WEDNESDAY 7/17
Hiatus Kaiyote and Digable Planets
(MUSIC) Aussie jazz-funk ensemble Hiatus Kaiyote will take to Remlinger Farms in support of their fourth album, Love Heart Cheat Code, which embraces spontaneity with improvised tracks like "Sparkle Tape Break Up" and "And We Go Gentle." However, the show’s real draw is that Digable Planets, the greatest hip-hop group of all time (in my opinion) is opening. The trio of rappers, who have adopted the insect alter-egos Butterfly, Ladybug Mecca, and Doodlebug, will perform classic tracks from their influential jazz-rap albums Reachin' (A New Refutation of Time and Space) and Blowout Comb. If you're not familiar with the group, I suggest listening to their 1993 track "La Femme Fetal," which tackles the persistent issues of abortion rights and fascism. (Remlinger Farms, 32610 NE 32nd St, Carnation, 5:30 pm, $54.50, all ages) AUDREY VANN
THURSDAY 7/18
(FILM) I haven't been this excited about a horror film in a while, and the fervor over Longlegs is due in no small part to the headlines it's inspiring: "Nicolas Cage manages to top his twisted legacy," says Dateline; "Oz Perkins' latest gets under your skin and festers like a putrid nightmare," says Bloody Disgusting; "New horror movie dubbed ‘the best serial killer film in recent memory,’" says The Independent. None of this really surprises me because the marketing team for Longlegs has been laying it on thick for months. They set up a freaky-ass phone number that I called earlier this year, only to be so creeped out later that I wondered if I'd inadvertently cursed myself. The film's trailers are also beautifully weird and rife with symbolism. Even Letterboxd users have given Longlegs a 3.8 rating, which is pretty respectable for a modern horror film. My advice? Go into this one knowing as little as possible. (Grand Illusion, multiple showtimes through July 25, $9–$12) LINDSAY COSTELLO
FRIDAY 7/19
(MUSIC) This year, CHBP offers a treasure trove of Gen-Z favorites. Droves of festival-goers will crowd the streets of Capitol Hill to see lineup highlights like pop music's reigning camp queen Chappell Roan, electronic hip-hop heavy Kaytranada, and indie pop trio Cannons. This isn’t your typical lounge-in-the-grass-type music festival, but a bustling party that involves nine stages—both indoors and outdoors. Unfortunately, "slut pop" star Kim Petras had to pull out of her headlining spot, but fear not! Alt-pop sensation Remi Wolf will take her place. (Capitol Hill, E Pine St between Broadway and 12th Ave, July 19–21, $115–$395, all ages) AUDREY VANN
SATURDAY 7/20
(VISUAL ART) Seoul-born interdisciplinary artist Lucy Kim has learned to "embrace distortion" in her hybrid works. While collaborating with scientists at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard and the National Autonomous University of Mexico, Kim helped design a fascinating new printing process that uses "genetically modified bacteria cells that produce melanin directly on paper." Okay, I'm hooked already. The process reveals how melanin can form images, and in Mutant Optics, visitors can view examples made from vanilla plants, which are historically connected to colonization and global economics. If you're intrigued by the intersections of bioengineering, perception, and "social and cultural constructions of race," this show is a sure thing. (Henry Art Gallery, 15th Ave NE and NE 41st St, Thurs–Sun through Feb 1, 2025, free–$20, all ages) LINDSAY COSTELLO
SUNDAY 7/21
(MUSIC) Seattle rarely plays host to Danish musicians, especially of the high calibre of ML Buch. The Copenhagen-based guitarist/vocalist/composer (full name: Mary Louise Buch) has been releasing fascinating, tech-savvy twists on singer/songwriterisms since 2017. Early in her career, Buch realized that, sure, beautiful, wistful melodies sung with understated gravitas are great, but songs really take off when they're disrupted with mysterious distortions. It's the baffling intrusions of synthesized vocal utterances and use of open tunings on a seven-string Stratocaster (among other axes) that distinguish this sonic adventurer from the world's middling traditionalists. On albums such as 2020's Skinned and 2023's succès d'estime Suntub, Buch finds the golden mean between the organic and the artificial, between accessibility and experimentation. Now, fusions of minimalist art pop and electronica clog streaming services, but Buch's hit with more subtlety and inventiveness than most. Ultimately, Buch's is popular music—or it will be—once the human race evolves a bit more. (Madame Lou's, 2505 First Ave, 8:30 pm, $23, 21+) DAVE SEGAL
MONDAY 7/22
(VISUAL ART) Weaving together Shinto mythology and contemporary feminist ideologies, local artist Hanako O’Leary’s origami works in Kamon create a unique visual vocabulary embedded with stories from her recent travels to Japan’s Setonaikai Islands and her childhood summers by the Seto Inland Sea. If you saw Izanami, O'Leary's first solo museum presentation at the Frye earlier this year, Kamon is an essential follow-up. O'Leary will lead an artist talk and origami workshop "intended for those who identify as women or daughters" on July 27. (Gallery 4Culture, 101 Prefontaine Pl S, Mon-Fri 9 am–5 pm, through Aug 1, free, all ages) LINDSAY COSTELLO
TUESDAY 7/23
(FOOD) According to a heat stress-induced Google search on a recent 87-degree day, there are more than 25 places to get good soft serve in Seattle. Making decisions even more difficult, many shops are doing their damnedest to put their distinctive, ahem, twist on the treat. Now, we could go from shop to shop, tasting, testing, and comparing notes to find which soft serve is the best soft serve, but… why? Life doesn’t have to be about finding the best. Like so many of the world’s greatest foods, what’s “best” is in the tastebuds of the beholder and can easily shift depending on moods, weather, and cravings. With that in mind, some of The Stranger’s hungriest food experts sampled eight soft-serve spots across town to help you find your favorite for the summer—or just today. Read all about 'em in our new summer issue—on stands now!—and then go get yourself one of summer's best snacks! MEGAN SELING
