May 24, Wednesday
Displaced: Refugee Voices in Conversation Seattle has long welcomed those fleeing violence and persecution, but the national political climate has stirred up a whole lot of fear and uncertainty. Tonight, the Northwest Immigrant and Refugee Health Coalition gathers a panel of refugees to speak about how Trump-era policies and rhetoric are affecting the local refugee community, and how other community members can help. Town Hall, 1119 Eighth Ave., 652-4255, townhallseattle.org. $5. All ages. 7:30 p.m. SARA BERNARD
Videoasis This edition of Northwest Film Forum’s quarterly music-video series promises to shine no matter the forecast. Embracing the theme “Summer’s Coming Soon” and using the August delirium of DoNormaal’s “Dime” video as inspiration, the program will feature Seattle Weekly favorites Porter Ray, Dude York, Sundae Crush, and Pleather for starters. Northwest Film Forum, 1515 12th Ave., 329-2629. $12. 8:30 p.m. MARK BAUMGARTEN
Father John Misty By coincidence or otherwise, Father John Misty (né Josh Tillman) comes to town just a few days after Fleet Foxes made its triumphant return to Seattle. Tillman, who joined the Foxes on drums for their second album, has gone in a drastically different direction than his folky brethren, with his latest album, Pure Comedy, providing more of the theatrical social critique we’ve come to love from him. The Paramount, 724 Pine St., 292-9500. $35.50. All ages.
8 p.m. DANIEL PERSON
May 25, Thursday
Broken River Reading J. Robert Lennon’s newest novel is about a husband and wife who try to find a new start in a house with a history of violence. Lennon is sharing the stage with Seattle author Elissa Washuta in her last local appearance before she takes a position at The Ohio State University. Elliott Bay Book Company, 1521 10th Ave., 624-6600, elliottbaybook.com. Free. All ages. 7 p.m. PAUL CONSTANT
Leon Vynehall This British house producer’s excellent 2016 album Rojus was inspired by a National Geographic documentary on the mating rituals of birds of paradise. Vynehall found parallels with the “mating rituals” of club dancers, so he created a gorgeous, lush dance record that is, unsurprisingly, great for shaking your tail feather to. Catch him live tonight with Tel Aviv’s Red Axes. Q Nightclub, 1426 Broadway, qnightclub.com. $14. 21 and over. 9 p.m. KELTON SEARS
May 26, Friday
Lashley/Lilley You already know Robert Lashley is a force of nature, one of the most vibrant readers to come out of the Pacific Northwest. You might not know poet Gary Copeland Lilley, a Cave Canem fellow whose latest book is The Bushman’s Medicine Show. Together the two are a bicoastal poetry assassin squad. Open Books, 2414 N. 45th St., 633-0811, openpoetrybooks.com. Free. All ages. 7 p.m. PC
Flying to the Assemblies Release
Join Marcus Harrison Green (founder of the South Seattle Emerald, Seattle Weekly contributor, and all-around local journalist wunderkind) and Weekly editor-in-chief Mark Baumgarten for the release of Flying to the Assemblies, a collection of essays by local luminaries including Hanna Brooks Olsen, Kristin Leong, and Ben Hunter. Town Hall, 1119 Eighth Ave., 652-4255, townhallseattle.org. $5. All ages. 5:30–7:30 p.m. CASEY JAYWORK
May 27, Saturday
Ghosts of Seattle Past at Folklife Hard to believe that Folklife is happening already—possibly because it’s been a rainy, dismal hellscape for the past six months. But we finally made it! And why not celebrate the death of dismal winter with a special group reading by contributors to Ghosts of Seattle Past, the book that celebrates lost local landmarks? Seattle Center, nwfolklifefestival.org. Free. All ages. 1:15 p.m. PC
Digable Planets Before Ishmael Butler, aka Palaceer Lazaro, was abstracting hip-hop on Shabazz Palaces’ celestial tip, he was jazzing it up as “Butterfly” with his fellow MCs “Doodlebug” and “Ladybug” in Digable Planets. The classic ’90s trio hit it big with “Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like That),” but they were far from one-hit wonders. Their two LPs, Blowout Comb and Reachin’ (A New Refutation of Space and Time) are deep, bona fide classics, which fans can experience tonight in this latest reunion show. The Showbox, 1426 First Ave., showbox presents.com. $32.50. 21 and over. 9 p.m. KS
May 28, Sunday
Girl on the Road Reading Seattle’s Office of Arts & Culture gives grants to artists of all kinds. One went to local cartoonist Noel Franklin for the completion of her memoir Girl on the Road, about friendship and loss and grief. This afternoon she’ll read from it, and have printed samples available for the audience. Vermillion Art Gallery and Bar, 1508 11th Ave., 709-9797, vermillionseattle.com. Free. All ages. 5 p.m. PC
May 29, Monday
Lost in Translation Look, you’ve always wanted to read onstage, but maybe you’ve been afraid of embarrassing yourself at your favorite series? This is your chance to participate in a once-yearly reading. Sign up 30 minutes before. Randomly selected participants will have five minutes onstage, and if you screw up—you won’t—you’ll never see these people again. Go live your dream. Seattle Center, nwfolklifefestival.org. Free. All ages. 3 p.m. PC
Sauna Dance With Speedboat There isn’t an official contest for most unusual location for a dance performance, but if the Guinness people were thinking about it, Kate Wallich and the YC2 would certainly be in the running. Their newest work takes place in a floating hot tub on Lake Union. Sauna Dance With Speedboat is just that, floating entertainment for an early summer afternoon. See it from the shore at various locations, or set out on the water yourself and make it a parade. Sakuma Viewpoint, 1299 N.E. Boat St., katewallich.com. Free. 1 p.m. SANDRA KURTZ
Little Potato In this short, making its Seattle premiere, Emerald City filmmaker Wes Hurley succinctly and sweetly tells the story of his childhood in eastern Russia, his mother’s struggle to find a loving partner, and their eventual move to the U.S. to find a better (though still complicated) life. The winner of several recent awards, including 2017’s SXSW Jury Award, Little Potato is as topical as it is timeless. SIFF Cinema Uptown, 511 Queen Anne Ave. N., siff.net. $14. All ages. 6 p.m. JACOB UITTI
May 30, Tuesday
Hot 8 Brass Band is something of a New Orleans legacy. Born and bred in the Treme, the 22-year-old, dozen-plus-member band plays funky-fresh, tear-down-the-house Louisiana brass, cut through with hip-hop and R&B; you’re as likely to find them doing a second-line parade as opening for Lauryn Hill. After Hurricane Katrina devastated their hometown in 2005, band members toured the country to support recovery, and were featured in two Spike Lee documentaries, including the award-winning When the Levees Broke. With Northwest funk and soul acts Snug Harbor and Marina and the Dreamboats. The Crocodile, 2200 Second Ave., 441-4618, thecrocodile.com. $15. 21 and over. 8 p.m. SB
Rodriguez It’s been almost a decade since local reissue house Light in the Attic exhumed the two now-classic folk-rock albums that Detroit folk legend Sixto Rodriguez cut at the turn of the ’70s, helping to start a revival that led to the Oscar-winning doc Searching for Sugar Man. Now well into his 70s, Rodriguez returns to the scene of his rebirth. The Moore, 1932 Second Ave., 467-5510. $52.50–62.50. 7:30 p.m. MB
