Back Beat

Blood Sugar Sex Lama? After His Holiness speaks at Matthew Knight arena May 10, he heads to Portland where the Red Hot Chili Peppers will serenade him, preceded by a Q&A with His Holiness hosted by Anthony Kiedis. Warning: This is not a joke.

Alt-rapper Tyler, The Creator performs with Earl Sweatshirt at WOW Hall Sunday, May 12, hot off his Mountain Dew commercial controversy. A Syracuse professor accused the now-pulled ad, featuring a beat-up white woman identifying a suspect from a line-up of all black men, as being racist. Tyler, who developed the ad for PepsiCo., called the accusation “ridiculous.” Tyler is touring for his critically acclaimed 3rd studio album, Wolf, but don’t bother trying to nab tickets; the show has been sold out for about three years.

Does anyone else feel like planet Earth, and Eugene specifically, has a beer/food/music/book/art/film/fairy/cupcake festival every week? This week is no exception. The perennial Willamette Valley Music Festival on the UO campus runs noon to midnight Saturday, May 11, with three stages and 14 bands including Water Tower, the Shook Twins and Maca Rey. See musicfest.uoregon.edu for details.

Another festival, you say? Get ready for the weeklong BetterFest extravaganza hosted by KWVA, with award-winning music director Thor at its helm, for the station’s 20th birthday. The week includes a free Party Downtown kick-off party (6-9 pm Monday, May 13), an MC Freestyle Hip-Hop Tournament with a prize of $200 at Diablo’s (9 pm Tuesday, May 14), a local band showcase at The Wandering Goat (8 pm Wednesday, May 15) and a record swap at Cozmic (12-5 pm Saturday, May 18). Concerts run May 16-18 at the WOW Hall with headliners The Helio Sequence, Ducktails and Fuzz. Concerts are free for students. For more info visit kwva.tumbler.com.

Musicians! You have one more week to submit to EW’s Next Big Thing for free before the submission fee ($20 per song) kicks in May 16. Visit nextbigthingeugene.com for more info.

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.

And, of course, we’ve continued to bring you the stories and features many of you depend on: investigations and local government reporting, arts and culture coverage, sudoku and crossword puzzles, Savage Love, and our extensive community events calendar. We feature award-winning stories by University of Oregon student reporters getting real world journalism experience. All free. In print and online.

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!