This week, our music critics have picked everything from the cumbia rhythms of Orquestra Pacifico Tropical to the bedroom pop of Hibou to the top-tier lyricism of Talib Kweli. Follow the links below for ticket links and music clips for all of their picks, and find even more shows on our complete music calendar.
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MONDAY
ROCK/POPCorespondents, the Sheen, Shitty Person
Seattle band Corespondents (Olie Eshleman, Doug Arney, Kieran Harrison-Buhlinger, and Todd Arney) have been around a while, though I am only now discovering their high-quality brand of trippy music. They mix all the elements I love, from psych, surf, experimental, and lo-fi alt rock, infusing generous dashes of vintage-vibing world music (cumbia, West African rock, East Asian folk, Italo-Western music) and using instruments ranging from bouzouki to dan bao to achieve their intriguing sonic textures. LEILANI POLK
MONDAY, WEDNESDAY & FRIDAY
CLASSICAL2019 Seattle Chamber Music Society Summer Festival
The Seattle Chamber Music Society is, once again, throwing its Summer Festival, with free informal recitals and full orchestral performances for all ages throughout the month of July. The cabal of esteemed artists involved this year will include Andrew Wan, Jonathan Vinocour, Jeewon Park, Tessa Lark, Yura Lee, and many more. Plus, don't miss the Music Under the Stars series, during which a student ensemble sets up in a park and plays to whoever shows up, often folks with picnic blankets in tow and maybe a surreptitious bottle of wine, after which Benaroya Hall pipes in whatever festival performance is happening that night.
TUESDAY
HIP-HOP/RAPBeast Coast, Joey Bada$$, Flatbush Zombies, the Underachievers, Kirk Knight, Nyck Caution, Powers Pleasant, CJ Fly
To be real, this lineup has a lot of people on it. A lot. Headliner Beast Coast are a Brooklyn-based supergroup composed of everyone already on the lineup. Of particular note is Joey Bada$$âwho you might recognize from his role in Mr. Robotâwith his solid flow and ear for the golden era of hip-hop. Iâd also keep an eye out for Flatbush Zombies, whose brand of psychedelic, hallucinogenic, and confrontational rap is a bit frightening, but a compelling listen. âRegular and Complex (GNB),â a cut off their 2013 mixtape BetterOffDEAD, was so good, it forced me to watch John Singletonâs classic film Baby Boy (the song samples a characterâs monologue from the film). JASMYNE KEIMIG
Nappy Roots, Grandmasters, Gifted Youngstaz
Kentucky-brewed alt-hip-hop group Nappy Roots are longtime purveyors of greasy, Southern-drawling rap that has a faster pace and more easygoing upbeat-ness than others in the same regional sonic realms. They will just as soon offer up lyrical musings on poverty (âPoâ Folksâ) as bouncing, laid-back bravado (âAwnawâ) or appreciation for the simple things in life (see âGood Day,â its optimistic hook delivered by a chorus of chipper children and somehow not annoying). Theyâve released seven LPs over 16 years, though their latest output is a new single, âSpinach Dip,â full of modern ganja references (sample line: âUsed to roll blunts, now I pack vape pipesâ) and backup singers cooing, âSo high, so high, so high.â LEILANI POLK
School of Rock All-Stars
If you love seeing Seattle School of Rock students shred, you won't want to miss this showcase of School of Rock bands from across the country as they play classic and contemporary rock hits.Â
WEDNESDAY
DJObscenely Obscure
Alright, this one's for the capital-n Nerds of the music world. DJs Dad (Eli Anderson), Average Rooms (Norm Chambers), and Veins (The Stranger's own Dave Segal) have dug real deep into the wild world of library music (a.k.a. production music) to present for y'all an evening of the "scariest, funkiest, catchiest, and craziest tracks youâve never heard before... until now." Aubrey Nehring will be providing the surrealistic visuals to cap it all off.
