Big House Blues at the Bijou

The Goddess of Canadian Blues visits Eugene

This week, Bijou Art Cinema will begin screening Music from the Big House, a film that follows Canadian blues chanteuse Rita Chiarelli through her experience with putting on a show inside Louisiana’s Angola prison.

However, it turns out there’s far more to her presence in Eugene than just black and white flickerings across the Bijou’s silver screens; she’s stopping by the Bijou on Wednesday, June 20—in this instance, in the flesh—in order to perform live at a special screening of Big House.

Chiarelli has been playing music all of her life, and with especial focus on blues and roots music, it’s not hard to tell that she’s taken time to learn the meaning of wailing. Her voice is like rich, chalky honey with the scratchy grace of Woodstock Janis Joplin, add to this the raw soul of Etta James and some wicked songwriting chops and you’ve got yourself one killer Canadian blueswoman.

The screening will include the 1hr, 27min film, Rita’s live performance, and a Q&A session with the “Goddess of Canadian Blues” herself, and at $12 a pop that means you’re basically getting a concert for $5 (General Admission Bijou tickets are only $7).

For further details and to purchase tickets, visit bijou-cinemas.com

A Note From the Publisher

Dear Readers,

The last two years have been some of the hardest in Eugene Weekly’s 43 years. There were moments when keeping the paper alive felt uncertain. And yet, here we are — still publishing, still investigating, still showing up every week.

That’s because of you!

Not just because of financial support (though that matters enormously), but because of the emails, notes, conversations, encouragement and ideas you shared along the way. You reminded us why this paper exists and who it’s for.

Listening to readers has always been at the heart of Eugene Weekly. This year, that meant launching our popular weekly Activist Alert column, after many of you told us there was no single, reliable place to find information about rallies, meetings and ways to get involved. You asked. We responded.

We’ve also continued to deepen the coverage that sets Eugene Weekly apart, including our in-depth reporting on local real estate development through Bricks & Mortar — digging into what’s being built, who’s behind it and how those decisions shape our community.

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None of this happens by accident. It happens because readers step up and say: this matters.

As we head into a new year, please consider supporting Eugene Weekly if you’re able. Every dollar helps keep us digging, questioning, celebrating — and yes, occasionally annoying exactly the right people. We consider that a public service.

Thank you for standing with us!