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MONDAY
ROCK/POPBoy Pablo, Guests
Nineteen-year-old Chilean Norwegian singer/songwriter Boy Pablo (Pablo Muñoz) makes bedroom pop songs "for every walk of teenage life." Relive your adolescence and join him on his first headlining tour.
MONDAY, WEDNESDAY & FRIDAY
CLASSICAL/OPERA2018 Seattle Chamber Music Society Summer Festival
Seattle Chamber Music Society is, once again, throwing their 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 Mary Lynch, Andrew Wan, Benjamin Beilman, Jonathan Vinocour, Astrid Schween, George Li, 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 or two, after which Benaroya Hall pipes in whatever festival performance is happening that night.
TUESDAY
ROCK/POPJoan of Arc
If all so-called emo were as inventive and intelligent as Joan of Arc's music, maybe I'd have more respect for the genre. But, alas, most of it is whiny-voiced, maudlin bullshit that grates as much as third-wave ska does. And that state of affairs makes Joan of Arc's two-decade run of strong albums all the more impressive. Led by Tim Kinsella, the Chicago group inject their quasi-awkward indie-rock machinations with odd keyboard oscillations, surprising dynamics, and incisive guitar riffs in minor keys. All of these qualities push their aesthetic more into math-rock's graduate-school loftiness than most emo’s Hot Topic–friendly jejuneness. The result is more Polvo than Fall Out Boy. Plus, JOA have some of the funniest song titles in the business. Tonight they'll be supporting their new album, 1984, an odd deviation into droning folk-rock, featuring the charmingly tart vocals of Melina Ausikaitis. DAVE SEGAL
My Bloody Valentine
Prodigal shoegaze-rock gods My Bloody Valentine return to Seattle (finally) to blow out every sound system in the tri-state area. Expect industrial-techno beats, convoluted bop-jazz, copious early '90s flashbacking, and complete supersonic transcendence.
WEDNESDAY
HIPHOP/RAPDipset: Cam'ron, Jim Jones, Juelz Santana, Freekey Zekey
Harlem-formed hiphop group the Diplomats (aka Dipset) was formed in 1997 by Cam'ron and Jim Jones. Juelz Santana and Freekey Zekey will join the original members on this tour stop.
Bellows, iji, Joe Waine
Sway to lo-fi folk-pop from songwriter Oliver Kalb and his band Bellows after supporting sets from complex, experimental local pop favorites iji and Joe Waine.
King Princess
Take in Brooklyn multi-instrumentalist King Princess' smooth vocals and pop beats as she performs tracks that explore queer independence and the complexities of youth alongside opening act and powerful pop belter Donna Missal.
THURSDAY
BLUES/COUNTRY/FOLKGreat Women of Country Tribute Series: The Music of Lucinda Williams & Patsy Cline
For this installment of a series that highlights prolific women country singers of the past and present, local musicians will reimagine the classic ballads of country queens Patsy Cline and Lucinda Williams. Performers include Heather Thomas, Katrina Kope, JR Rhodes, Tai Shan, Joy Mills, and Sherri Jerome.
Bad Luck, Tiny Vipers, Hoop, Red Ribbon
Bad Luck's music bears down on you like a cyclone of fire, recalling the more out-there excursions of John Coltrane, Albert Ayler, and Peter Brötzmann. Chris Icasiano's drumming harnesses shocking power and does strange things to your perception of time and space. He can also get oblongly funky when the urge hits. Saxophonist Neil Welch is a dynamo of galvanic spluttering, ecstatic shrieks, and placid drones. The future of jazz? Perhaps! DAVE SEGAL
Melvins
The Melvins’ latest album, Pinkus Abortion Technician, finds the reigning demigods of doom-grunge once again valiantly trudging through swamps of murky-thick riffage and slowed-down, hardened bass. The vibe feels spaced-out, slinky, and as seethingly sexy as ever, with double-bass delivery from collaborators Jeff Pinkus (Butthole Surfers) and Steven McDonald (Redd Kross, OFF!). From the Surfers nod in the title (Locust Abortion Technician) to the actual songs performed (e.g., “Graveyard”), the record is a seamless fusion of the King Buzzo/Dale Crover–grounded rock foundation and the sprawling, quasi-psychedelic weirdness of the Butthole Surfers, delivering nonstop bass-heavy thrills for longtime fans of both acts. BRITTNIE FULLER
Von Wildenhaus, Spesh, Corey J Brewer
Seattle keyboardist/vocalist/composer Corey J Brewer has proved himself adept at scoring films with his alternate soundtrack to Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining at Northwest Film Forum last year and appearances at Andrew Crawshaw’s :||Depths||: night at Substation. And the skills that he flexed in those contexts surface on his new album, Upside Down Tulip. On these nine songs, Brewer sings in his deep, glum voice (think Stephin Merritt and Tindersticks’ Stuart Staples) over enigmatic keyboard progressions and drones, and rhythms that both snake with quasi-gamelan litheness and rejuvenate triphop tropes. Brewer’s compositions embrace romantic moods while eluding clichéd evocations of this common songwriting construct. That takes serious skill. DAVE SEGAL
FRIDAY
BLUES/COUNTRY/FOLKEli Young Band
Texas foursome Eli Young Band play country-rock inspired by the likes of Tom Petty, Sean McConnell, and Pat Green. They received national acclaim recently for their tender handling of an American veteran's new life in their popular video for "Love Ain't."