$UICIDEBOY$, Shoreline Mafia, City Morgue, GERM, Night Lovell, Trash Talk
Sink into a night of critically thinking about the point of your existence, to the tune of southern trap, thanks to New Orleans-based hiphop group $uicideboy$, currently on their Grey Day Tour with support from Shoreline Mafia, City Morgue, GERM, Night Lovell, and Trash Talk.
Ariana and the Rose, Glitterfox
Ariana DiLorenzo fronts New York City-based pop band Ariana and the Rose, which has gained quite a following for synth-driven tracks like "You Were Never My Boyfriend." They'll be joined by Portland "glam folk" group Glitterfox.
Hibou, Sleeping Lessons, Beverly Crusher
Seattle-based musician Peter Michel is the creative fuel powering Hibou, a bedroom-pop project that he started after extensive tours as a live member of Craft Spells. This hometown date kicks off a short tour celebrating the release of Hibouâs third LP and Barsuk Records outing, Halve, a blend of shimmery ethereal pop and dreamy new-wave-influenced dance tunes built on sticky layered melodies, with Michelâs whispery sweet vocals floating over top. According to press materials, his wistful, swooning record addresses âthe dichotomies confronting every young adult in the 21st century: the division between childhood and adulthood, self and society, authenticity and superficiality.â LEILANI POLK
THURSDAY
BLUES/COUNTRY/FOLKGreat Women of Country Tribute Series: Loretta Lynn & Tammy Wynette
Seattle musicians Stephanie Anne Johnson, Darci Carlson, Julia Francis, and others will reimagine the songs of country music legends Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette.Â
Martina McBride
Country-pop star Martina McBride began her career in the early '90s with RCA Records and hasn't stopped gigging and sharing her neo-traditionalist hits with the world since.
Scott Yoder, TERMINATor, ĐĐžŃкинО, Booty EP
Burger Records' glitter-folk balladeer Scott Yoder, who used to back local DIY legend Kimya Dawson, will headline with support from TERMINATor, ĐĐžŃкинО, and Booty EP.
21 Savage, Young Nudy, Calboy
Former Stranger music critic Nick Zurko wrote, "While featuring beats similar to Futureâs muddled yet airy trap anthems, 21 Savage's flow is far more animated and dexterous." The hip-hop artist will pass through town on his I Am > I Was Tour with support from Young Nudy and Calboy.
Earshot: Jeremyâs Pyramid Scheme + Xavier Lecouturier 4tet
This installment of Earshot's Jazz: The Second Century">juried jazz series will feature Jeremeyâs Pyramid Schemeâa seven-piece ensemble led by saxophonist and composer Jeremy Shaskusâand the Xavier Lecouturier Quartet.
The Mekons, Sun Foot
The Mekons are old enough and cool enough to have an album bearing liner notes written by Lester Bangs. Let that sink in. Beginning in the Leeds, England, punk/post-punk scene, the Mekons avoided dogmas associated with those genres and created some of the most interesting songs of that most interesting time/place, coming off like a more idiosyncratic, less funky version of Leeds mates Gang of Four. I haven't followed the Mekons' productive career since the mid 1980s, when they relocated to Chicago and embraced roots rock with gusto while putting a politically conscious British spin on it. But many respected critics have loved them for decades, and who are you to dispute respected critics? The Mekons are on tour supporting Deserted, a gush of ambitious, inspirational rock. DAVE SEGAL
Michael McDonald & Chaka Khan
Smooth rock and blues king Michael McDonald and soul queen Chaka Khan will stack a double headliner bill.
