February may be a short month, but there is certainly no shortage of excellent arts, music, and food events happening in Seattle. We’ve compiled the biggest events you need to know about below, including events happening for Black History Month, Valentine’s Day, Mardi Gras, the Lunar New Year, and the Super Bowl. You’ll also find everything from music events like Protest Fest to food events like the Seattle Wine and Food Experience to celebrity talks like Fran Lebowitz’s to film events like the Noir City festival to performances like Hamilton. If all of that isn't enough, you can also look ahead to the rest of this year's big events, or check out our complete Things To Do calendar.

FEBRUARY 1

MUSIC

1. Booker T. Jones
This show should be mandatory for the entire PacNW, ’cause Mr. Booker T. Jones is a bona-fide heavy! He was THE understated, always cool, conservative, and concise Hammond player for the Stax house band, Booker T. & the M.G.’s. Y’all might recognize their classic, "Green Onions”—a song that, in under three minutes, perfectly distills the moment when rock and roll and R&B met. Jones’s musical reach can’t be overstated. Anyway, I bet he’ll play “Green Onions,” along with his many well-loved Stax trax—so yeah, you should be there! MIKE NIPPER

2. Miranda Lambert, Jon Pardi, Turnpike Troubadours
Vocal powerhouse and multi-CMA winner Miranda Lambert will bring some country cool to Tacoma on her Livin' Like Hippies Tour with Jon Pardi and Turnpike Troubadours.

FEBRUARY 1-3

PERFORMANCE

3. Bill T. Jones / Arnie Zane Company
Bill T. Jones is a living legend who stepped confidently into the modern-dance canon with his solo piece 21, a series of poses that he describes differently each time he performs the piece, thus revealing the infinite combination of story lines and truths that the mind can tell from the same sequence of movements. He's been running his company (Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane) for more than three decades and producing great work all along. He'll come to Seattle to present the Analogy trilogy over three nights, featuringDora: Tramontane on Thursday, Lance: Pretty AKA The Escape Artist on Friday, and Ambros: The Emigrant on Saturday.

FEBRUARY 1-11

PERFORMANCE

4. Two Trains Running
Everyone should be well aware of Fences, August Wilson's Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece about black family life in the 1950s. But everyone—especially Seattleites concerned with issues of gentrification, activism, rising racial tensions, and economic inequality—would also do well to spend as much time thinking about Two Trains Running, the next in Wilson's 10-play cycle. Set in a Pittsburgh diner, Wilson reckons with the revolutionary decade of the 1960s, when expectations for the future of the civil rights movement were as high as they were uncertain. Everyone should also know that Wilson's a hometown hero, having spent the latter years of his life writing in the Victrola on 15th or the (old) Canterbury on 19th. Seeing his plays at the Rep, where his cycle of plays was produced in full, carries a special resonance. Juliette Carrillo will direct. RICH SMITH

FEBRUARY 1-17

PERFORMANCE

5. Frost/Nixon
There are about 27 reasons to see Strawberry Theatre Workshop's all-female production of Peter Morgan's classic play about the disgraced president reflecting on the Watergate scandal for the first time on television, and Stranger Genius Award winner Amy Thone playing Nixon is like 14 of those reasons. Alexandra Tavares grilling Thone/Nixon as the ever-intrepid Sir David Frost is about 10 of those reasons. The other three have to do with the fact that Trump would never be, in any kind of hell, least of all this one, as forthcoming, as deviously charming, and as disarmingly honest as Nixon was in this absorbing and infinitely fascinating interview. RICH SMITH

FEBRUARY 1-28

EVERYWHERE

6. Black History Month
The U.S. and Canada observe Black History Month in February to honor the lives of African Americans whose stories have been omitted from history textbooks. For events in Seattle, see our Black History Month calendar.

FEBRUARY 2

MUSIC

7. Lights, Chase Atlantic, DCF
Canadian alt-pop project Lights is on tour promoting her fourth record, Skin&Earth, and will be joined by support acts Chase Atlantic and DCF at this Seattle stop.

READINGS & TALKS

8. An Evening with Terese Mailhot and Tommy Orange
Prolific and entertaining novelist Jess Walter will chat with novelist Tommy Orange, essayist Terese Mailhot (whose highly anticipated Heart Berries is due out soon), and Seattle Arts & Lectures' Youth Poet Laureate Namaka Auwae-Dekker.

FEBRUARY 2-3

COMEDY

9. Laurie Kilmartin
Despite the prevailing trend of contemporary stand-up comedy to be youth-focused, mundane, and not even amusing, Laurie Kilmartin is a 20-year veteran performer and writer (books and TV) with killer jokes and a perspective that—at the risk of sounding like a total grandpa—doesn’t make you feel like you’ve been left behind on a planet full of people who will only laugh at things that aren’t funny. In a time when the comedy world is lacking for novel things to say about family, Kilmartin is great on parents and on being a parent, and on a million other things besides. SEAN NELSON

FESTIVALS

10. Crosscut Festival
Leaders in politics, business, and social justice will be interviewed live on stage by local journalists at the Crosscut Festival. The star-studded lineup includes Washington State Governor Jay Inslee, Oregon Governor Kate Brown, Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson, former Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell, Obama speechwriter David Litt, George W. Bush speechwriter David Frum, and more.

FEBRUARY 2-11

PERFORMANCE

11. Swan Lake
It doesn't get more ballet than Swan Lake, but that isn't a bad thing. You've got Tchaikovsky's signature score. You've got choreographers Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov's translation of the dramatic swoops and lines of the eponymous pond-dweller into a high-velocity revenge narrative. And, with Pacific Northwest Ballet's production, you've got Kent Stowell's streamlined reconfiguration of all that, repackaged and redesigned by the great Ming Cho Lee. It's going to be hard to top Carrie Imler's version of the Black Swan's space-time-defying fouetté series, but if there's anyone who can at least meet Imler's power and control, it's Lesley Rausch and Noelani Pantastico, both of whom absolutely nailed the challenging principal role in Balanchine's "Diamonds" in the fall. RICH SMITH

FEBRUARY 2-14

MUSIC

12. Susanna's Secret: A BDSM Opera
Samantha Gorham's BDSM adaptation of Enrico Golisciani's early-20th-century intermezzo Susanna's Secret is, according to Rich Smith, "one of the most rousing performances on offer this season." It stars Gorham and Darrell J. Jordan of Operamuse, a new collective of local singers who translate operas into contemporary English and perform them in intimate spaces. In the original opera, Susanna's secret is simply that she's cheating on her husband, Gil, with her servant, Sante. In Gorham's version, the setting is present-day Seattle and Susanna is concealing a Dom/sub relationship with Sante, who's been recast as a friend who comes around and smokes a lot of weed on the couple's couch. On Valentine's Day, Barry is offering a special ticket that includes a rose, champagne, and (!) a whipping from a cast member of your choice.

FEBRUARY 2-25

PERFORMANCE

13. Mamma Mia!
This is a new version of the endlessly popular Abba musical about a bride-to-be and her desire to meet her unknown father.

FEBRUARY 2-MARCH 4

PERFORMANCE

14. Ibsen in Chicago
This is the world premiere of a new play by David Grimm. Through his 2000 production Kit Marlowe, Grimm created a dramatized version of theatrical history that focused on the man surrounded by myth and rumor: Marlowe might have been a spy, or a heretic, or even the person who wrote Shakespeare's best-known works. This new play, Ibsen in Chicago, also deals with history and theatrics—this time, it's about Scandinavian immigrants putting on an Ibsen play in Chicago in 1882. Look forward to direction by Seattle Rep Artistic Director Braden Abraham.

