The Holler Sessions
From a motley radio studio, a DJ named Ray (Frank Boyd) delivers an irreverent, unapologetic love letter to jazz. This one-man show, written and performed by Boyd, was first seen at On the Boards last year before it scored a strong review in the New York Times when it played there. Now it’s at ACT Theatre’s Bullitt Cabaret where you’re invited to come hear Ray preach about Duke (Ellington) and Ella (Fitzgerald) and Louis (Armstrong) and this country’s shortcomings that includes a public education system that doesn’t acknowledge this most American art form. Preach, Ray, preach.
If you go: The Holler Sessions, ACT Theatre, through Sunday, $25. — F.D.
Cascadia Cheese Festival
Since Beechers opened its doors in 2003, the Puget Sound cheese scene has been burgeoning. Add to the list of excellent local, sustainability-focused cheesemakers, Tieton Farm & Creamery, Mt. Townsend Creamery, Kurtwood Farms, and Sunny Pine Farm, all of which will be present at the 7th Annual Cascadia Cheese Festival at Central Co-op (on East Madison Street in Seattle). Learn about and try cheeses from these local cheesemakers and attend one of the free, hour-long Basic Cheesemaking classes throughout the day. Don’t miss Kurtwood Farm’s Dinah’s Cheese, as gooey and memorable as the best French Camembert you’ve ever had. After going out front to admire and ogle the little goats present for the festival, head over to Little Uncle, whose new location recently landed it on Bon Appetit’s list of the top 50 New Restaurants in the country.
If you go: Cascadia Cheese Festival, Central Co-op, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., free. — N.C.
Jeremy Enigk, Laura Gibson and Tomo Nakayama
Abbey Arts unveils a full-on Music is a Source of Being four show concert series in the grand, hallowed space that is St. Mark’s Cathedral. First up is Jeremy Enigk (who will be forever be known as “the godfather of emo”), the equally transportive Laura Gibson (who will be joined by the Passenger String Quartet) and the supremely talented Tomo Nakayama, whose voice deserves to be heard in such a sacred space. The concert producers want to create an experience that’s living-room comfortable: pillows, yoga mats, blankets are invited.
If you go: Jeremy Enigk, Laura Gibson and Tomo Nakayama, presented by Abbey Arts, St. Mark’s Cathedral, 8 p.m. Saturday, $18. — F.D.
Charles Burns
Charles Burns’ Black Hole, published as a collection in 2005, is on the short list of comics that transcend audiences, garnering praise and appreciation within the comic world and beyond. If you’ve even paged through Burns work or seen one of his Believer covers, you’ll remember his style, dark in color and mood, distinguished by clean lines juxtaposed with storylines that are being eroded at the edges, giving way to insanity. Since graduating from Evergreen alongside Lynda Barry and Matt Groening in the 1970s, he’s been bringing his unique worldview and style to the world of comics. His latest project is the release of the trilogy X’ed Out, The Hive, and Sugar Skull , released in one volume as Last Look, which he’ll be discussing at Town Hall this Monday. If you can’t make this event, Burns will also be at Fantagraphics on Lake City Way on Saturday (6 p.m.).
If you go: Charles Burns, Town Hall, Monday, 7:30 p.m., $5. — N.C.
Little Brown Mushrooms
Seattle performance artist Alan Sutherland marries his passion for butoh (a type of Japanese modern dance) with his appreciation for fungi in his first large scale work about hallucinatory mushrooms. A whole host of additional local creatives are part of the show, billed as a hallucinatory dance/theater meditation. They include: Markeith Wiley, Crow Nishimura, Jennifer Zeyl and Vanessa Skantze. If this is anything like his 2013 work with Saint Genet--in which he buried himself under a pile of dirt for 3 hours before emerging--this should be a performance you're going to have something to say about afterwards.
If you go: Little Brown Mushrooms, On the Boards, through Sunday, $25. — F.D.
