is that you’re gonna love / So you’ll be nice to me.” The delightful TikTok stoner mom, omnichordist, and self-described “groovy aunt of dream-pop” Robin Schorr, aka Blond in Car, will also perform. (Showbox, 8 pm, all ages) JULIANNE BELL
THURSDAY 4/23
You’ve Had It in You All Along
(VISUAL ART) Last month, Avery Barnes announced the evolution of the gallery formerly known as TASWIRA, now rebranded as the eponymous Avery Barnes Gallery. Barnes has proven a force in the arts since launching her first brick-and-mortar gallery in Seattle at the tender age of 22. In the ensuing years, she has showcased work by an outstanding roster of artists. The first group show to celebrate the rebrand is no exception, with a selection of the city’s crème de la crème: work by Barbara Earl Thomas, Tariqa Waters, Cristina Martinez, Robert Wade, Maikoiyo Alley-Barnes, and Nahom Ghirmay, each of whom explores themes of “resiliency and truth found within the feminine.” (Avery Barnes Gallery, times vary) AMANDA MANITACH
FRIDAY 4/24
(BOOKS) In her debut memoir, Even the Good Girls Will Cry: A ’90s Rock Memoir, bassist Melissa Auf der Maur chronicles her life in and out of the spotlight, from taking tickets at local venues to playing giant shows with her bands, Hole and the Smashing Pumpkins. (Auf der Maur first joined Hole in 1994 for their Live Through This World Tour, just months after the deaths of Kurt Cobain and former Hole bassist Kristen Pfaff.) Approaching her memories with rare but necessary nuance, Auf der Maur writes about Courtney Love in a way I wish everyone would—as an artistic genius, complicated person, and American icon. She will stop by Seattle to promote the new book, which she describes as “part coming-of-age autobiography, part travel diary, part psychedelic scrapbook.” (The Wyncote NW Forum, 7:30 pm, all ages) AUDREY VANN
SATURDAY 4/25
Seattle Torrent vs. Montréal Victoire
(SPORTS) The Torrent aren’t making it into the playoffs this year, but you still have time to see them on our home ice. Whether this is your first game of the season or your thirteenth, I promise you won’t regret it. When the Torrent are playing, Climate Pledge Arena feels more like a giant gay bar than a sports arena. And even better, the last game of their very first season also happens to be the Pride game. The Gay Men’s Chorus will sing the National Anthem, and our favorite queer cheerleaders, Cheer Seattle, are going to ride the Zamboni. Plus, now that Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe have announced their breakup, what better time to focus on our newest lesbian sports legend, Hillary Knight? (Climate Pledge Arena, 7 pm, all ages) HANNAH MURPHY WINTER
SUNDAY 4/26
(MUSIC) I first discovered Mirah when I was in elementary school—my best friend shared an iTunes account with her Elliott Smith–loving teenage brother, who had downloaded Mirah’s debut album, You Think It’s Like This but It’s Really Like This, after hearing about it on Mark Hoppus’s podcast in 2004. And that’s how I learned about Murphy beds (although I didn’t understand the line “tie me to the Murphy bed / Let’s do all the things we said,” until I re-listened with adult ears). Mirah’s albums continued to soundtrack my life, with 2004’s C’mon Miracle comforting me through the rest of elementary school, 2009’s (a)spera holding my hand on the way to middle school, and Thao & Mirah keeping me company through high school lunch breaks. Unsurprisingly, as I approach 30, Mirah’s latest album, Dedication, continues to resonate, using her earnest, diaristic songwriting to approach grown-up themes like grief, motherhood, and marriage. She will support the album after an opening set from local folk singer-songwriter Naomi Wachira. (Ballard Homestead, 7 pm, all ages) AUDREY VANN