FEBRUARY 3

MUSIC

15. Antonio Sanchez: Birdman Live
Regardless of one’s opinion on Alejandro GonzĂĄlez Iñårritu’s 2014 film Birdman, it was unusually inventive for a best picture Oscar winner. Much was made of how it was filmed in a single continuous shot, but Antonio Sanchez’s score is just as essential. A jazz drummer, Sanchez improvised to the film, and then edited and layered the recordings. The brusque, clattering score is untraditional, but the way Sanchez’s drums punctuate and play off of the action makes it hard to imagine anything else working as well. Here, he’ll play the music to a screening of the film. ANDREW GOSPE

16. Dave East, Guests
Repping East Harlem, rapper Dave East has shown up on XXL's 2016 Freshman Class and been signed to Def Jam Recordings in part due to his attention-getting 2014 mixtape Black Rose. He'll perform tracks from that and newer works tonight with additional guests.

17. Drive-By Truckers, Lilly Hiatt
Mad props to Drive-By Truckers for making an opera out of Southern-fried rock, and for backing up Booker T. Jones (playing at Triple Door two nights earlier). The Truckers’ latest album, American Band, finds the flag at what looks like, from the cover, half-mast. They love their country, but they don’t like what they see—and what they see is Big Orange dissolving into the amber waves of grain like toxic waste, until we just plain take him for granted and stop talking about the poison. Or at least take it for granted. And they’re American mad about that. ANDREW HAMLIN

18. Katy Perry, Carly Rae Jepsen
Katy Perry has so many issues, I don’t even know where to start. Should I begin with her rampant cultural appropriation and textbook white entitlement, or perhaps her bizarre proclamations of color-by-numbers rebellion against the very system that pays her bills, or simply remind everybody of that time Missy Elliott and a guy in a shark suit ripped the dance floor out from under her Super Bowl set? She is all over the place, and her music, the one thing she’s supposed to be able to do, shows that mightily—it’s as if she and her production team threw everything at the wall and planned on recording what stuck, only to watch it all slump to the ground in a wet heap. Perry’s 2017 album, Witness, is a perfect example of this free-for-all free fall, desperately slashing through clichĂ© after clichĂ©, each track set to overblown symphonic warbles or disjointed trap beats ill-fitted for her earnest attempts at domming each ballad and banger alike. If you have to go to this show, go early—the real pop star here is opener Carly Rae Jepsen, who, for some reason, is not headlining her own arena tour. KIM SELLING

19. Shelby Earl, Sean Nelson
There’s something ethereal yet earthy about the vocals of Seattle singer-songwriter Shelby Earl—they can be delicate and sultry or given to powerfully piping serenades. Her sound is easygoing, melodious folk rock flavored with elements of dusty Old West Americana, urgent driving indie-rock, and even a bit of gospel-tinged soul. I’m reminded of Carole King, not because they sound anything alike, but because they have a similar effortlessness to their music while infusing it with something indescribably their own. This “Songs for Singing” performance by Earl—who is fresh off releasing her third full-length, The Man Who Made Himself a Name—finds her performing a stripped-down set list in American Songbook style, accompanied by Billy Brush on piano and the Passenger String Quartet. Harvey Danger alum and elder statesman of fine quality Seattle rock ’n’ roll (and Stranger editor-at-large) Sean Nelson opens. LEILANI POLK

FEBRUARY 3-10

PERFORMANCE

20. Seattle International Dance Festival Mini Winter Fest
Mexico's Compania Cuidad Interior will join Seattle's Khambatta Dance Company for two weekends of "internationally inspired" dance performances.

FEBRUARY 3-25

FESTIVALS

21. Lunar New Year
Ring in the Year of the Dog at a variety of Seattle events, including the Lunar New Year in Chinatown festival on the 11th, the Wing Luke Lunar New Year Fair on the 10th, and Lucky Envelope Brewing's celebration on the 16th and 17th.

FEBRUARY 4

EVERYWHERE

22. Super Bowl LII
See the Philadelphia Eagles play the New England Patriots in the 52nd annual Super Bowl, with a halftime show by Justin Timberlake. Stock up on chicken wings and tune in on NBC for the biggest football event of the year. Find our list of where to watch the Super Bowl in Seattle here.

FEBRUARY 5

MUSIC

23. 107.7 The End Endsession with Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats
107.7 The End and Elysian Brewing will co-sponsor this "Endsession" with heavy-hitting, hip-shaking bluesy Americana group Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats. The event is free and open to the public, and if you're one of the first 50 people there, you may even get to meet the band.

READINGS & TALKS

24. Robert Gates
As part of the Unique Lives & Experiences series, hear from former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, who served under Presidents Bush and Obama.

FEBRUARY 6

READINGS & TALKS

25. Jojo Moyes: Still Me
In this new book by the author of After You and Me Before You, Louisa Clark penetrates the ultra-rich world of a New York family and meets a man who makes her remember her past.

FEBRUARY 6-MARCH 18

PERFORMANCE

26. Hamilton
Lin-Manuel Miranda is responsible for Hamilton's book, music, and lyrics, and he has squashed a dizzying number of words and concepts into this stunning production. You don't like musicals? Fine. Try Hamilton—its hiphop, jazz, and rap numbers have made people all over the country rethink their rigid anti-musical stance, and offered them juicy, controversial history about one of their Founding Fathers. The wildly popular show will be here for more than four glorious weeks. Joseph Morales and Nik Walker will star as Hamilton and Burr.

FEBRUARY 7

PERFORMANCE

27. Varla Jean Merman in: BAD HEROINE
Glamorous drag chanteuse Varla Jean Merman (aka Jeffery Roberson) has had a Broadway run in Lucky Guy, guest-starred on Ugly Betty, and even sung in a Giancarlo Menotti opera in the title role of The Medium. See her wield her bizarre comedic and vocal talents.

READINGS & TALKS

28. Gregory Orr
Gregory Orr is a legendary and much beloved poet who I once used as an example of bad poetry reading in an essay called "Stop Using Poet Voice." I just want to stress here that Orr's work is much bigger and better and more important than his reading voice, and you really should check out The Caged Owl (published by Copper Canyon Press—they're local, guys!) if you're looking for a lesson on how to turn your trauma into poems without discrediting either. RICH SMITH

FEBRUARY 7-11

FESTIVALS

29. Northwest Flower & Garden Festival
This huge conference and exhibition gathers landscapers, speakers, vendors, and other garden professionals. See show gardens, learn about subjects such as locavorism, permaculture and sustainability, home decor, and regional gardening at special seminars, buy books and meet authors, and generally immerse yourself in a haven of green wholesomeness.

FEBRUARY 8

FILM

30. Fifty Shades Freed Opening
The wrap-up of the Twilight fanfic trilogy about nipple clamps, expensive ties, and heterosexual love. The first words of the trailer are "Good morning, wife!" "Good morning, husband!" And that, my dears, is exposition.

MUSIC

31. Bermuda Triangle
Newest and soon to be best supergroup Bermuda Triangle is a high-energy rock trio comprised of Alabama Shakes powerhouse Brittany Howard, sunbaked singer-songwriter Becca Mancari, and Great Plains scribe Jesse Lafser. Formed unintentionally, the group is all about sharing the fun they had making this music with their audience.