Emo Dance Party
This isn’t a phase, Mom—it’s a whole party! The Emo Gs are back at it for another night of emo classics by the likes of My Chemical Romance, the Used, Dashboard Confessional, Fall Out Boy, and more. My hair might be too short now to iron into flattened, fried perfection for a scene-queen-worthy MySpace profile pic (pc4pc, anyone?), but I’m looking forward to the sea of jet-black manicures at this shindig. For less than a tub of your favorite Manic Panic hair dye, come and dance (or cry, if you want to) the night away with all the other kids that your mom warned you about. SOPHIA STEPHENS
Customs x KW: Iglooghost & Foodman
Iglooghost might be the epitome of what Customs—the promotion collective dedicated to booking boundary-pushing international electronic music—looks for in an artist. The producer born Seamus Malliagh is from Ireland, makes music influenced by Japanese pop and Southern hiphop, and is signed to Flying Lotus’s LA-based Brainfeeder label. Above all, Malliagh’s style is busy—his tracks are crammed full of vivid sounds and details in a way that can come off as random, but almost certainly isn’t. He shares this bill with Foodman, the Japanese producer Takahide Higuchi, whose playful deconstruction of footwork and juke is an ideal counterpoint to Iglooghost’s disjointed maximalism. ANDREW GOSPE
Martin Bisi, DJ Coldheart
Martin Bisi’s one of those important figures whose name you should know, but probably don’t—unless you scrutinize the credits of records by cult musicians like Swans, John Zorn, Boredoms, and Material. (He’s also worked with bigger acts like Sonic Youth, Dresden Dolls, and Helmet, and recorded Herbie Hancock’s paradigm-shifting hit “Rockit.”) The man’s a production wizard and a canny musician himself. His full-length, Ex Nihilo, is plenty strange, featuring eerie, operatic vocals and prog-rock and post-punk song structures that don’t so much color outside the lines as they do obliterate them. Moments of Jesus Christ Superstar–like exultation exist alongside passages of unsettling chaos, sometimes sounding like three different groups playing on a revolving stage. DAVE SEGAL
G-Eazy, Lil Uzi Vert, Ty Dolla $ign, YBN Nahmir, P-Lo, Murda Beatz
Pop-hopper G-Eazy has ridden the coattails of the post-hyphy movement (and his experiences as a producer during his college years) into the mainstream, using his Bay Area background to beef up his stage presence by repeatedly enlisting a crew of talented openers. This time he'll be joined by Lil Uzi Vert, Ty Dolla $ign, YBN Nahmir, P-Lo, and Murda Beatz on his Endless Summer Tour.
Bebel Gilberto
Bebel Gilberto shines brightest in the quietest moments. She’s skilled, understandably, at all kinds of volume levels, as well as keys, tempos, and shading; having bossa-nova pioneer João Gilberto for a father and the singer Miúcha for a mother assured Bebel a head start in all matters musical. She’s stated that her father taught her to be a perfectionist, but her mother taught her to “lose it.” In the soft moments, down to whispers and the patter of the lightest possible percussion, she’s getting ready to lose it again. And that’s what weaves the anticipation. ANDREW HAMLIN
The English Beat
Rude boys and girls and nonbinary folks! It's time to tap those two-tone, wingtip oxfords to the Beat—as they’re known in the UK—or the English Beat on this currently disappointing side of the Atlantic. Despite sharing a name with the 1970s-era American power-poppers, this Beat made their name with the UK second-wave ska revival that fused Jamaican ska rhythms with the instrumentation and driving style of ’77-style punk. Dishing out hits like “I Confess,” “Mirror in the Bathroom,” and “Save It for Later,” the new-wave darlings are led by distinctive crooner Dave Wakeling, who now tours with a revolving cast of musicians. BRITTNIE FULLER
Jesse McCartney, PUBLIC, Just Seconds Apart
The childhood crush of so many will perform his fun R&B-tinged pop-rock on this Seattle tour stop, joined by PUBLIC and Just Seconds Apart.
