Saturday, July 12
With more than 100 food, nonprofit, and arts & crafts vendors, there is going to be more than enough excitement at the Ballard Seafood Fest. Toss in a couple dozen bands, and you have one hell of a party. The MainStage will feature some of the Northwest’s best folk rock (Sallie Ford), bluegrass (Fruition), and buzzworthy indie rock (Ravenna Woods), plus one of the most engaging up-and-coming alt-folk bands in the area (Vaudeville Etiquette), among others. The SkolStage will showcase Ballard’s Scandinavian heritage with dance and music, and the FamilyStage will have everything from clowns to musical games. Through Sunday. With Goodbye Heart, The Flavr Blue, You Me & Apollo, Polyrhythmics, Eldridge Gravy and The Court Supreme, the Swearengens, Brent Amaker and The Rodeo. Downtown Ballard, 784-9705, seafoodfest.org. Music starts 1 p.m. Sat., noon Sun. Free. All ages. BP
Upon their arrival in the late aughts, the Fresh & Onlys were just another band mining garage rock’s lineage for something new. Initial offerings didn’t expand on the genre, just added some California pop to the mix. But singer Tim Cohen dug in for his solo albums, bringing back a singular perspective for the band’s latest, House of Spirits, making the disc a gradually developing work—in contrast to much of garage rock’s frantic childishness. Chop Suey. 9 p.m. $10 adv./$12 DOS. 21 and up. DAVE CANTOR
Bill Evans is as much a scholar as a performer of the banjo, readily capable of rendering styles from the instrument’s African roots through the present. It’s his faculty with the instrument, though, that makes him an indispensable advocate of the banjo as both a music-historical and a living artifact. Expect almost as much explanation as jamming. Empty Sea Studios, 6300 Phinney Ave. N., 228-2483, emptysea.com. 8 p.m. $12 adv./$15 DOS. DC
Seattle label Light in the Attic, which reintroduced the world to Sixto Rodriguez before Searching for Sugar Man won the Oscar (and our hearts), is hosting its first annual Light in the Attic Summer Spectacular at its Ballard warehouse. The event is free and will feature food trucks, a record fair, and a solo acoustic set from Alex Maas of Austin psych-rockers the Black Angels, as well as music from Overton Berry (of Wheedle’s Groove) and the third show in 30 years from Donnie & Joe Emerson, whose early recordings LITA just reissued. DJ Suspence will spin between sets. A great way to spend a Saturday afternoon. Light in the Attic Record Shop, 913 N.W. 50th St., 706-6715, lightintheattic.net. 3 p.m. Free. DAVE LAKE
There’s no shortage of festivals this time of year, but Slim’s Cornbread Ball isn’t your average one. Now in its fifth year, the fest showcases some of the Pacific Northwest’s best Americana and country roots acts. This year, Knut Bell and the Blue Collars, an alt-country quartet that describes its sound as “Honkahillarockabilly,” tops the roster, along with blues-rock duo Dead Man (featuring Slim’s own Mike Lucas) and the Disco Cowboys, an outfit that adds Southern flair to disco hits. Presented by Slim’s with John “Hamhock” Hagan, who will perform with his band The Rooster Run, the ball is a benefit, too—for Childhood Cancer Sucks–The Jakob Ellis Foundation, an organization working on finding a cure and easing the financial burden on families of cancer patients. With Twang Junkies, Hartwood, Earle Thunders and His So-Called Friends, Darci Carlson, Michael Scott Thomas, Tom Howard. Slim’s Last Chance, 5606 First Ave. S., 762-7900, slimslastchance.com. Noon. $15/$12 with new, unwrapped toy. 21 and over. ACP
Sunday, July 13
A dark and brooding Nancy Sinatra, Prom Queen—Celene “Leeni” Ramadan—looks like she belongs in a 1960s spy film and sounds like a 1940s femme fatale. Lush, moody, and cinematic, Prom Queen’s music is like the offspring of Quentin Tarantino’s and David Lynch’s film scores (with Stephen King’s Carrie starring in both). Her album Night Sound features all original songs and instrumentals, but the singer’s also released Covers, in which she takes on Extreme’s “More Than Words” and Guns N’ Roses’ “November Rain” in her sweeping vintage style. With the Pornadoes. The Royal Room, 5000 Rainier Ave. S., 906-9920, theroyalroomseattle.com. 7 p.m. Free. All ages. DIANA M. LE
A beguiling singer/songwriter who’s previously matched her pristine vocals with traditional folk melodies, Lauren Shera is preparing to release a new album, Gold and Rust, which finds her heading in a more country-meets-Americana direction. If the almost mournful “Light and Dust” is any indicator, it’s going to surprise a lot of people. With the Local Strangers, The Native Sibling. Tractor Tavern, 5213 Ballard Ave. N.W., 789-3599, tractortavern.com. 8:30 p.m. $10. 21 and over. BP