THURSDAY-SUNDAY
JAZZPoncho Sanchez Latin Jazz Band
Playing six shows over four nights at Jazz Alley, the Poncho Sanchez Latin Jazz Band offer plenty of chances for you to shimmy and shake to their warm, slinky, percussive-fueled rhythms. Mexican American namesake Sanchez has been rapping, tapping, and slapping congas for crowds since he played his first ever set in the mid-1970s with renowned vibraphonist Cal Tjader, with whom he played until Tjaderâs death in 1982. Sanchez went on to release more than 30 albums as a solo conguero (backed by a full band that currently includes players on timbales, bass, trumpet, sax, trombone, bongos, and piano), and has built on his Latin-jazzy sound with elements of R&B, soul, cha-cha, and salsa music. LEILANI POLK
FRIDAY
BLUES/COUNTRY/FOLKA. A. Bondy, Guests
Skilled Alabama-based folk songwriter A. A. (aka Auguste Arthur) Bondy gives us lots of haunted organ and trippy reverb on his latest album, Enderness, which NPR says "channels his eternal weariness into evocative blurs of languid, hypnotic sound that help form a kind of ambient blues music." Catch him in Ballard.
Bradford Loomis, Naomi Wachira, Katie Costello
Seattle Americana songwriter Bradford Loomis will be joined by Kenyan-born folk artist Naomi Wachira and Brooklyn pop artist Katie Costello.
Painting the Town Red: The Music of Billie Holiday Featuring Stephanie Anne Johnson & Simon Nabatov
Local singer-songwriter Stephanie Johnson and a big band-style sextet will revisit the classic Billie Holiday recordings featured on Painting the Town Red.
Dancing on My Own 3.0
At this rambunctious dance party, dance on your own or with your friends and lovers as resident venue DJs play the best tracks from Swedish pop star Robyn's 2018 album Honey, as well as her classic hits like "Call Your Girlfriend," "With Every Heart Beat," "Hang with Me," and the titular smash "Dancing on My Own."
QDA: Love House with Bronquito, Toya B, & Reverend Dollars
Join DJs Bronquito, Toya B, and Reverand Dollars for a queer-centric dance party featuring a custom art installation by Adda Lee and Emma Roffey on the patio.Â
Marina Christopher
Seattle jazz bassist and vocalist Marina Christopher will perform live.
Sumac, Thrones, Cascades, Blightmaker
How many American rock groups possess the intensity and gravity to collaborate with Japanese experimental-noise-rock legend Keiji Haino? Not many, but Northwest trio Sumac earned that honor with 2018âs American Dollar BillâŚÂ and this year's Even for just the briefest momentâŚ. What these releases reveal is Sumacâs ability to create an exquisite tension in the context of minimalist metal and sculptural noise rock. These musicians traffic in heady realms, reconfiguring metal to a severe degree not heard since Caspar BrĂśtzmann Massaker dropped those stealth-bomb-like records in the 1980s and â90s. The last Sumac album proper, 2018's Love in Shadow, is brutal yet brainy death metal distinguished by Aaron Turner's more-guttural-than-thou vocals and epic, labyrinthine song structures. DAVE SEGAL
Dot Comet, i///u, Lovely Colours
Hear the lush sounds of local foursome Dot Comet, who will be joined by fellow indie rockers Lovely Colours and i///u.
Miyavi
Unconventional Japanese guitarist Miyavi, widely presented as an artist who represents a new wave of Asian music, will showcase his "slap style" on the North American leg of this world tour.
Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo
Women's-lib-dance-rock superstar Pat Benatar and her partner and guitarist Neil Giraldo will once again grace the Northwest with their dual presence for an evening of '80s classics.
Summer Circus: Razor Clam, Fruit Juice, Heather Edgley, Actionesse
Enter a mystical circus tent filled with acrobats, aerialists, and live music from local indie-rock bands Razor Clam, Fruit Juice, Heather Edgley, and Actionesse.