32. Dark Star Orchestra
Dark Star Orchestra keep the indomitable legacy of the Grateful Dead twinkling with their spot-on tribute concerts. They plunder the mother lode of the jam-band progenitors' vast output for Deadheads who miss the real deal or for those unfortunates who never had the chance to witness them live. DSO's MO is to replicate momentous Dead set lists from the group's deep archives, and then nail every facet of the music. Clearly, DSO have their inspiration's wonderfully tight/loose chops, fluid sense of time and space, and that all-important stamina to keep on truckin' through the transitive nightfall of diamonds. DAVE SEGAL

33. Destroyer, Mega Bog
The rest of the world has started to discover Mega Bog, the project of songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Erin Birgy. Until a 2015 move to New York, Birgy was a longtime fixture in the Olympia and Seattle DIY music scenes, where she played in dozens of bands and cultivated an inclusive, iterative approach to music-making. Last year’s striking Happy Together is a patchwork of soft rock, lounge jazz, and cacophonous psych excursions that doesn’t shy from complexity. An opening slot for Destroyer—the work of another creatively restless polymath, Dan Bejar—suits Birgy well. ANDREW GOSPE

FEBRUARY 8-9

MUSIC

34. Hippie Sabotage, Melvv, Azizi Gibson
California’s Hippie Sabotage, much like our own local boys gone grand Odesza, perform the sort of sun-baked beachtronica that will make you feel like cracking open a Corona and playing hooky for a week. If you’re looking for a techno-pop fix on a Saturday night, it wouldn’t be wrong to steer you here, but why would you ever need a fix of techno pop? Just watch the ads before YouTube videos. KYLE FLECK

FEBRUARY 8-11

MUSIC

35. Judy Collins
Since her first album in 1961, A Maid of Constant Sorrow, graceful songstress Judy Collins has released and been a part of more than 50 albums, with additional career successes as an author, filmmaker, social activist, guitar designer, and record label founder. She's been gigging for over 50 years, so this pre-Valentine's Day four-night set of romantic pop, cabaret, and folk classics will be a drop in the bucket for her. TRENT MOORMAN

FEBRUARY 8-APRIL 1

PERFORMANCE

36. The Maltese Falcon
Book-It Repertory Theatre and Cafe Nordo will collaborate on a stage version of the lush and gritty noir classic The Maltese Falcon, adapted by Jane Jones and Kevin McKeon. As private dick Sam Spade seeks the priceless jewel-encrusted falcon for some sketchy clients, you'll tuck into Nordo's special themed menu.

FEBRUARY 8-APRIL 29

PERFORMANCE

37. Romeo & Juliet
This cozy speakeasy, tucked under Pike Place Market, specializes in charismatic, cheese-cakey, nearly-nude entertainment (plus more covered-up brunch shows for the young and the prudish). Expect something a little sexier than your typical Shakespeare adaptation at this modernized cabaret show version of the tragic tale, paired with an original soundtrack. Make it a dinner date and order food and cocktails. If you want to go on Valentine's Day proper, be prepared to spend the big florins.

FEBRUARY 9

FOOD & DRINK

38. Brewology
What if your sixth-grade museum field trip grew up to be the boozy evening of your dreams? Such is the premise behind this geeked-out craft beer fest, where you’re invited to imbibe as many four-ounce samples as you can handle from 25 breweries and cideries and learn the science behind your favorite beverages. Talk to the brewmasters to get the scoop on their processes, take a toasty trip through the Science Center, and participate in hoppy hands-on activities and demonstrations that would make Bill Nye proud. JULIANNE BELL

MUSIC

39. Ann Wilson of Heart
Reasons to go see Ann Wilson (once and future singer of Heart): She boasted one of the purest, soaringest operatic voices in all of pop music and she might well still have it. She tried to take it when the Seattle Times’ Patrick MacDonald kept making fun of her weight, but eventually let Heart’s manager take ads out in the paper (sample counterpunch: “Get a grip, boob brain”). People called Heart “Little Zep,” as though that solved the case, never mind that Heart came on somewhat more melodic and considerably less bombastic. Then the band hit the 1980s and embraced synths and song doctors. If they were ever hip, that sealed their tomb. For hipsters, not listeners. ANDREW HAMLIN

40. Book of Love, Year of Death
This rare live performance from 1980s synth-pop act Book of Love is guaranteed to bring nostalgia-seekers back to a time when MTV was cool and vinyl reigned. The NYC-by-way-of-Philly act's infectiously buttery sound stemmed out of British new wave and primitive pop gloss indebted to early Depeche Mode and OMD. Core songwriter Ted Ottaviano said: "I was fascinated with Altered Images and other bands that were incorporating bells and chimes into their music. Long brass chimes, tubular bells, whatever." The band scored a club hit in 1984 with their first single, "Boy," a bell-dazzled feminist anthem, followed with more hits that sent bubblegum goths into a rapture of pop ecstasy, including "I Touch Roses" and "Pretty Girls and Pretty Boys" (one of the first songs to openly address the AIDS epidemic). BRITTNIE FULLER

41. Gramatik, Haywyre
Slovenian electronic music producer and DJ Gramatik, also known by his birth name Denis Jaơarević, is billed as the world's first "crypto-artist," meaning he champions peer-to-peer file-sharing as the reason for his catapult to stardom, and he's the first artist to sign with SingularDTV in an effort to decentralize the power of the traditional music industry and get his music to his fans by utilizing blockchain technology.

42. The Helio Sequence, Headwaves, I Will Keep Your Ghost
The Helio Sequence have always been masters of texture. Guitarist/singer Brandon Summers and drummer Benjamin Weikel began their career in the deep end of the sugary-sweet pop pool, amid sparkling synths, heavily effected vocals, and whizzing bleeps and bloops. Over time, however, the Portland band’s dreaminess has darkened and become more thoughtful, its layering more restrained, its effects more minimal. On its sixth self-titled album, the band feels like it’s settling into the apex of its career, balancing just the right amount of dark to light, quiet to loud. It sounds gorgeous. KATHLEEN RICHARDS

43. Mike Gordon
Forget that Mike Gordon is a member of Phish, which is one of the greatest rock bands of all time. But I digress. You mustn’t judge him because you have preconceived—and incorrect and likely ignorant—ideas about Phish. Instead, focus on Mike Gordon being the member with the most creatively intriguing solo output. His 2003 debut full-length, Inside In, is a cowboy-space-funk odyssey studded in pedal steel, banjo, and horn weirdness. It’s perfect from start to finish, and remains one of my all-time favorites 15 years later. Gordon’s new outing, OGOGO, is marked by his usual moments of avant-rock instrumental and vocal bizarreness, as well as his characteristic employment of unexpected time signatures while still laying down swinging, fart-ripping bass grooves (see the magnetic head-bobber “Crazy Sometimes”). My point is, whatever your opinion of Phish, you might just love Mike Gordon. LEILANI POLK

FEBRUARY 9-14

PERFORMANCE

44. The Atomic Bombshells: J'adore
The saucy vixens of the Atomic Bombshells troupe will celebrate 10 years of busty, feathery, glitzy fun in a show featuring Cherdonna, Ernie Von Schmaltz, the Purple Lemonade, and the Haus of Hop.

FEBRUARY 10

ART

45. Trump's ABC
Ann Telnaes is the Washington Post's editorial cartoonist, and her view of our glorious executive leader is, shall we say, dim. Celebrate her art with the launch of this book "featuring sing-songy rhymes and beguiling watercolor drawings." Supposedly, it's a collection that would hold the attention of the President himself.

