March 29, Wednesday
The State of Arts Criticism in Seattle Doug McLennan, the founder of ArtsJournal, talks with a panel of local critics including theater critic Misha Berson, the Seattle Times’ Brendan Kiley, former Seattle Weekly publisher David Brewster, and, uh, me. We’ll be discussing why art criticism is being cut from local papers and why it’s currently in the hands of mostly middle-aged white people. Folio: The Seattle Athenaeum, 324 Marion St., 402-4612, folioseattle.org. Free. All ages. 7 p.m. PAUL CONSTANT
The Shadow Council Hosted by Brett Hamil of The Seattle Process, The Shadow Council is a half-satirical, half-serious review of local and national politics, complete with proposed legislation, expert testimony and public comment. And this week, mayoral candidate Nikkita Oliver. Northwest Film Forum, 1515 12th Ave., nwfilmforum.org. $8. All ages. 8 p.m. CASEY JAYWORK
Burning Bright Reading Thriller author Nick Petrie continues his series starring “damaged war veteran Peter Ash.” Petrie lives in Milwaukee, but he is a graduate of the University of Washington MFA fiction program, making this reading something of a homecoming. “Peter Ash” is a pretty great name for a thriller star—right up there with “Remo Williams” or “Lincoln Rhyme.” Third Place Books Lake Forest Park, 17171 Bothell Way N.E., 366-3333, thirdplacebooks.com. Free. All ages. 7 p.m. PC
Mushrooms and the Mycology of Consciousness Did you know you can train mushrooms to digest used cigarette filters and plastic? Did you know trees communicate with each other through an underground, mycelium-based “internet of fungus?” Tonight, you can hear Shelton-based mycologist and ’shroom evangelist Paul Stamets speak to mushrooms’ more miraculous properties and about how he thinks they could save the bees, who landed on the endangered species list last week. Moore Theatre, 1932 2nd Ave., stgpresents.org. $22.50. All ages. 7 p.m. KELTON SEARS
March 30, Thursday
Up South Launch Party Robert Lashley is one of the most powerful poets in the region. If you haven’t seen him read, you owe it to yourself to attend this debut for his second collection of poems: When the man reads, you have to pay attention. And when you pay attention, you’re rewarded with something new and beautiful. Jack Straw Cultural Center, 4261 Roosevelt Way N.E., 634-0919, jackstraw.org. Free. All ages. 7 p.m. PC
March 31, Friday
Kimberly Burwick and Kevin Goodan Under the guidance of new owner Billie Swift, Open Books has really accelerated its reading series schedule, bringing both locally known and unknown poets to the stage. It would be a mistake to call Burwick and Goodan “unknown,” though. Burwick is an eastern Washingtonian and Goodan is from Montana, and they’re both widely read. Open Books, 2414 N. 45th St., 633-0811, openpoetrybooks.com. Free. All ages. 7 p.m. PC
April 1, Saturday
When Knowing Your Rights Is Not Enough Former detainees at the Northwest Detention Center talk about their experiences of oppression and resistance. This event will also launch The Hunger Striker’s Handbook. Northwest Detention Center, 1623 E. J St., Tacoma, nwdcresistance.org. Free. All ages. 2 p.m. CJ
Tech N9ne Many people know Tech N9ne as the guy with the thick chain who sat behind home plate throughout the Kansas City Royals’ back-to-back World Series runs in 2014 and 2015. The dude reps Kansas City—“KCMO,” in his words—hard, and his primo seats speak to the commercial success he’s enjoyed in recent years, most of all with his single “Hood Go Crazy.” He hits Seattle on the eve of the release of his new album, Dominion, and on the eve of a new baseball season as well. Showbox SoDo, 1700 1st Avenue S., 652-0444, showboxonline.com. $28. 21 and over. 8:30 p.m. DANIEL PERSON
Sera Cahoone It has been five long years since Sera Cahoone last released an album. Those years have provided plenty of grist for her latest collection, From Where I Started, but she still delivers it all with that same laid-back country style and kind delivery that has soundtracked many a two-step or barroom sway. What is different is her confidence, this album quietly brimming with the stuff. Tractor Tavern, 5213 Ballard Ave. N.W., 789-3599. $15. 21 and over. 9 p.m. MARK BAUMGARTEN
The Maldives After floating around town on the wings of rumor and private listening sessions, the fourth full-length from the Maldives is finally here. Departing from the grittier Americana sound of 2012’s Muscle for the Wing, the excellently titled Mad Lives is a dusty, aching fever dream of an album. Well worth the wait. With Naomi Wachira. Triple Door, 216 Union St., 838-4333. $20. Early show all ages, late show 21 and over. 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. MB
April 2, Sunday
Punk Rock Prose Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery, which shares its space with a record store, hosts a rare prose-book event. A trio of authors who did time as punk rockers in Seattle—Danny Bland, Tom Hansen, and Jonathan Evison—welcome author Brian Jabas Smith, who’ll read from his new short story collection, Spent Saints & Other Stories. Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery, 925 E. Pike St., 658-0110, fantagraphics.com. Free. All ages. 3 p.m. PC
April 3, Monday
The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley Reading Fiction author Hannah Tinti’s new novel, The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley, is partially set on Whidbey Island. Tinti will be joined by Seattle novelist Laurie Frankel, whose This Is How It Always Is has been one of the most enjoyable reading experiences of my year so far. Elliott Bay Book Company, 1521 10th Ave., 624-6600, elliottbaybook.com. Free. All ages. 7 p.m. PC
Jason McCue A solo acoustic performer who won the Sound Off! battle of the bands, McCue is a welcome addition to the local scene. He won by playing guitar with a studied restraint that somehow seemed always on the verge of collapse, by picking out otherwise pristine figures that were ragged at the edges, and by delivering lyrics that devastated in both their dark humor and their tragic beauty. See him now. With Tin Foil Top Hat, The Good Weird. Sunset Tavern, 5433 Ballard Ave. N.W., 784-4880. $8. 21 and over. 8 p.m. MB
April 4, Tuesday
The Stone Heart Reading Vancouver cartoonist Faith Erin Hicks celebrates the second book in her comic book fantasy trilogy for young readers, The Stone Heart, with a Seattle audience. Tonight, she’ll be interviewed onstage by Seattle writer G. Willow Wilson, who is possibly best known as the creator of breakout superhero sensation Ms. Marvel. Elliott Bay Book Company, 1521 10th Ave., 624-6600, elliottbaybook.com. Free. All ages. 7 p.m. PC
Tinariwen with Dengue Fever Seattle Symphony’s home hall swaps timpanis for tindé drums with the arrival of Saharan world music phenoms Tinariwen. The band, a rotating cast of musicians and singers established in 1979, hails from the Tuareg ethnic group that has worked trans-Sahara trade routes from Algeria to Mali for centuries, lending their sound a heady desert mixture of Berber blues, Afropop and soulful rock. Opener Dengue Fever comes from L.A. but channels Cambodia’s ’60s flirtation with psychedelia, sung in Khmer by lead vocalist Chhom Nimol, whom the band members recruited from a nightclub in the city’s Little Phnom Penh district. Benaroya Hall, 200 University St., seattlesymphony.org, 215-4700, $40–$55. All ages. 7:30 p.m. GREGORY SCRUGGS
