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Big Thief: Not nearly as good as Big Chief.

The Stranger recently received a letter to the editor wondering why the band Big Thief wasn't previewed in our pages or on our website. After you read it, I'm going to answer the letter-writer's queries and explain how and why things get covered in the section of the paper formerly known as "Up & Coming," now known as "Music Things to Do." You can also find the show previews in this section on our music calendar.

Like many, I have come to rely on the Stranger as my number one resource for sorting through the many great live music options in Seattle and greatly appreciate it's [sic] star-flagging of "not-to-be-missed" performances and events. I was a bit dismayed that this Friday's upcoming performance of Big Thief at the Neptune was not among those highlighted upcoming performances, despite coming off of two stellar albums ranking near the top of many music critics "Best of the Year" lists, among them Pitchfork and NPR. Unless perhaps their previous live sets left something to be desired, I find it almost unfathomable that this one would have not been flagged as a "must- see" performance and that tickets remain unsold. I am not sure if the Stranger is being somewhat "cooler than thou" in not recommending this obvious show but to me it invalidates the whole exercise if this was a conscious editorial decision to not highlight this band coming to town. While there is no accounting for taste, it makes one wonder what criteria are used to alert readers of upcoming events worthy of mention. Being a multiple "Best Album of 2017" should be good enough to get the nod. Keep up the otherwise great eye for what is cropping up in town. Please note I have no special connection to Big Thief and just feel they got unfairly snubbed. This is my Kanye West moment.

Thanks for writing, dear reader. As the editor of Music Things to Do, I have to make many difficult decisions every two weeks about which shows to cover. In any given 14-day period, 300-350 musical events—give or take a dozen, depending on the time of year—are happening in the Seattle area. We have 30 blurbs to dispense for this time span. As you can see, we only have space in every issue for about 10 percent of what's happening. Inevitably, some worthy shows will go unblurbed. This reality makes me sad, but I hope that, if the paper keeps going and/or we don't lose the electrical grid, we'll get around to writing about every blessed act that comes through town—perhaps even Big Thief.