MUSIC

46. MØ, Cashmere Cat, Darius
Singer MØ and producer/DJ Cashmere Cat, from Denmark and Norway, respectively, and co-headliners on this tour, both create electro-pop well suited for the Coachella main stage or a smartphone commercial. Cashmere Cat has made great hay of his signature sound—chiming software bells, harps, and flutes atop contorted digital rap beats—collaborating with pop stars like Ariana Grande and the Weeknd. MØ has a wider range, and her solo output is more interesting than what she’s done as an EDM voice-for-hire, most notably on Major Lazer’s “Lean On.” That song was in a Google ad—go figure. ANDREW GOSPE

47. Nef the Pharaoh, OMB Peezy, MkF, Mo Money, UC Lil Kayla, Salsalino
Rap out of Northern Califoolya, as godfather E-40 termed it, is way too active these days—and Vallejo’s Nef the Pharaoh and Sacramento’s OMB Peezy are two of the region’s finest, both signed to 40’s Sic Wid It label, and a natural team. Both have done EPs with producer Cardo (aka Cardo Got Wings), who has a penchant for bringing the best out of up-and-comers. The Cardo-backed Neffy Got Wings and Humble Beginnings are the two best starting points to jumping on showcasing both young rappers’ gifts of descriptive grit. Nef and Peezy both draw heavily from legends they grew up on, sounding something like the second comings of Mac Dre and Lil Boosie, respectively. So I say all that to say this: Let’s get that supergroup popping—throw in Yhung T.O. and Mozzy, and you’d have NorCal’s true answer to N.W.A. Just spitballing here. LARRY MIZELL JR.

READINGS & TALKS

48. Craig Johnson: The Western Star
Craig Johnson is the author of nearly 20 novels and story collections that feature one Walt Longmire, a well-educated but taciturn former college football star and Marine veteran who now works as the sheriff of a remote county in Wyoming. Longmire also inspired six seasons of a fantastic TV show that ran until last year. It’s rare to find a character/series/author in the western tradition that satisfies the twin requirements of feeling both contemporary and timeless, but Johnson’s work does, and his reading voice is pleasing, too. SEAN NELSON

FEBRUARY 11

FOOD & DRINK

49. Chocofest 2018
Dive headfirst into chocoholic bacchanalia with 10, count ’em 10, drink tickets in tow at this annual pre-Valentine’s Day bash. Indulge in libations from dozens of breweries, cideries, wineries, and distilleries and sate your sweet tooth with confections from Fran’s Chocolates, Theo Chocolate, Chukar Cherries, Gelatiamo, and more. When you need to cut your sugar rush with something savory, there will also be bites from local restaurants and a cask beer section with unique ales available just for the evening. And know that all your hedonism supports a good cause—proceeds benefit Puget Soundkeeper Alliance’s efforts to protect Puget Sound waters. JULIANNE BELL

50. Northwest Women Stars of Food & Wine
This annual reception gathers tastemaking women chefs, winemakers, and sommeliers of the Pacific Northwest (and their fans) in the Columbia Tower for a night of bites and drinks. The lineup this year includes Chera Amlag of Hood Famous Bakeshop (she of the beloved ube cheesecake); chef and “hummus maven” Kristi Brown, owner of That Brown Girl Cooks!; Carrie Mashaney, Top Chef alum and executive chef of Mamnoon; chef Nicole Matson of How to Cook a Wolf; Tamara Murphy, chef and owner of Terra Plata; and many more. The event raises funds for Women’s Funding Alliance, a nonprofit whose mission is to “advance leadership and economic opportunity for women and girls in Washington State.” JULIANNE BELL

MUSIC

51. Kimbra, Arc Iris
You likely know New Zealand art-pop purveyor Kimbra from her feature spot in Gotye’s relentlessly ear-wormy 2012 hit “Somebody That I Used to Know.” She has a dulcet vocal quality that delves into lower velvety timbres and higher-reaching coos when she sings, her sound mixing catchy melodies with jazzy R&B, soulful pop, and indie-dance tones. New track “Top of the World” (a single off forthcoming third album Primal Heart) has a pounding beat and pits effected singing and rhyme-slinging against femme-tribal backing chants, reminding me simultaneously of Kendrick Lamar, M.I.A., and Blondie, while “Sweet Relief” (recorded in 2016) is straight up Prince-influenced pop-funk with rubbery elastic grooves and 1980s-flecked synthesizers. RIYL: Santigold, Bat for Lashes. LEILANI POLK

FEBRUARY 12

MUSIC

52. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Steady Holiday
At the height of their popularity in the mid 2000s, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah generated controversy disproportionate to their mostly-just-fine music. The band sold a bunch of copies of their first record without PR or a label, which led to plenty of soul-searching (or perhaps navel-gazing) discussions about the changing music industry, the nascent blogosphere, and whether CYHSY were any good to begin with. Now they’re touring behind the 10th-anniversary reissue of second album Some Loud Thunder, an of-its-time indie-rock record that fits snugly next to the likes of Wolf Parade and post-“Float On” Modest Mouse. ANDREW GOSPE

53. Dan Auerbach & the Easy Eye Sound Revue, Shannon and the Clams
As the singer and guitarist of the Black Keys, Dan Auerbach formed part of the great Midwestern blues-rock revival of the early 2000s. Much to his chagrin, his counterpart is the White Stripes’ Jack White. Likewise, while the two have each pursued an odd career of group albums, side projects, producer credits, and solo LPs, White's work with his historic project is probably the better discog. Here's the rub: When it comes to solo LPs, Auerbach has his Detroit arch-nemesis thoroughly spanked. In fact, Auerbach's 2017 release, Waiting on a Song, might be his best release, full stop (the other contender is the 2009 LP, Blakroc). JOSEPH SCHAFER

54. One Classy Night in Seattle
In an odd collection of affairs, Will Ferrell will gather his friends— including Brandi Carlile, Mike McCready of Pearl Jam, and personal doppelgĂ€nger Chad Smith of Red Hot Chili Peppers—for an evening of live music, comedic chit-chat, and fundraising for Cancer For College.

READINGS & TALKS

55. Arlie Hochschild with Christopher Sebastian Parker: Strangers in Their Own Land
By now we're all sick of relitigating the 2016 election, but renowned Berkeley sociologist Arlie Hochschild wrote one of the more considered books on the subject, one that's infinitely more useful than J.D. Vance's hillbilly whatever. To write Strangers in Their Own Land, Hochschild spent five years interviewing white middle-class and lower-middle-class Tea Partiers in Louisiana. And guess what? She discovers they think immigrants, black people, brown people, and women are stealing "their" tax dollars and "cutting ahead" in line. They think the government is way bigger than it is. They're racist, and so they wanted to vote for the racist even though the economic and environmental policies people tell him to advance destroy their own homes and food sources. We know all that, but Hochschild also reveals some surprising and not totally obvious differences between Trump and his voters, which may be of use in 2018. Christopher Sebastian Parker, professor of political science at University of Washington, will join her for a discussion of her findings. RICH SMITH

56. Box Brown: Is This Guy For Real?
Ignatz Award-winning cartoonist Box Brown (Andre the Giant) will read from a new biographical graphic novel about the incendiary comic Andy Kaufman, known for his occasionally shocking performance-art style of stand-up.

FEBRUARY 13

EVERYWHERE

57. Mardi Gras
The New Orleans-based holiday (celebrated all over the world) is full of booze, beaded necklaces, parades, rich foods, and more booze before Lent season begins the next day, on Ash Wednesday. See our complete Seattle Mardi Gras calendar here.

