Back Beat

Catch a cozy eve of tunes at Sam Bond’s 9:30 pm Friday, March 28, with Eugene’s swampy, New Orleans-tinged foursome The Long Hello and Spokane’s achy-breaky folk rock outfit the Marshall McLean Band. If you can peel your eyes away from the stage, check out the mystical paintings of Jayme Vineyard for Last Friday Art Walk. For more music-art mash-ups, stop in first at Oakshire Brewing’s Whiteaker public house, 4:30 to 8 pm, for the sounds of The Fiddlin’ Sue Band and the frenetic works of Salt, Pepper, Ketchup & Mustard, a new show by artist matt@theworld.

If the era of globalization and technology could be encapsulated by one band, it would probably be Beats Antique. Touring with the 2013 release A Thousand Faces (inspired by Joseph Campbell’s The Hero with a Thousand Faces), the trippy, electronic world-fusion group draws from classical Indian music and Balinese sounds all laced with the constant thump of EDM. Headlining McDonald Theatre Thursday, April 3, Beats Antique will be joined by plush beatmaster Phutureprimitive, who will return to the area for the inaugural Mohawk Valley Music Festival Aug. 8-10 in Marcola.

Betty and The Boy, local alternative folk quintet and EW’s 2011 Next Big Thing winner, released its sophomore album, The Wreckage, in early March via iTunes. Start listening to this dazzling album now — swelling with violin, cello and upright bass, Josh Harvey’s plucky banjo and Bettreena Jaeger’s soulful vocals — so you’ll be ready to sing along for the band’s CD release show later this spring before they head out on an international tour to Scotland, Ireland and other corners of Europe.

Don’t miss: The Apache Relay, Nashvillian indie rockers with real heart, March 27 at Cozmic; Snow Tha Product, aka Claudia Feliciano, who raps in English and Spanish at a supersonic clip, March 30 at WOW Hall.

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!