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MONDAY 9/29
(BOOKS) Books that go viral on TikTok aren’t always worth the hype, but Mona Awad’s dark academia satire Bunny is a notable exception. Following in the footsteps of Heathers and The Secret History, the novel concerns scholarship student Samantha Mackey, who enters the MFA program at the prestigious Warren University and is equal parts repulsed and fascinated by a clique of four wealthy girls who call themselves “the Bunnies.” The gothic phantasmagoria was named the best book of 2019 by several publications, snatched up for a film adaptation by Bad Robot Productions, and declared “sooo genius” by Margaret Atwood, so it’s no surprise that Bunny is back for more. The sequel, We Love You, Bunny, picks up where the previous book left off: Samantha has published a story about her experiences at Warren to great critical acclaim and is on her book tour when the Bunnies decide to kidnap her and tell their side of the story. Reporter and KUOW Book Club founder Katie Campbell will discuss the new release with Awad, followed by an audience Q&A and signing. (Third Place Books Lake Forest Park, 7 pm) JULIANNE BELL
TUESDAY 9/30
Second Acts Live with Sue Bird
(TALK) This week, Seattle has the honor of hosting the very first show of Second Acts Live. It’s a mashup of sports, theater, and storytelling that brings WNBA icon Sue Bird back to McCaw Hall to reflect on her career, life off the court, and her continued role in shaping women’s sports. Co-hosted by two-time WNBA All-Star turned ESPN analyst Chiney Ogwumike (an actual badass), the evening is set to unfold like a live documentary, utilizing multimedia and staging to create an intimate celebration of Bird’s “second act.” (McCaw Hall, 7 pm, all ages) LANGSTON THOMAS
WEDNESDAY 10/1
(FILM) In A24’s critically acclaimed horror-thriller Green Room, the fictional punk band the Ain’t Rights, composed of bassist Pat (the late Anton Yelchin), guitarist Sam (Alia Shawkat), drummer Reece (Joe Cole), and singer Tiger (Callum Turner), are touring the Pacific Northwest when a series of misadventures leads them to grudgingly perform at a neo-Nazi bar outside Portland. After the members witness a stabbing committed by a member of the Nazi metal headliner in the venue’s green room, they find themselves locked in a grim battle for their lives, fighting a gang of “red lace” skinheads tooth and nail alongside the murder victim’s friend Amber (Imogen Poots). Everyone in the main ensemble delivers powerful performances, but Patrick Stewart is particularly chilling as the aloof white supremacist bar owner, Darcy. (SIFF Uptown, 6 pm) JULIANNE BELL
THURSDAY 10/2
Out There: A West Coast Experimental Dance Festival
(PERFORMANCE) As Lady Gaga once said, “Category is dance… or die.” So go see some experimental, existential, “f*ck shit up” kind of dance at Velocity’s new OUT THERE festival. Each weekend pairs two 30-minute works with DJ sets before and after. The first weekend (Oct 2–4) showcases Seattle’s maia melene d’urfé’s a crisis of standing and LA’s Jobel Medina and Elliott Sellers’s IMMDED IMMGEWD. The pairing will be an intricate testament to the skill and challenges of having a body within our current, chaotic world. The second weekend (Oct 9–11) features ALAN by Seattle’s Jordan MacIntosh-Hougham and Jesse Freitas, as well as BLOT by Vancouver’s Vanessa Goodman in collaboration with Tonga Collective from Poland. That weekend will get your mind reeling about AI ethics, pondering how chemistry and engineering fit within dance, and questioning where the human ends and the science of it all takes over. As Alan, a chatbot you might meet at the festival, says, “We are all born in the matrix, and the rest is drag.” (12th Avenue Arts, 6 pm DJ set, 7:30 pm dance show, 21+) NICO SWENSON
FRIDAY 10/3
(PERFORMANCE) Hot patootie, bless my soul, 2025 marks 50 years of The Rocky Horror Picture Show! With events all over Seattle gearing up to celebrate, Unexpected Productions is doing things a little differently with a full-on improv treatment. Every Friday this October, The Rocky Horror Improv Show mashes up the cult classic’s campy chaos with the anything-goes spontaneity of improv theater. We’re talking audience-fueled antics, improvised musical numbers, and lots of tongue-in-cheek nods to the iconic film’s legacy. Whether you’re heading into the show with a suggestion or just in your best fishnets, this one’s sexy, spooky, and a little unhinged (just the way it should be). (Unexpected Productions Improv, Oct 3–31, 11:30 pm) LANGSTON THOMAS
SATURDAY 10/4
(MUSIC) Icelandic singer-songwriter, composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Laufey captured the hearts and minds of a generation with her whimsical, jazzy 2023 album Bewitched, which took home a Grammy for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album. With her newest album, A Matter of Time, she explores influences from multiple genres and reveals a more complex, vulnerable side: As she told Uproxx, “People expect a pretty façade of girly clothes, fantastical stories, and romantic music. This time, I was interested in seeing how I could draw out the most flawed parts of myself and look at them directly in the mirror.” She’ll be joined on her tour by Brit model turned indie-pop singer Suki Waterhouse. (Climate Pledge Arena, 7:30 pm, all ages) JULIANNE BELL
SUNDAY 10/5
(MUSIC) Following in the tradition of X-Ray Spex and Huggy Bear, Brighton, England’s Lambrini Girls blow the cobwebs off punk with a hurricane of caustic energy and barbed lyrics about sexism, homophobia, gentrification, police brutality, rich bastards, music-biz nepotism, eating disorders, and frauds. (Their dance-pop anomaly “Cuntology 101” stands with the Slits’ “Typical Girls” in the Funny Feminist Rock Hall of Fame.) Boasting a fan club that includes Iggy Pop and Kathleen Hanna, the Girls have dropped one of the thorniest and most exhilarating albums of 2025, Who Let the Dogs Out. Lilly Macieira busts out filthy and thick basslines (think Daisy Chainsaw) while guitarist Phoebe Lunny cranks out wiry, mosh-pit-inspiring riffs and contributes asbestos-throated vocals. (Crocodile, 8 pm, all ages) DAVE SEGAL
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