READINGS & TALKS

58. Kim Fu: The Lost Girls of Camp Forevermore
Almost everything about Kim Fu's The Lost Girls of Camp Forevermore looks like a young-adult novel, but it's not. It's a gripping survival story about the lives of six diverse women—Nita, Andee, Kayla, Isabel, Dina, Siobhan—who first meet at an all-girls summer camp in the Pacific Northwest. Fu renders the particularities and weird ambiguities of preteen cruelty in ways that will transport you back the fluorescent horrors of your own middle-school cafeteria. After an unexpected tragedy, some Lord of the Flies shit goes down at the camp. The girls find themselves lost and without supervision. There are bears. There are rumors of a cougar. Food supplies are low—peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, some trail mix, and exactly one joint. They're forced to make a lot of tough calls that will end up shaping their lives in unexpected ways. RICH SMITH

FEBRUARY 13-15

MUSIC

59. Mindi Abair Band
Contemporary sax thriller Mindi Adair will rip through Seattle over Valentine's Day week with her bluesy, jazzy band of bad boys, the Bone Shakers.

FEBRUARY 13-17

MUSIC

60. La La Land in Concert with the Seattle Symphony
Oscar-winning romantic comedy film and original musical La La Land, renowned for its fantastical treatment of the golden age of Hollywood, will be given the orchestral treatment with this glamorous Valentine's evening pairing. The Seattle Symphony will perform the film's score live as Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling play out their love story on screen.

FEBRUARY 14

EVERYWHERE

61. Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day started out as a Western Christian liturgical feast honoring Saint Valentine, but today its all about candy and gooey displays of romance. In turn, it's sparked "anti" movements that reject said gooeyness. Luckily, there's an ample supply of drugstore chocolate for both camps. See our complete Seattle Valentine's Day calendar here, with over 100 options for performances, concerts, dinners, and more.

MUSIC

62. Air Supply
Can the hedgehog still hit the high notes? And no grown-up will ever understand that this is a matter of so much importance! Well, okay, no non–Air Supply fan. Air Supply fans don’t mind or laugh off their silly clothes (me, I searched the web in vain for a bright-white dress shirt with a yellow tiger over the right breast), unapologetic use of French horns, Jim Steinman’s confession that they almost bored him to death (“but I found that fascinating”) while he recorded one of their hugest hits. Air Supply rarely bother with new albums. They’re about the hits and the memories of those tiger-shirt days. Graham Russell looks like he never leaves the beach. Russell Hitchcock’s the hedgehog. Hope he’s still got it! (That shirt, I mean, which may be too much too hope for.) ANDREW HAMLIN

63. LP, Noah Kahan
New Yorker singer-songwriter and self-styled "rock rebel" LP is all about brash honesty and soulful, stripped-down yet spirited rock. She'll be joined by Noah Kahan.

READINGS & TALKS

64. Bob Roth and David Lynch: Strength in Stillness: The Power of Transcendental Meditation
The iconic Pacific Northwest filmmaker and the CEO of the David Lynch Foundation will speak about transcendental meditation, an ageless technique that can help soothe stress. Keep in mind Lynch will only sign the book, not your much-played copy of Wild at Heart.

FEBRUARY 14-18

COMEDY

65. Seattle Festival of Improv Theater
Improvisors from all over will come to Seattle to participate in the Seattle Festival of Improv Theater over five days. Come for parties, master classes, workshops, and of course, lots of hilarious theater.

FEBRUARY 15

ART

66. Figuring History: Robert Colescott, Kerry James Marshall, Mickalene Thomas Opening
Figuring History displays large-scale history paintings by African American artists Robert Colescott (1925–2009), Kerry James Marshall (born 1955), and Mickalene Thomas (born 1971), each of whom offers alternatives to—and even undermines—tradition European American depictions of pivotal moments in our country's story. From Robert Colescott's cartoon-like image of a black Washington crossing the Delaware to Mickalene Thomas's feminist nudes, these artists question the chokehold of white culture on the imagination of the past.

FILM

67. Black Panther Opening
The warrior-king of Wakanda will defend his people and struggle to avert world war in this hugely anticipated, frankly kickass-looking comic book adaptation starring Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, and Lupita Nyong'o.

READINGS & TALKS

68. Colson Whitehead
About novelist and MacArthur genius Colson Whitehead, Rich Smith wrote, "He won every major award in fiction this year for The Underground Railroad, which really was that good." In his review, Smith said the new novel was "even better than the hype." The Pulitzer Prize committee would agree with that assessment of the novel, which blends realistic historical atrocity and sci-fi premises to explore a woman's drive to escape slavery.

FEBRUARY 15-17

WEED

69. CannaCon
Learn about the cannabis industry and meet professionals in the trade at CannaCon, a three-day long conference that offers seminars (including "Grow Path," "Industry Path," and "Science Path") and networking opportunities for cannabis entrepreneurs. Governor Jay Inslee is this year's keynote speaker.

FEBRUARY 16

MUSIC

70. Judah & The Lion, Colony House, Tall Heights
Exuberant Americana group Judah & the Lion will showcase their style of Southern grit for this stop of their Going To Mars Tour, with opening support sets by Colony House and Tall Heights.

71. Parquet Courts, Thurston Moore, Heron Oblivion
There's a nervous energy that distinguishes Parquet Courts' five full-lengths to date, including 2016's fine Human Performance. The New York-by-way-of-Texas quartet combine the crazy rhythms of the Feelies with the late-night ramblings of the Modern Lovers. It's not that they're paranoid or peevish. It's more that they’re hyper-sensitive to external phenomena and eager to share their immediate impressions—before new thoughts rush in to replace the old. Lyrics tumble out in a caffeinated rush over guitars that rumble like rickety subway cars. On the new album, the first to feature songwriting from all four members, they also add new moves, like the twang of "Pathos Prairie" or the kraut-rock chug of "One Man, No City." The phrase "don't sleep" has never seemed more apt.  KATHY FENNESSY

READINGS & TALKS

72. Dave Eggers and Mokhtar Alkhanshali: The Monk of Mokha
Dave Eggers, founder of McSweeney's, turns to nonfiction to tell the story of Mokhtar Alkhanshali, a son of Yemeni immigrants who travels back to the land of his origin to discover coffee farms. Civil war breaks out in the middle of his trip, leaving him stranded. A tale of adventure and coffee nerdery, this book and its real-life protagonist are sure to charm and inspire. Presented by Elliott Bay Book Company.

FEBRUARY 16-17

MUSIC

73. The Jazz Epistles with Abdullah Ibrahim, Ekaya, and Terence Blanchard
Back in the 1980s, Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) only operated between five in the afternoon and midnight, and in the hour or so before programming started, their station would accompany the transmission test pattern with music. Often this music was by Abdullah Ibrahim (who in the deep past of Cape Town, South Africa, was known as Dollar Brand), and often the tunes that flowed from the TV’s speakers were either Ibrahim’s exquisitely affirmative “Zimbabwe” or his masterpiece of jazz-jive “Mannenberg.” The African sun would be in the Harare sky, insects buzzing in the bright air, the dog basking on the veranda, copper light falling in the living room, my body reposed on a sofa, and all around me the sorrowful, lyrical, loop-like jazz of the great South African pianist. What Ibrahim accomplished as an artist was to end the split between lyrical sensitivity and aggressive percussiveness. He is one of the giants of Africa. CHARLES MUDEDE

MUSIC

74. Walk the Moon, Company of Thieves
If you've turned on commercial radio at any time in the last year, you've heard one of Walk the Moon's thumping, stadium-ready alt-rock-pop tracks. They'll hit Seattle on their Push Restart Tour.

