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Seattle’s Adra Boo is supremely lovable. Just ask anyone who’s spent time with her in any creative capacity. She’s buoyant. She’s thoughtful. She’s honest. And she’s integral to the Emerald City music community, whether she’s fronting a project like Fly Moon Royalty, emceeing a festival like Timber! or giving advice on the side in the green room. We caught up with the musical dynamo to preview the gig and to ask her who she’s listening to these days, how her identity as a queer woman informs her art, and when she started singing.

Just over 50 years ago, the song, “Angel of the Morning,” hit the national airwaves and turned Seattle’s Merrilee Rush into a household name.

The song, composed in 1966 and released in 1968, rocketed up the charts and has since been recorded by dozens (read: countless) of other artists. Rush, who came up in the Emerald City, singing popular teenage dances in local venues, lends her giant, golden voice to the track, which has since been placed in television and movie soundtracks like 1978’s Fingers, starring Harvey Keitel. We caught up with Rush, who recently turned 75, to talk about her origins as an artist in the Northwest, how she came to sing the iconic track and what she learned throughout her career. 

Ian Astbury speaks slowly, methodically. The front man for the historic British rock band The Cult, which plays Monday at The Moore Theatre, is thoughtful when he recounts his early introduction to music. For the Liverpool-born artist, the Beatles played a big role in his beginnings as a songwriter, but then his horizons expanded as a result of his exposure to David Bowie, Iggy Pop and Lou Reed. The Cult, which has significant collaborative connections with bands like Metallica, The Clash, Guns ‘N’ Roses and the Beastie Boys, has also been an influence to so many bands following their lead.

New Jersey-based songwriter, Patrick Stickles, has led a life oversaturated with substances. From the age of five, he’s been on drugs in some form or another. The verbal, eloquent musician, who fronts the band, Titus Andronicus, however, is candid about his experiences. He’s an open book, nervous but unashamed to speak on his experiences both as an artist and as a user and consumer of drugs, both elicit and prescribed. We caught up with Stickles to talk with him about his decades as a drug user and to ask him how making music helps him cope with his addictions and his neurodiversity. 

Rainn Wilson, best known for his role as Dwight Schrute on the acclaimed American TV show The Office, is a Northwest treasure. The writer, actor, and comedian, who grew up outside Seattle, is bright, eloquent and goofy. He is compelling and odd. And, this month, Wilson will host an eclectic night of entertainment May 30th at the Paramount Theatre to support Mona Foundation, an organization that works to fund education and educational programs in impoverished, underserved areas. Wilson, who has worked with the foundation for years, says that education is a fundamental reason for his own success and, as a result, he wants to pass that gift on to others. To preview the May 30th event, we caught up with Wilson to ask him about his love of music, when he first heard The Clash, and what he’s exploring these days, creatively. 

It’s hard to imagine that someone with such a powerful voice can be so understated, but that’s exactly how the great Neko Case comports herself in conversation. If you ask her about her range, the startlingly beautiful-voiced songwriter will say her voice isn’t that powerful, differing to others she adores. If you ask her about her intricate songwriting, she’ll compare it to a card table with puzzle pieces strewn all over. And if you ask her about her dog — who recently saved her life (more on that below) — she’ll coo and call him a good boy! This is what it’s like to talk to the stunning musician, who we caught up with to preview her upcoming show on June 1st at The Gorge Amphitheater with Brandi Carlile and Emmylou Harris.