The first full week of June is coming in hot, bringing equally hot events from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs to A Boogie wit da Hoodie and from The Black Trans Comedy Showcase: a PRIDE Fundraiser for Lavender Rights Project to Brewology.

MONDAY

LIVE MUSIC

Allie Crow Buckley
If you're like me and can't stop listening to Weyes Blood's And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow, then consider adding Allie Crow Buckley’s latest album, Utopian Fantasy, into your rotation. Both artists craft ethereal folk with witchy lyricism and Joni Mitchell-esque vocal chops. However, what sets Buckley apart is her addition of upbeat percussion (à la Haim), making the album optimal for summertime. My personal favorite track off the album is the otherworldly harpsichord-driven ballad "Cupid and Psyche." She will support the album alongside Portland folk-rock singer-songwriter Kendall Lujan. AUDREY VANN
(Sunset Tavern, Ballard)

As the Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike continues into its second month, it is disheartening to note the continued silence from the Seattle Film Commission on this critical issue, especially in the wake of the Glacier Northwest v. Teamsters Supreme Court decision.

The WGA strike stems from the ongoing disputes between writers and major television studios over fair compensation and reasonable working conditions in the era of streaming platforms and digital content. Though the New York and Los Angeles-based picket lines may feel far away from Seattle, they have a deep ripple effect on the local film industry, one that will be compounded by the looming potential strikes of other vital industry unions, including the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA). 

Postdocs and Researchers at the University of Washington are days away from our strike date, June 7. We love our research and we don’t want to go on strike, but if UW leaves us no choice, then we have to stand up for ourselves because, like every worker in the state of Washington, we deserve a living wage.

I’m a Postdoctoral Scholar in Mechanical Engineering, and I study how microplastic particles are mixed in the surface layer of the ocean. I love my work. But my wages aren’t keeping up with rent and costs of living. You might not have heard of a Postdoc before, but you're likely familiar with the struggle if you're one of the millions of employees statewide who also need help staying afloat while the costs of living increase.

On Tuesday the Seattle City Council plans to skip its normal committee process and instead rush a vote to allow City Attorney Ann Davison to prosecute people for drug addiction, likely creating a flood of new low-level cases for the backlogged criminal justice system.

While the Council mulls over whether to start charging people with drug possession and public use for the first time in Seattle, agencies such as the beleaguered Washington State Patrol Crime Laboratory brace for an unknown number of law enforcement requests asking the lab’s forensic scientists to spend hours analyzing small amounts of drugs to prove low-level cases, taking time and resources away from analyzing evidence to catch drug dealers and traffickers, which the City names as its top priority.

Fazilat Soukhakian is an Iranian artist, photographer, scholar, and storyteller whose work depicts the stories of bravery and strength of those marginalized by society, highlighting the act of overcoming struggle and inspiring others. She is currently an Associate Professor of Photography at Utah State University. In our interview, we talk about following dreams, challenging injustice, and creating a better future for LGBTQ+ people.

You started your career as a photojournalist in Iran, and became one of very few female photojournalists. Can you tell me about pioneering this career within a tremendously patriarchal society?

Unvaccinated retribution: Over 180 ex-employees—from state troopers and fish biologists to nurses and the ex-Washington State University football coach—are plaintiffs in around a dozen lawsuits alleging they were unjustly fired for refusing to get vaccinated. So far, judges seem to be siding with Gov. Jay Inslee and his strict vaccine mandate, a rule that may have helped Washington keep its COVID-19 death rate so low. However, a new spate of lawsuits now center on "workers who asked for and received religious exemptions... but who were nevertheless fired or forced to quit because agencies said they could not be safely accommodated," the Seattle Times reports.

Yeah, obviously: In the wake of last year's Roe v. Wade reversal, Planned Parenthood in Washington state—a place that is resolutely not going full "Handmaid's Tale"—saw a 60% increase in birth control appointments. There was an uptick in long-lasting birth control options, too, with many women seeking IUDs which can prevent pregnancies for up to 10 years.

