Weekend Music Updates!

Seattle Folklife Festival 2012, photo by Alex Notman

Our 5-23 issue was jam packed so, unfortunately, we couldn’t squeeze in BackBeat this week. Here are some more notes and news to pay attention to this weekend:

I know I got a bad reputation … It’s been almost 20 years since Freedy Johnston’s hit “Bad Reputation” — featured in Noah Baumbach’s Kicking and Screaming (1995) — was saturating the airwaves, and eight albums later, the original indie rocker is touring the West Coast. Catch Johnston at 10 pm Thursday, May 23, at Luckey’s.

Don’t miss this week: Anna Fritz (of Portland Cello Project) takes her solo album on a West Coast tour with a stop at 7 pm Friday, May 24, for a Springfield house concert (see annafritz.com for tickets); Banjo player Kendl Winter (formerly of The Blackberry Bushes) 9:30 pm Friday, May 24, at Sam Bond’s; the twinkling stringed ballads of Kingdom County at 4 pm Saturday, May 25, at Oakshire Public House; Up-and-coming Portland band The Ecstatics plays The Campbell Club’s annual “Halloween in Spring” night 7 pm Friday, May 25; $3 with costume, $5 with no costume. Disclosure is back to play its postponed show (originally set for April 17) 9 pm Tuesday, May 28, at WOW Hall.

This weekend is the 42nd annual Northwest Folklife Festival in Seattle and many Eugene bands are making the trek north joining the over 6,000 music and dance acts. EW will be following the musical caravan that includes Betty and the Boy, Alder Street All Stars, Conjugal Visitors, Tara Stonecipher and the Tall Grass, Dirty Spoon, Breakers Yard and The Whiskey Chasers. Looks for updates on the EW blog this weekend.

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.

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