Stairwell Sisters have joined the slowly growing community of all-girl old-timey bands, and recently released their third album, Get Off Your Money. They do much better when they tackle the traditional fiddle tunes, but their originals do the genre plenty of justice. They’ll be joined at the Tractor tonight by local old-timey heroes the Tallboys. more ›

Head to the Showbox this weekend for Ghostland Observatory tonight and tomorrow night. We've seen the Austin duo thrice before, and we can guarantee their yelpy dance-rock is much better live than in the recorded form (and much better in a packed and sweaty room like the Showbox than a spacious outdoor venue). more ›

magazine claims, "You can't swing a dead cat this time of year without hitting a Top 10 List." Never one to waste a perfectly good dead cat, we decided to take a swing and create a Top Random-Number Shows Seattlest Saw This Year. And now, without any further ado, here's how your favorite bloggers broke down the year: more ›

Tonight local "urban folkster" Ali Marcus celebrates the release of her fourth album, The Other Side, at the Rendezvous' Jewelbox Theater. The intimate venue will be the perfect setting for dear Ali's sweet voice, and the party's sponsored by the Hopvine, where Ali's been a prominent Wednesday night open mic performer for nearly three years already. more ›

Apparently, there's some other annual festival this weekend besides Sasquatch. That's right, Memorial Day also hearkens the return of Folklife, Seattle's hippiest fest, held every year at Seattle Center. Local singer-songwriter/friend of Seattlest Ali Marcus will be playing the festival (Sunday, 4pm at Cafe Impromptu in McCaw Hall), so we turned to her for an expert opinion on what's worth your time this weekend, besides hackysack and drum circle. Seattlest Kim's already given you her picks, but if you're looking for a few more options this weekend, Ali's selections are listed below. more ›

Yes, we're Folklife enthusiasts. Where else can you get a funnel cake, a hip-hop spitfest, a latin dance party, and a contest for liars, all in one place? We quoted Prince in the headline because we wouldn't be surprised if he showed up at Folklife this year. There is so much shit going on this weekend, and you don't have to drive all the way to the silly Gorge and pay through your nose to enjoy the music, yall. more ›

Recorded by Bubba Jones (sounds like a made-up name to us), is all about road songs. The first one is called "The Most Autobiographical Song," and we're really glad she called it that. It's the kind of artful song title that helps save the song from sounding sort of "Hey, look at me and all I've experienced." more ›

We got an email from local folk singer Ali Marcus yesterday that says her new album's going to be done in a few months and now's the time to get her your postal address. Her label's laboratory is mixing up the mailing list now. Yeah, that means you send her your address and she sends you a CD - No money changes hands, at least, not until you go see her live or buy a tee shirt or something, which you should totally do. more ›

This woman just can't follow directions. This Ali Marcus. "Send us the url to a freely downloadable MP3 written and performed by you," we said, and she sends in a link to an entire album's worth of Windows Media formatted files. We don't know where she thinks she's going in life with an attitude like that, but might Seattlest suggest something in the "creative field." more ›