WEDNESDAY 3/6 

Tessa Hulls with Putsata Reang: Exploring Generational Echoes

(BOOKS) Artist-adventurer Tessa Hulls, the lead artist in the Wing Luke Museum exhibition Nobody Lives Here, has also been developing her genre-bending graphic memoir Feeding Ghosts for the last decade. The tome tells the story of three generations of women in her family—her Chinese grandmother Sun Yi, a bestselling author and journalist in Shanghai during the '49 Communist victory; her mother, who came to the United States and eventually cared for Sun Yi; and herself. At 30, Hulls begins to reflect on her travels to Antarctica and how she might be running from her own history—Feeding Ghosts meets the reader there. Hulls will discuss the book with Seattle journalist (and local fave) Putsata Reang, who wrote about her experience as a Cambodian refugee for Politico in 2021, and has since released Ma and Me: A Memoir. The book shares Reang's vulnerable experiences of inherited trauma, queer identity, and filial obligation, weaving together stark clarity with lyrical, profound insight. (Town Hall, 1119 Eighth Ave, 7:30 pm, $5-$25, all ages) LINDSAY COSTELLO

THURSDAY 3/7 

Sleepless Nights Opening Reception

 
 
 
 
 
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(VISUAL ART) Curator Hannah Newman's Sleepless Nights explores the horrors that would've kept Edgar Allan Poe twisting and turning at night, had he been born in the last 50 years or so: Doomscrolling, mental health struggles, grind culture, inflation, all that very scary stuff. Describing busyness as a survival tactic ("The moment we slow down, our worries catch up," the promotional materials explain), Sleepless Nights posits that artists distract themselves by creating beauty. The exhibition, which features works by Marcelo Fontana, Pamela Hadley, Nicholas Moler-Gallardo, Jessie Rose Vala, Morgan Rosskopf, Katherine Spinella, and Newman, will unfold in a "dark room via blacklights, nightlights, phone screens, and projectors...infused with a continuous stream of audio, a background score of current events, news updates, podcasts, and other data." Nothing we're not accustomed to, right? (SOIL, 112 Third Ave S, opening reception March 7, 5-8 pm, on display every Fri-Sun through March 30, free) LINDSAY COSTELLO

FRIDAY 3/8 

Jess Williamson

(MUSIC) I first became acquainted with Texan singer-songwriter Jess Williamson through Plains, her collaborative country-folk project with Waxahatchee's Katie Crutchfield. My love of Crutchfield's songwriting compelled me to pick up their debut album, I Walked with You a Ways, but I stayed for Williamson's Emmylou Harris-esque vocal delivery and the duo's jaw-dropping blended harmonies (evocative of legendary supergroup Trio). After overplaying Plains’ single "Abilene" to death, I moved on to Williamson's psychedelic indie-folk album Sorceress with delight. She will stop by in support of her fifth solo album, Time Ain't Accidental (my favorite of hers thus far!), which touches on themes of "endless prairies and ocean waves; long drives and highway expanse; dancing, smoke, sex, and physical desire." Nashville-born folk-pop gem Erin Rae will open. (Tractor Tavern, 5213 Ballard Ave, 9 pm, $25, 21+) AUDREY VANN

SATURDAY 3/9 

Bad Bunny

(MUSIC) We've all seen a lot of Bad Bunny over the last few years—he’s become ubiquitous with his Latin-trap earworms, high-fashion style, famous flings, and controversial stage antics. And, as Spotify's most streamed artist of 2021 and 2022 (and the second most streamed in 2023), it looks like he's here to stay! The Latin trap star is bringing his Most Wanted tour to Seattle to support his fifth album, Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana, which, despite leaning into cowboy aesthetics, is not a country album. Rather, he explores various EDM genres like house, drill, and Jersey club. (Climate Pledge Arena, 305 Harrison St, 7:30 pm, tickets were still available at presstime starting at $158, all ages) AUDREY VANN

SUNDAY 3/10 

Nicki Minaj

(MUSIC) Amid more controversies than I can personally keep up with, it is a weird time for Nicki Minaj to be on tour. When she dropped Pink Friday 2 last December, I, a critical fan, listened with an open mind. Tracks like "Barbie Dangerous" and "Pink Friday Girls" tugged on my heartstrings with glimmers of the 2010s Nicki that soundtracked my high school years. Then, just as my guard was down, she came in with "Big Foot," a bizarre, half-baked diss track aimed at Megan Thee Stallion (if you care to get a rundown of the drama, I suggest taking to YouTube). The bottom line is that Nicki is a complicated, problematic, and divisive figure. And, while there is absolutely no excuse for her public support of sex offenders, history of anti-vax comments, or displays of internalized misogyny, I find myself wanting to root for her. Then, welp, I always end up disappointed again. In the words of Tyra Banks: "I was rooting for you! We were all rooting for you! How dare you!!" (Climate Pledge Arena, 305 Harrison St, 8 pm, tickets were still available at presstime starting at $108, all ages) AUDREY VANN

MONDAY 3/11 

I Heard It Through the Grapevine

(FILM) We now live in the age of James Baldwin. He is the key figure of a 20th-century literary movement that begins with Jean Toomer and ends with Toni Morrison. Academia calls this movement African American Literature. The popular tastes of our times have, however, partially forgotten its most brilliant mind, Richard Wright. And has absolute nothing to say about Ralph Ellison. But Baldwin, whose gifts as a writer were below that of Wright, Ellison, and Morrison, is the African American writer who maintains the strongest grip on our times. And so it's not surprising that the 1982 documentary I Heard It Through the Grapevine is making the rounds. Its subject is, of course, James Baldwin, and the story concerns Baldwin's America. We see him traveling through the country that caused him so much pain. It's worth your time to watch it. (The Beacon, 4405 Rainier Ave S, various showtimes March 8-14, $12.50) CHARLES MUDEDE

TUESDAY 3/12 

If You Can't Take the Heat by Geraldine DeRuiter

See author Geraldine DeRuiter at Book Larder Tuesday, March 12. Photo by Rachel Crowl/Courtesy of Penguin Random House

(BOOKS/FOOD) If you haven't had a chance to read James Beard Award-winning local writer Geraldine DeRuiter's fierce, incendiary viral essay "I Made the Pizza Cinnamon Rolls from Mario Batali’s Sexual Misconduct Apology Letter," go do that right now. Her hysterical review of an absurd meal at the Michelin-starred restaurant Bros. is equally worth your time. Luckily for us all, DeRuiter has brought her scathing wit to a new collection of essays entitled If You Can't Take the Heat: Tales of Food, Feminism, and Fury. She'll drop by Book Larder for a chat with local author Becky Selengut, followed by a Q&A and book signing. (Book Larder, 4252 Fremont Ave N, 6:30 pm, $32.95, admission includes a copy of the book) JULIANNE BELL

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