FEBRUARY 16-18

MUSIC

75. Los Lobos with Future Stuff
To most punters, East LA giants Los Lobos are best remembered for their 1980s Top 40 version of Ritchie Valens’s “La Bamba,” but, y’all, they were playing well before that hit and have continued on since with a brilliant catalog of cool, sunshiny SoCal mix of rock, soul, and Tejano jams. As I’ve written in this space, “Loving Los Lobos has never been a stretch, as they’ve proved to have remarkably consistent top-class songwriting skills,” thus this Triple Door residency should prove to be nothing less than total greatness. MIKE NIPPER

PERFORMANCE

76. Mark Morris Dance Group: Pepperland
The Mark Morris Dance Group may have moved on to bigger stages than Seattle has to offer, but don't worry—they come back every so often. For the 50th anniversary of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, the group will frolic to new music by Ethan Iverson that elaborates on the classical and non-Western influences on the Beatles' songs.

FEBRUARY 16-22

FILM

77. Noir City 2018
Your yearly rendezvous with wicked women, doomed patsies, brutal criminals, and cynical detectives, all playing out in alluring chiaroscuro.

FEBRUARY 17

MUSIC

78. Derrick Carter Open-to-Close
What happens when Kremwerk hosts Chicago house-music titan Derrick Carter? Droves of zealots come out to raise the roof and burn thousands of calories to the man's expertly mixed and selected sets, honed over the last quarter century or so. But he's no purist. Carter's sets usually branch out into disco, soul, jazz, and electro pop, connecting the dots with these styles and the spiritual funkiness of house music proper. DAVE SEGAL

79. GTA, Guests
USC Events present a night with GTA, a DJ duo sure to get your blood pumping with their joyride-style sets that emphasize trap beats, massive bass drops, and booming electronica in an attempt to completely do away with genre divides.

READINGS & TALKS

80. Tavi Gevinson: Rookie on Love
Not to pit two excellent publications against one another, but while Teen Vogue has been "having a moment" lately, editor-in-chief Tavi Gevinson's Rookie Mag has been an essential periodical for young people who want to be talked to like adults since she founded it in 2011. Now she's touring the country with an anthology about <3 love <3, featuring "exclusive, never-before-seen essays, poems, comics, and interviews" from heavy-hitters such as Hilton Als, Janet Mock, and Sarah Manguso. Pieces from the delightfully potty-mouthed Jenny Zhang and the extremely detail-oriented Durga Chew-Bose are well worth your time, too. The event falls a few days after Valentine's Day, so the timing isn't perfect, but neither is the heart. RICH SMITH

FEBRUARY 17-18

PERFORMANCE

81. Chop Shop Dance Festival
This contemporary dance festival has presented performances from troupes and artists around the world, with the goal of reaching diverse audiences and connecting people of all abilities with dance instruction.

FEBRUARY 18

MUSIC

82. Jacob Sartorius, Zach Clayton, Luna Blaise, Hayden Summerall
Teen pop juggernaut Jacob Sartorius—billed as an "all-around entertainer, musician, actor, and social media force"—will lead his Leave Me Hangin' Tour with support sets by equally young and earnest YouTube channel talents Zach Clayton, Luna Blaise, and Hayden Summerall.

83. Lettuce
Boston-brewed funk-jazz faves Lettuce celebrate 26 years in 2018. More impressive than their longevity, however, is the fact that the septet still features the core five of its original 1992 lineup, held down by the tight dual work of guitarists Eric Krasno and Adam “Shmeeans” Smirnoff, ramped up by rhythm-section monsters bassist Erick Coomes and drummer/percussionist Adam Deitch, and a horn section driven by sax-juggling extraordinaire Ryan Zoidis. 2016's Mt. Crushmore EP might be seven songs short, but it hits hard with dark shades of psychedelic soul, stealthy, chugging grooves, and 1970s-era Tower of Power–inspired brass arrangements that add an urgent quality to the instrumental propulsion. These dudes are pros, no doubt about that. LEILANI POLK

READINGS & TALKS

84. Fran Lebowitz
Humorist Fran Lebowitz stands at a remove from popular culture, much of which she lambastes with sarcastic wit. She's also something of a grump. In a 1993 interview in the Paris Review, she groused, "I wouldn’t say that I dislike the young. I’m simply not a fan of naĂŻvetĂ©. I mean, unless you have an erotic interest in them, what other interest could you have?" But she's also an incisive observer and a concentration of New York bluntness in human skin, and she'll be worth seeing.

FEBRUARY 18-19

FESTIVALS

85. Protest Fest 2018
Do206 presents this multi-venue, live music-focused festival on President's Day. According to the organizers, it "will feature curators from different music communities hosting events benefiting charities of their choosing," including Planned Parenthood, Southern Poverty Law Center, ACLU, and the Sierra Club.

FEBRUARY 19

READINGS & TALKS

86. Our History, Our Responsibility
Here to commemorate Japanese Americans who lived through racially motivated incarceration—and to draw attention to discrimination against American Muslims—is Khizr Khan, the "Gold Star father" who found himself the target of the Trump campaign. He'll help honor Japanese American survivors, service members, and others, alongside musician Kishi Bashi, who will show a part of his forthcoming documentary on the internment. Densho and CAIR-WA will co-present this event.

FEBRUARY 20

MUSIC

87. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
For the last 15 or so years, garage revisionists Black Rebel Motorcycle Club have ladled drone-heavy fuzz onto the modern rock scene, with high-key Jesus & Mary Chain influences that are very easy to spot. Their sixth studio album, Specter at the Feast, offers a chance to see them expand their sound a bit, while still holding tight to their traditional leather-&-grease mainstays.

88. Gogol Bordello
Few bands double down on jubilant spectacle as hard as Gogol Bordello. The so-called “g*psy punk” outfit, consisting of charismatic singer Eugene Hutz and a revolving door of multi-ethnic and international musicians, blends big, simple rock hooks with accordion, violin, and a quirky sense of humor that is equal parts snarky and literary. At first brush it's the Clash for NPR listeners, but deeper listens reveal a strong dedication to George Clinton's funk sound, as well as big Def Leppard-ish hooks. JOSEPH SCHAFER

89. Helium with Mary Timony, Allison Crutchfield
Wild Flag and Helium cofounder Mary Timony is one of the original '90s women of rock. Billed as an "indie rock starlet" more times than most, her fearless axe-slinging, lyric-flinging ways should be respected and acknowledged past industry gender barriers and simply for the excellent pillars of modern music that they are. She'll be joined by the fleshed-out Helium lineup and Allison Crutchfield.

90. Mat Kearney
Ubiquitous pop-crafter Mat Kearney hit billboard pay dirt with his third studio album, Young Love. He'll bring his iTunes commercial-ready tracks to Seattle on his Crazytalk Tour.

READINGS & TALKS

91. Rose McGowan
Rose McGowan escaped a cult as a teen and is currently fighting back against the clutches of sexism in Hollywood. Hear her discuss her new book, Brave, in a conversation with Carole Carmichael.
(Cancelled)

FEBRUARY 21

MUSIC

92. Princess Nokia, Suzi Analogue
Princess Nokia is the early-2000s cell-phone-inspired moniker of Destiny Frasqueri. After dabbling in some other projects in the early 2010s, Frasqueri settled on Princess Nokia in 2014, using it as an alter ego to channel the multidimensional aspects of herself. Princess Nokia raps about her experiences growing up in New York—she’s confrontational and totally unafraid to say how she’s feeling (check “Tomboy” and “Brujas”). She released her debut EP 1992 twice last year, self-releasing her collection of fiery verses in January, and then as a deluxe album with eight new tracks, including her indulgent rhymes and impenetrable knocks on Rough Trade Records in September. ANNA KAPLAN

93. Real Estate, Bedouine
What sets the Jersey boys in Real Estate apart from the anonymous masses of kinda disaffected, sorta heartbroken white dudes with chiming guitars and pretty voices is that these guys know how to build an actual tune. In fact, they’ve crafted two albums of immaculately rendered jangle-pop and were poised for a hat trick with the release of their third, Atlas, in March 2014. Every song is like the Platonic ideal of an indie-rock anthem: condensed, addictive nuggets of melody and atmosphere, technically adept and never over-staying their welcome. Meanwhile, Martin Courtney’s lyrics create a sort of Rorschach test for your emotions; they’re vague enough to score a breakup or acceptance into law school. Sure, it’s polite, but damned if they don’t crank out some head-noddingly, toe-tappingly catchy music. KYLE FLECK

READINGS & TALKS

94. David Barsamian: Global Discontents
Hear David Barsamian of Alternative Radio, known also for his manuscript-length interviews of, among others, Noam Chomsky. Chomsky and Barsamian's book Global Discontents: Conversations on the Rising Threats to Democracy "examines the present state of things." Get a new perspective on society with a professional interlocutor.

