Monday, April 24
Sampha, the xx
After gracing songs by Kanye, Drake and Solange with his haunting, heavenly vocals, Sampha Sisay released Process, his brilliant solo debut, on XL Records in February. The music aligns with the baroque, experimental soul of other innovators like Perfume Genius and James Blake and will make a warm prelude to the xx’s skeletal soul-pop—if it doesn’t outshine it outright.
–Jonathan Zwickel
WaMu Theater
Tuesday, April 25 – Sunday, April 30
Anime Movie Festival
If you think all anime is just grating ADD fodder like Pokémon, prepare to be schooled in a most epic fashion. The Anime Movie Festival presents milestones like Akira, Princess Mononoke, Ghost in the Shell and many of maestro Hiyao Miyazaki’s finest—all in the Cinerama’s sumptuous environs. Civilians, there’s no better way to start exploring this universe. Runs through Wednesday, May 3. –Tony Kay
Cinerama
Tuesday, April 25 – Sunday, April 30
Here Lies Love
The hype around this immersive disco musical is real, and with good reason. Seattle Rep transformed its mainstage theater into a dance floor for the David Byrne/Fatboy Slim musical, a 90-minute whirlpool of music and dance about the infamous Philippines first lady Imelda Marcos. Come ready to move. Here Lies Love runs through June 4. –Gemma Wilson
Seattle Repertory Theatre
Wednesday. April 26
Dwayne Paul Cullen and Enemies
Around this time last year we were conducting an Exit Interview with Dwayne Paul Cullen, one of the Seattle’s most charming young joketellers, before he embarked on his comedy dreamquest in New York. In his case the quest is still afoot; Cullen is returning for a brief visit, and he’s putting on a showcase with some of his funniest hometown colleagues. –Brett Hamil
The Rendezvous
Friday, April 28
Andy: A Popera
Philadelphia-based troupe the Bearded Ladies Cabaret is the real cabaret deal, and tonight they perform excerpts from their hybrid performance Andy: A Popera, about the life, fame and legacy of Andy Warhol, as part of Seattle Symphony’s [untitled] series. You don’t want to miss a group that “weaponizes spectacle and song to address questions relevant to here and now.” –Gemma Wilson
Benaroya Hall
Friday, April 28
Kristiana Kahakauwila, Lauren K. Alleyne and Jamaica Baldwin
It’s an evening of readings curated by Hugo House Writer-in-Residence Anastacia Renee Tolbert, exploring “new beginnings, non-gender conformity, “safety” and womanism.” Readers are Kristiana Kahakauwila, author of This is Paradise: Stories, a collection of stories about contemporary Hawai’I; Lauren K. Alleyne, author of the poetry collection Difficult Fruit; and Seattle Review of Books Poet in Residence Jamaica Baldwin. –Sarah Galvin
Hugo House
Friday, April 28
Kid Leather, Shit Ghost, Monsterwatch, Silas Blak, Peace and Velvet, Wizdumb
Ex-Atomic Bride guitarist/singer Chris Cool’s band Kid Leather is a sonic candy apple filled with razor blades—a catchy and corrosive mix of kick-ass punk, blistered-finger garage rock and proto-grunge heaviness. Hip-hop poet Silas Blak, gutter-punks Monsterwatch, electronica oddball Shit Ghost and more make for one gloriously all-over-the-damn-map bill. —Tony Kay
Lo-Fi