MONDAY 1/19
(MUSIC) Crushed leans into the video-game aesthetic—titling their debut EP extra life and their more recent full-length no scope—but that doesn’t mean they make video game music (aside from a few glitch-pop moments). Singer Bre Morell provides bold, powerful vocals as Shaun Durkan layers beats, samples, and occasionally his own voice to create atmospheric, electronic-influenced dream pop. It’s experimental and genre-bending, but still incredibly accessible. The duo met online while sharing their love for ’90s alt-radio hits, and they now record out of different cities: Morell is based in Los Angeles and Durkan calls Portland home. Last fall, Paste Magazine named Crushed as “The Best of What’s Next,” describing their songs as the perfect combination of “lyrics that come from a place of real despair and struggle and doubt; a trip-hoppy beat, beautiful atmosphere, and simple, lazy guitars; a metamorphic, surging finale.” Portland-based artist Swinging opens the show with their experimental and ethereal alt-folk. (Baba Yaga, 8 pm, 21+) SHANNON LUBETICH
TUESDAY 1/20
Publish Your Valentine in The Stranger!
(LOVE) Love is in the air! Grocery store shelves are lined with boxes of chocolates, and people on social media are debating whether or not chalky heart-shaped candy actually tastes good. (YES, AND I WILL DIE ON THAT SUGAR MOUNTAIN.) Valentine’s Day is upon us, and we’re filling our February issue with hundreds of your love notes! Just head over to thestranger.com/valentines and spill your heart in 150 characters or less. And new this year: The first 20 people to purchase a one-year subscription to the print edition of The Stranger get a special super-sized valentine! Just buy your subscription here, and then forward your receipt to valentines@thestranger.com using the same email address you used when submitting your valentine message. We’ll display your declaration of adoration in larger font with an extra cute design to make it unmissable to your honey bunny/baby poo/sweetie pie. Yay, love! Get them in by January 23 for print, and February 14 for online. MEGAN SELING
WEDNESDAY 1/21
(PERFORMANCE) So, you might not know this, but everything is terrible right now. The federal government and its goons are upending the spirit of America. They’ve tipped over the melting pot and hawked a loogie into the dregs that remain. The American dream is now a polymarket bet that you’ll never win. The new play at the Seattle Repertory Theater, The Heart Sellers, tells the story of the immigrant experience at a time when America was finally opening its doors to people outside northwestern Europe. There is hope in this play, and there is sadness. In it, two women—one from Korea, one from the Philippines—find friendship when they need it most—on Thanksgiving in 1973. The whole play takes place with two characters in one apartment. The Heart Sellers strikes a chord for American immigrants and lets those of us who aren’t strangers in a strange land step inside their shoes (or house slippers) for a spell. Plus, the acting is phenomenal. (Seattle Repertory Theater, 2 & 7:30 pm) NATHALIE GRAHAM
THURSDAY 1/22
Yarn/Wire, Yiğit Kolat, and Yonatan Ron
(MUSIC) The sound of avant-garde classical ensemble Yarn/Wire is in the name—fuzzy, fibrous threads interwoven with scratchy, metallic chords. Founded in NYC back in 2005, the adventurous piano/percussion quartet pushes the boundaries of contemporary music with their annual Currents project, which serves as an incubator for innovative experimental music. While their music can be unconventional, the pianos maintain a sound within the classical music realm that is accessible to the general public—meaning, yes, you can bring your parents or grandparents to this without fearing their judgment or discomfort. This is the relaxing kind of experimental music, not the chaotic kind. (Meany Hall, 7:30 pm, all ages) AUDREY VANN
FRIDAY 1/23
The 2026 Annual Disabled List Comedy Festival
(COMEDY) Now, more than ever, we need to laugh. And this week, the fourth annual Disabled List Comedy Festival is giving us several opportunities to do just that, with five days of stand-up performances and a variety show starring some of the country’s most hilarious comedians. The Disabled List was co-founded by Kayla Brown and Dan Hurwitz (one of The Stranger’s Champions of Comedy in 2024), and this year’s festival features notable headliners including Hayden Kristal (I hope she brings her dog Creatch!), Comrade Tripp, Derek Shen (another Champion of Comedy alum), and Tina Friml, who so perfectly balances comedy and her experiences as a person with cerebral palsy that when Stranger contributor Mindi Lind interviewed Friml in 2024, she wrote, “This magical unicorn has broken through the impenetrable wall between prime time and the disabled experience, delivering lines so smart, so cunning, so potently real that entire universities have spent decades trying to distill these ideas into hundred-page dissertations.” You cannot lose—pick any show from their stellar line-up and go laugh until your tummy hurts. (Jan 22–25, various venues) MEGAN SELING
SATURDAY 1/24
(MUSIC) After deep-diving into the catalogs of legendary songstresses like Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, and Carole King, I finally found my way to the discography of Judy Collins. I was already aware of her iconic voice, but given the number of her albums in record store dollar bins, I did not expect her exploration of different genres. Her music is not simply straightforward vocal pop, but swims around trad-folk, country, and jazz, incorporating the occasional experimental flourish (such as the ethereal ocean sounds in “Farewell to Tarwathie.”) Collins has released and collaborated on over 50 albums in her lifetime, with additional career successes as an author, filmmaker, social activist, guitar designer, and record label founder. She’s also been gigging for over 50 years, so show up and make this stop in Seattle a memorable one for her. (Jazz Alley, 7:30 pm, all ages) AUDREY VANN
SUNDAY 1/25
Devour a Deep Sea Sugar and Salt Ice Cream Sundae at Milk Drunk
(FOOD & DRINK) Deep Sea Sugar and Salt serves up some of the fattest, most indulgent slices of cake in the PacNW. Milk Drunk sells some of the funnest soft serve sundaes and cones—dipped in and covered with toppings like butterscotch hard shell, Fruity Pebbles, and cinnamon streusel—in the city. Together? Fuck. I knew this collaboration was going to be good, but I did not expect it to be so delicious that I can say with certainty that it will remain on my personal top 10 list of best things I ate in 2026. And it’s only January! A mountain of pistachio and black-currant soft serve is smothered with a tart black currant sauce, rich pistachio butter, and a shortbread crumble that makes all the flavors pop. Because it’s a limited-edition collab—Milk Drunk hosts different sundae chefs every month—Sunday, January 25, is your last chance to try it. Don’t miss out. (Milk Drunk, noon–9 pm) MEGAN SELING
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Audrey Vann
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