FEBRUARY 22

FILM

95. Annihilation Opening
Annihilation follows a team of women scientists—a biologist, a surveyor, a psychologist, and an anthropologist—into the mysterious X, a lush yet terrifying zone generated on earth by a mysterious presence. Here's hoping director Alex Garland and Nathalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, et al. will do justice to Jeff Vandermeer's hypnotic novel.

MUSIC

96. Mr. Pickles Thrash-Tacular with Exodus and Municipal Waste
Adult Swim is currently dragging their street team around the country to promote the upcoming new season of their animated series Mr. Pickles. Partnering with the grime-heavy dog house aesthetic of the show, metal bands Exodus and Municipal Waste will headline this "thrash-tastic" 13-city tour.

97. Twista, Zion I, Gift of Gab
Being a speed rapper is sort of like being a champion curler: technically impressive, sure, but potentially deadly dull for the audience. Chicago’s premier tongue twister, Twista, listed as the fastest rapper alive in the 1992 Guinness Book of World Records by packing in 11.2 syllables a second, luckily avoids such pitfalls. He’s got a wry sense of humor, an intuitively in-the-pocket flow, and an unusually keen ear for nostalgia-baiting melodic production. Many came to know the man (born Carl Mitchell) from his Kanye-assisted “Slow Jamz” in 2003, an irresistible ode to classic R&B, but one must heed his early work (check Mobstability) for a true glimpse of the beautiful interplay that occurs when triple-time rhymes meet melancholically funky beats. Similar to E-40, Twista still impresses at this late stage of his career. KYLE FLECK

READINGS & TALKS

98. The Moth Seattle GrandSLAM
This is the the megaslam edition of the Moth, in which 10 winners of previous storySLAMs will battle for the title of GrandSLAM Story Champion. Hear inspiring, embarrassing, enlightening, enraging stories.

FEBRUARY 22-24

FOOD & DRINK

99. Seattle Wine and Food Experience
The Seattle Wine and Food Experience returns with three days of feasting. The newest addition, Comfort, kicks things off at Sodo Park with an evening of cheesy and meaty favorites from local gastropubs and taverns, plus craft beer and cider. On Friday, McCaw Hall hosts the refined POP! Bubbles & Seafood, where guests can choose from over 30 sparkling wines to go with a melange of oysters. The Grand Tasting wraps up the weekend with a showcase of wines from the Northwest and beyond, along with local and regional beer, cider, and spirits.

FEBRUARY 22-25

FILM

100. Seattle Asian American Film Festival
The SAAFF will screen fictional and documentary stories of Asian American journeys, families, artistic innovations, and more—plus music videos and shorts, some of which are free to see.

FEBRUARY 23

FILM

101. A Fantastic Woman Opening
A trans woman and an older man fall rapturously in love—but he dies suddenly during their torrid night together. The bereaved Marina struggles to maintain equilibrium and dignity in the face of her lover's intolerant family. This film by Sebastián Lelio is an Oscar nominee and has already won a jury prize, a Silver Berlin Bear, and a Teddy at the Berlinale, as well as numerous other awards and nominations. And—for once!—the film boasts an actual trans woman, Daniela Vega, in the role of a trans woman.

MUSIC

102. Miguel, SiR, Nonchalant Savant
Miguel is a truly smooth R&B thriller, with pop smarts and massive genre-crossover abilities. He'll be joined by SiR and Nonchalant Savant on his War & Leisure Tour, named after his fourth studio album.

103. Miles Electric Band
Don’t listen to jazz purists: The albums and live performances from Miles Davis’s electric era (1969 to 1975, from In a Silent Way to Pangaea) represent some of the most exciting, innovative music in any genre, in human history. Their convergence of humid funk and volcanic psychedelia, plus Davis and producer Teo Macero’s radical use of space exploded conventional notions of how jazz could progress after hard bop. The 11-strong Miles Electric Band includes alums from the legendary trumpeter’s ensembles, such as tabla player Badal Roy, P-Funk guitarist Blackbyrd McKnight, and drummer Vince Wilburn Jr. In addition, Rolling Stones/Sting sideman Darryl Jones contributes bass. There’s no way this can’t be amazing. DAVE SEGAL

READINGS & TALKS

104. Word Works: Ruth Ozeki
In her novel A Tale for the Time Being, Ruth Ozeki performed some next-level Being John Malkovich–style narrative judo flips. There are so many threads in the book—a journal written by a bullied Japanese teenager, the Fukushima nuclear disaster, a novelist named Ruth who eerily resembles Ozeki—that a lesser novelist would have turned in a tangled mess of knotted twine. But Ozeki demonstrates the metafictional gift of a Vonnegut or a Kundera, the ability to insert herself into her novel and in so doing transform the personal into the universal. PAUL CONSTANT

FEBRUARY 23-MARCH 18

PERFORMANCE

105. Hershey Felder as Irving Berlin
Hershey Felder as Irving Berlin has been collecting accolades from up and down the West Coast, and now, it's finally Seattle's turn. Come for a heartfelt tribute to the musical icon by writer/performer Felder, practiced performances of a variety of songs from Berlin's repertoire, and a cheery depiction of American music as a whole. David C. Nichols at the Los Angeles Times wrote, "Indeed, the empathy, showmanship and craft on tap may just be the best match of historical figure and performing artist yet in this franchise, wholly attuned to a gratefully participating audience. Those who resist Felder or Berlin are advised to skip this one—it'll just leave more tickets for the rest of us."

FEBRUARY 24

COMEDY

106. Adam Ray
LA-based Adam Ray (Ghostbusters, The Heat) will return to his hometown of Seattle for a comedy set.

107. My Dad Wrote a Porno
When Jamie Morton's dad "Rocky Flintstone" (not his real name) wrote (rather inept) erotic fiction, Jamie decided to turn it into a comedy podcast. If you love vicarious embarrassment, this is the show for you.

FESTIVALS

108. 16th Annual Hops and Props
Hops & Props celebrates craft brews from across the Northwest (and a few from other places). Enjoy three-ounce pours from over 100 breweries and cider houses, a spread of bites from McCormick & Schmick’s, and live music.

FOOD & DRINK

109. Washington Beer Open House
This month, over 130 Washington breweries will open their doors for a simultaneous open house, which gives beer lovers a unique opportunity to create their own adventure. Plot an itinerary for a personalized brewery crawl, travel to a few destination breweries you’ve always wanted to try, or simply drop into the nearest participating craft brewer in your neighborhood. Each featured brewer will have their own lineup of surprises in store, including samples, tours, souvenirs, rare barrel tastings, savory food pairings, and more.

