Commandeer the Tractor with Honkies and Dogs, pick a boil with Beefcake, dance through the night and well again into the afternoon at the Garden, then let us shake hands and part the better for our time together. more ›

Tonight: A benefit for Planned Parenthood! A poetry slam! And food talk! more ›

FOR THE WEALTHY BOOKWORMS: Chilean exiled author Isabel Allende is the keynote speaker at a benefit lunch over on the Eastside today, at the Maydenbauer Center. She wrote "The House of The Spirits," an epic generations-spanning magic realism novel about Estaban and Alba and (maybe) Pablo Neruda, among other dozens of acclaimed literary manifestations of genius. If you have the minimum $150 donation to get you a seat at the benefit, this is where you need to be at lunch-time. more ›

That hotbed den of local roots music, the Tractor Tavern, will be hosting a pretty stellar lineup tonight when they open their doors crazy-early to benefit the Treehouse for Kids Foundation. Among the artists on the lineup for the show are the sad, lonely country songs of Kristen Ward, the powerful pipes of Star Anna. Kim Virant's acousti-pop prowess, and Mike McCready's...well, McCreadiness. more ›

Mike McCready's side project, Shadow '86—now officially a "Jimi Hendrix tribute band"—will headline a Treehouse for Kids benefit show at the Tractor on December 6. Former Lazy Susan singer Kim Virant, honky-tonk-y Star Anna, and singer-strummer Kristen Ward will also appear. If we didn’t have you at McCready, consider this: The Tractor will buy you a drink if you bring a new toy for Treehouse—and your toy will help make a foster child’s holiday brighter. (Sorry, alco-philanthropists, one drink voucher per person.) Get your $15 tickets now; McCready (and each of his lady friends) is kind of a big deal. more ›

She may still have far too much work to do this weekend, but Kim will emerge from her cocoon for two very important shows. Tonight, it's Sera Cahoone at a secret, undisclosed location and Kim refuses to spill the beans. Continuing the vaguely country theme, she'll end the weekend Sunday night at Chop Suey with the lovely and talented Star Anna. more ›

's status as a cult album. more ›