Tal Wilkenfeld
Australian electric bassist and singer Tal Wilkenfeld, who played with jazz giants Chick Corea and Herbie Hancockânot to mention Prince, Mick Jagger, and Jeff Beckâbefore branching out on her own, will come to town on the heels of her debut solo album, Love Remains.Â
Orquestra Pacifico Tropical, Terror/Cactus, DJ Chilly
Composed of 11 members, Portlandâs Orquestra Pacifico Tropical bring the happy noise. With trumpets, maracas, guitars, drums, and accordions in hand, the group pays respect to cumbia beats and rhythms from across Latin America. Seattleâs Terror/Cactus are like cumbia on acid. Psychedelic and electrified, their music reinterprets the genre, compelling you to move, but like maybe some trippers might be fun too? The two bands will be joined by DJ Chilly, the producer and host of El Sonido, KEXPâs âmodern Latin mixshowâ that airs on Monday nights and which you should absolutely be listening to. JASMYNE KEIMIG
SATURDAY
DJBohemian Rhapsody - Queen Inspired Dance Party
Shake your hips to '70s and '80s music all night long with DJs spinning the best of Queen, Fleetwood Mac, David Bowie, Prince, New Order, Journey, Hall & Oates, and much more.
Chamber Music in the Park
For this year's Chamber Music in the Park performance, members of the Seattle Chamber Music Society will play ZoltĂĄn KodĂĄly's Duo for Violin and Cello, Op. 7 and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Trio for Violin, Viola and Cello (Divertimento) in E-flat Major, K. 563.
Talib Kweli, Niko IS, Mostafa, DJ Indica Jones
Ok, Iâll admit itâwhenever I hear or see Talib Kweli, I think of that part from Kanyeâs âGet âEm Highâ he was featured on. âAnd bring a friend for my friend, his name Kweli / (You mean Talib? Lyrics sticks to your rib) / I mean (Thatâs my favorite CD that I play at my crib) / I mean (You donât really know him, why is you lying?)â The Brooklyn-based MC has enjoyed an illustrious career, from releasing solid solo material (âNever Been in Love,â anyone?)Â to forming one half of hip-hop duo Black Star (along with Yasiin Bey, fka Mos Def). Kweliâs lyricism, flow, and top-tier performances make him unmissable. JASMYNE KEIMIG
Norah Jones
Husky-toned Shankar daughter Norah Jones takes on a myriad of genres, notably jazz and blues, in her latest album, Day Breaks.
FEA, Bruiser Queen, Jaguar Paw
Kickass Chicana punk band Fea, featuring members of Girl in A Coma, will headline a noisy show with support from Missouri garage-pop group Bruiser Queen and Seattle's Jaguar Paw.
Lynyrd Skynyrd, Bad Company, Austin Jenckes
Still going strong despite retaining only one original member, Lynyrd Skynyrd will bust out decades of the Southern rock experience with a nine-member band on this Last of the Street Survivors Farewell Tour with support sets by Bad Company and Austin Jenckes.
Hoodstock 2019 â A New Beginning!
Riz Rollins, Mike Illvester, and MIXX America will DJ, MC Korvus Blackbird will perform, and acts like Holy Pistola, B-boy Fidget, Planet Fly, Tukwila Moon, and Rachaels Children will also give sets at this festival founded by the late, great all-black-female punk band NighTraiN. Former Stranger critic Angela Garbes called it "simply the best small music festival/big olâ house party around."
Othello Block Party
Celebrate the vibrancy and international diversity of the Othello community with this big street fest filled with arts and music performances from stand-out Seattleites like DoNormaal, Porter Ray, Abyssinian Creole (Gabriel Teodros and Khingz), Rogue Pinay, Blksknn, Nic Masangkay, and many more.
SUNDAY
DANCEYalla Yeehaw
DJs Mansaf Mama, Cardamami, and Kaabe Emoji will bring the "desi bedouin cowboy vibes" to town with a night of Arab pop, Bhangra, and more.
Anuhea, Spawnbreezie
Hawaiian singer-songwriter Anuhea, the winner of two Na Hoku Hanohano Awards and Billboard Hot 100 hitter, will perform her pop, R&B, and reggae in Seattle with reggae artist Spawnbreezie.