MUSIC

110. Corridor
Welcome to Corridor, the third annual festival of music, light, and sound presented by Elevator, with artists responsible for visual installation, performance, and movement to cover all bases of creative tangibility. Sound artists include MHYSA, Yu Su, ASDFS, C Spencer Yeh, Chloe Alexandra, Ellen Phan, 'nohup,' and Lushloss. Visual artists presenting light works include Cameron Shafii & Alex Boschenstein, and Anisa Jackson & Mel Carter. Visual artists presenting movement works include Matt Drews and Dead Thoroughbred.

111. WHY?, Florist
At this point, it almost goes without saying that Yoni Wolf isn’t your average rapper. The Cincinnati native rose to prominence in the late 1990s/early ’00s backpack-rap scene as part of cLOUDDEAD, along with Doseone and Odd Nosdam, cofounders of outrĂ© rap label Anticon. While Why? had been Wolf’s stage name since 1997, in 2004 he made the unprecedented move of turning his MC handle into the name of an indie-rock band that has remained popular for more than a decade. Part of Why?’s popularity can be attributed to the fact that there’s really no other band out there like them—rap-rock this is not. Rather, Why’s dexterous, sing-songy flow proved the perfect counterpart to Wolf’s bandmate and brother Matt Meldon’s imaginative, folk-friendly, and prog-inspired instrumentation, which has earned them fans more into Bob Dylan than Biz Markie. NICK ZURKO

READINGS & TALKS

112. Search for Meaning Festival
Want a better world? Don't we all. Hear from scholars, fiction writers, and poets at this annual community festival on how we can contribute.

113. Shaun Scott with Minh Nguyen: Millennials and the Moments that Made Us
Seattle writer and filmmaker Shaun Scott will reveal discoveries from Millennials and the Moments That Made Us, his new book about the perception of millennials and the traits of the generation. Minh Nguyen, a fellow writer, will help him take the audience on a tour of this generation's formative influences.

FEBRUARY 24-25

MUSIC

114. Burger A-Go-Go 2018
Atlanta psycho-pop trio the Coathangers are three bands in one, which sounds like hyperbole until you dig into their five-album discography, including 2016’s swell Nosebleed Weekend on Seattle’s Suicide Squeeze. On stage, the self-described crazy-ass ladies trade instruments and lead vocals, much like Beat Happening before them. Guitarist Julia Kugel brings salty-sweet riot-grrrl attitude, drummer Stephanie Luke brings metal power and fury, and bassist Meredith Franco brings no-wave-meets-new-wave spirit. It’s as if Bikini Kill–era Kathleen Hanna joined forces with members of the Shangri-Las and Girlschool. To add to the party vibes, the Coathangers go by goofy nicknames (Crook Kid, Minnie, Rusty), sprinkle their lyrics with brand names (NestlĂ©, Adderall), and wear matching girl-gang outfits (white T-shirts, black leather jackets) when the mood strikes. KATHY FENNESSY

FEBRUARY 24-MARCH 10

MUSIC

115. Beatrice & Benedict
Beatrice & Benedict is the novel adaptation of Shakespeare’s exuberant comedy Much Ado About Nothing set to an operatic score by Berlioz and paired with English text originally by Shakespeare. This theatrical hybrid produced by Seattle Opera is notable for its witty banter, fast pace, and confessional style.

FEBRUARY 25

COMMUNITY

116. Urban Poverty Forum
Diverse organizations—faith-based and nonprofit—will join in a discussion on problems faced by poor citizens. This time, the topic will be police de-escalation. Participants will include Reverend Harriett Warden (Mothers for Police Accountability), the Mahogany Project, educator Erin Jones, SPD Crime Prevention Coordinator Felicia Cross, and Chester Earl from Justice For Jackie. Lisa Edge (Real Change staff) will facilitate the conversation.

MUSIC

117. Carla Bruni
If you only know her as the First Lady of France, you'll be pleased to find out that in addition to that title, Carla Bruni is a widely celebrated Italian-French singer-songwriter and model. Her trademark smoky coo is currently on display in her latest album French Touch.

118. Snarky Puppy, Banda Magda
Grammy-winning jazz-fusion ensemble Snarky Puppy, whose many members qualify as solo heavy-hitters in their own right, are known for taking their jams to the next level, cornering the genres of funk, world, and soul, all with a jazzy filter.

FEBRUARY 26

MUSIC

119. k.d. lang, Slava Grigoryan
Essential celesbian and noted cowgirl crooner k.d. lang is back on the road for her Ingenue Redux Tour, sharing tracks from her illustrious career of almost three decades. She'll be joined by Slava Grigoryan at this Seattle tour stop.

120. Tune-Yards, Sudan Archives
tUnE-yArDs frontwoman Merrill Garbus is just as likely to combine incongruous ingredients, like Haitian drumming and Casio squiggles. Sometimes it works (“Water Fountain”), sometimes it doesn’t (that fucking punctuation), but she excels at keeping listeners off-balance, which may be why her album Nikki Nack hasn’t generated as much hype as w h o k i l l, which topped the Village Voice’s 2011 Pazz & Jop poll. And that’s too bad, because it’s a better record. KATHY FENNESSY

READINGS & TALKS

121. André Aciman: Call Me By Your Name
André Aciman's 2007 Lambda Award-winning debut novel, Call Me By Your Name, is the inspiration behind Luca Guadagnino's Oscar-nominated film. Join the author in conversation with Shelf Awareness' Dave Wheeler, and meet Aciman at Queer/Bar afterward for a reading and meet-and-greet.

FEBRUARY 26-27

READINGS & TALKS

122. Between River and Rim: Hiking the Grand Canyon
The team of writer Kevin Fedarko and photographer Pete McBridge will share their story of hiking the entire Grand Canyon in sections—without trails. Learn about their experiences and their discovery of threats to the natural wonder's future.

FEBRUARY 27

MUSIC

123. Shamir, Pardoner, Michete
Because his first record, Ratchet, hit the streets like a glitter bomb with sassy lyrics ("Don't try me, I'm not a free sample"), gospel-pop vocals, and video-game synths, 23-year-old Shamir Bailey might seem like an out-of-the-blue success story, except he's been honing his craft for years. While still in grade school, the Las Vegas native decided to devote his life to music, and he's been writing and performing ever since. First, he released 2014's Northtown EP, then he covered Brandy Clark and Miranda Lambert, and then came his irresistible debut. Though Ratchet’s as well-crafted as Michael Jackson's Off the Wall, Shamir told Rookie magazine that he prefers the stage to the studio, so expect a high-energy performance from a charismatic character with a one-of-a-kind fashion sense. KATHY FENNESSY

124. Superchunk, Bat Fangs
Superchunk is the beloved and forever-existing band that can be credited (or blamed) for the existence of just about every crunchy pop band formed post-1990. But unlike the majority of their catalog, which is largely bouncy and uplifting, Superchunk's 1994 full-length, Foolish, is the perfect soundtrack for those moments in life where you feel fucked up, like you've been fucked over, or maybe just want to disappear altogether. It's one of their more morose efforts (written after the band's singer Mac McCaughan and bassist Laura Ballance broke up), so even though there are a few examples of the band's highly revered pop tendencies (hear "Water Wings" and "Without Blinking" for examples), the real gems of the record are the fuzzy and feedback-filled anthems about being bummed out. MEGAN SELING

FEBRUARY 27-28

MUSIC

125. Brockhampton with Romil
Heralded as "the Internet's first boy band," Texas collective Brockhampton will bring their self-styled hiphop to Seattle.