Looking for queer havens for celebrating this Pride Month? We've rounded up this list of LGBTQ bars, clubs, and shops in Seattle and have listed their current opening status, so you can plot out your party plans.

CLUBS

Pony 
The only gay bar in Seattle with an outdoor fire pit also has fantastic bartenders, clever DJs, and vintage gay porn (i.e., huge dicks) wheat-pasted to the walls. Plus, there's a photo booth. Plus, a gloryhole in the bathroom. What more do you want? Go-go dancers? They have go-go dancers on weekends. A tea dance? Sundays at 4 p.m. Once I showed up on a Tuesday, and the entire cast of a touring production of The Book of Mormon was there, singing their hearts out at karaoke. A word to the wise: The later you show up to Pony, the more crowded it will be. CHRISTOPHER FRIZZELLE

Queer/Bar
This bar is trying to do something unique by being a bar for the entire queer community—including trans folks, nonbinary people, lesbians, and good-old-fashioned gay men. They also have regular drag performances.

(FILM) Before you make the joke, Werckmeister Harmonies does sound like the embodiment of the meme about a film bro trying to get you to watch a two-hour, black-and-white movie about the Serbian government shown through the eyes of a pigeon. However, in addition to swapping out the pigeon for a giant stuffed...

(MUSIC) Don't be an idiot and skip the openers for Tony Molina at Sunset Tavern this Saturday. Molina first wowed me when his 2014 debut Dissed and Dismissed dropped my freshman year of college. I listened to the 11-minute and 27-second collection of fuzzy, fried bubblegum pop five or six times a day. It sounds like Teenage Fanclub, supernaturally good Weezer, or Dinosaur Jr. if J Mascis...

Kassa Overall, “The Score Was Made” (Warp)

Multifaceted Seattle-bred drummer/producer Kassa Overall has only come into prominence as a solo artist over the last few years, but he's been involved with some heavy hitters since 2007. After moving to New York City in 2006, Overall began working with jazz pianist Geri Allen, wife of his mentor, the trumpeter Wallace Roney. A stint with Das Racist ensued and then session work with Yoko Ono, Gary Bartz, Arto Lindsay, Ravi Coltrane, Cass McCombs, and many others.

(VISUAL ART) Emily Counts's new installation, Sea of Vapors, is an ambitious exploration of time, decay, self, and the women in Count's life. Her compositions are surreal, yet playful—nothing is quite as it seems. Looking at her pieces reminds me of...

NEW OPENINGS AND RETURNS

Alder & Ash
According to a press release, the hospitality group Apicii (which is also responsible for the Mariners' Hatback Bar & Grille and Steelheads Alley in SoDo) debuted this flagship "Pacific Northwest brasserie" in downtown Seattle on Monday, with an interior designed by the firm Wilson Ishihara and dishes such as ash-smoked rockfish dip and foraged mushroom tagliatelle. Beverage director Chakkra Rath has curated a menu of cocktails and mocktails.
Downtown
Pickup, dine-in

We want you to make the most of your precious weekend, which means not wasting a lot of time deciding what to do. To that end, we're suggesting the best, budget-friendly events around, from Seattle Pride in the Park to Pike Place Market PDA 50th Anniversary Celebration and from Bite of Greece Seattle to Plein Air Magnuson Park Paint Out and Festival. For more ideas, check out our top picks of the week.

FRIDAY

LIVE MUSIC

Terra Nobody, Asterhouse, and Kathy Moore Super Power Trio
Billed as a "Black female-fronted, genre-bending, experimental alt-rock/indie-pop band," Seattle locals Terra Nobody balance seething angst with joyful empowerment on songs like "Inconsequential," and "Wicked Is The Woman." They will be joined by fellow alt-rockers Asterhouse and Kathy Moore Super Power Trio. AUDREY VANN
(Sunset Tavern, Ballard, $12)