FRIDAY-SATURDAY
BLUES/COUNTRY/FOLKJohn Fogerty
Fortunate son John Fogerty will bring his longtime Americana-soaked roots rock back to town this summer.
FRIDAY-SUNDAY
ROCK/POPPhish
I spent the first five years that I loved Phish trying to turn people on to them, and then the decade after that willfully trying not to—because what’s the point? I love them, and that’s what matters. Why? The dear friends (Phamily) I see every time I hit some shows (because one is never enough); the sense of adventure that every show brings (the band’s finely honed improvisational chops and a catalog of more than 300 songs mean no two set lists are ever alike); the experience of being among 20,000 people all head-bobbing and dancing and sharing in the groove under a saturated spray of lights (Chris Kuroda is THE best); and, of course, the music. It’s everything I want all in one place, from sweetly sentimental ballads to white-boy cow-funk odes to progressive compositions that sound both Mozart- and Zappa-influenced to rock ’n’ roll barn burners. Plus jazz, blues, bluegrass, prog-rock, psychedelia, acoustic, and jamtronica, or electro psychedelia, or whatever you call it when four men with pristine musical skills make music that sounds like a mesmerizing machine. LEILANI POLK
Capitol Hill Block Party 2018
In case the giant acronym sculpture currently sitting atop Neumos hadn’t tipped you off, it’s finally time for Capitol Hill Block Party, a large-scale weekend music festival that originally started as a charming neighborhood get-together and has since morphed into a massive spectacle of Top-40 headliners and Seattle heavy hitters converging during the dog days of summer in the Pike/Pine corridor. You can get all the info you need, including staff recommendations, on our Capitol Hill Block Party calendar.
SATURDAY
BLUES/COUNTRY/FOLKChris Stapleton, Marty Stuart, Brent Cobb
Chris Stapleton stepped out into the public consciousness several years ago with the release of his debut album, Traveller. Since then, he's continued to blend country, blues, rock, and R&B into his distinct journeyman style. He'll be joined by Americana talents Marty Stuart and Brent Cobb.
Trace Adkins
Country anthem machine Trace Adkins releases his backroads beatitudes for a night of summer sweat.
HOT 103.7's All-Star Throwback Jam 2018
Relive your adolescence with the "Throwback" Jam, a stacked summer fest lineup of '90s classics, including Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Ja Rule, E-40, Ying Yang Twins, Baby Bash & J.J. Fadd, and many more.
Juice WRLD
Chicago-based rapper Juice WRLD (aka Jared Higgins) will have you dancing (about heartbreak) to his pop-influenced beats and haze-inducing summer bops that chronicle each of his lucid dreams.
Negative Approach, Mystic Priestess, Medusa Stare, Blood Mouse, DJ World Funeral
I’m always the giddiest of lil' fellers when I’m reminded that, decades later, John “I write songs about things I hate” Brannon and Negative Approach are still at it and still so unrelentingly savage. It just makes my old ’80-hardcore-kid’s heart so full. Uh, the only bummer now is, as things have gotten much worse, NA are arguably just as relevant as they were in 1982. Anyway, the rest of tonight’s bill looks like diverse, ’80s-era style, as there are two dark new-wave bands, Mystic Priestess and Seattle’s Medusa Stare, who will be warming up the pit. MIKE NIPPER
Bombino, the Dogon Lights
When Bombino (born Omara Moctar) debuted his desert blues, he was immediately labeled as the Jimi Hendrix of Niger. Several international tours and a fourth full-length (Deran) later, he still lives up to the accolade. In fact, Moctar has also garnered the title “Sultan of Shred” by the New York Times and “World’s Best Guitarist” by Noisey. Similar to Mali’s Songhoy Blues and stories from the North African area, Bombino’s Deran (meaning “best wishes”) soulfully addresses his family’s diaspora to Algeria during the Tuareg Rebellion, political persecution, and concern for the Tuareg people. ZACH FRIMMEL
Us The Duo
Husband-and-wife folk-pop pair Us the Duo (Michael and Carissa Alvarado) will strum and harmonize their popular Americana tunes on their Together Tour.
The ENBY Party
Emma Lee Toyoda and Kid present an all-day mini art market and music fest dedicated to non-binary musicians and artists. Catch sets from the hosts, Porch Cat, Lilac, Donte da Qween, Nacion de Humo, Nessa, Julz Ilang-Bulan, and Des, and shop for art from Sorana Nance, Simone Dawson, Andrew Lamb, and others.
SATURDAY-SUNDAY
ROCK/POPJD Souther, Lizzie Weber
JD Souther’s name probably won’t be recognized by anyone younger than 40, but to many of y’all older folks, his songs are well-known. See, he’s a country/soft-rock singer-songwriter notable for writing a handful of your FAVORITE Eagles songs, he once partnered with Buffalo Springfield’s Richie Furay and the Byrds’ Chris Hillman as the Souther Hillman Furay Band, and he produced/wrote songs for Linda Ronstadt. So, like, yeah, he’s kind of a big deal. BUT if them deets don’t ring any bells, you might recognize him via his appearances on TV’s Nashville! MIKE NIPPER
Sheryl Crow
“Hanging out with the hipsters is hard work,” sighed backup-singer-turned-superstar Sheryl Crow on her 2017 album, Be Myself. It isn’t a surprising sentiment from a single mother born in the 1960s, but it’s also a succinct summation of her 25-year solo career. Crow is a classic rocker pitched between Heart Like a Wheel–era Linda Ronstadt and the Rolling Stones—and her unfussy flexibility has always been her strength, like the way she segues from bedroom funk to heartland-style wanderlust on her 1993 debut, Tuesday Night Music Club. After a flirtation with country, she has returned to the winning style with which she began. KATHY FENNESSY
SUNDAY
ELECTRONICSoundOptica: Hanssen, Secret School, Trevor Ransom
Renowned for their role in the formidable left-field house duo Jacob London with Dave Pezzner, Hanssen here make a logical follow-up to their 2014 debut full-length, Seven Years Week. On Transit, they excel at creating lushly melodic and airily rhythmic tracks that are optimal for peering wistfully over vast vistas of natural beauty. House music rarely sounds this serene and celestial. DAVE SEGAL
The Roots
Few hiphop bands swing like the Roots—hell, few bands of any genre swing like this Philly octet. At a time when the genre was dominated by sample-based acts, they emerged as a jazz-funk neo-soul outfit with the swingingest MC next to Gang Starr's Guru. Over 12 studio albums, including 1999's landmark Things Fall Apart, Black Thought, Questlove, and crew have explored blackness from every angle, including the female perspective provided by formidable collaborators from Betty Wright to Erykah Badu. The Roots are now into their ninth year as late-night's premier house band, and the only thing they have left to conquer is, well, the zoo. KATHY FENNESSY
Jazz Port Townsend Festival
Here is what you have to do: drive down to the ferry dock, drive onto a ferry, cross the bay on this ferry, exit the ferry, drive across the island, cross some bridges, stop at a gas station for something fried, salty, and not good for you, eventually enter Port Townsend, and, before heading to Fort Worden State Park, admire a number of the town’s Victorian-style homes. When you finally park your car in the pretty park, roll down your window and listen to jazz music from the Jazz Port Townsend Festival in the sun-brightened air. Cars were not made for the city, but for short trips like this. CHARLES MUDEDE
Blind Pilot
Blind Pilot kind of sound like a lot of different bands; their eccentric guitarwork and emotive lyrics wouldn't be out of place wedged into the middle of a soundtrack of a Wes Anderson movie, for example, and I'm sure that rabid folk fans have tried to keelhaul Blind Pilot into their own, weirdly isolationist corner of the musical landscape. But that's always the case with truly good bands; you want to force them into a cubbyhole until you're comfortable enough to give them their own category, into which you'll toss lesser bands. For me, the moment of individuation for Blind Pilot in my brain was in their song "Go On, Say It," when the violins rise and the lead singer lets loose with a clever little "Uh-huh, uh-huh!" That was the birth of the Blind Pilot sound for me. PAUL CONSTANT
