The Stranger

Zookraught is one of the most exciting bands in Seattle. With every show, they pull more people aboard the Zooktrain, luring curious onlookers in with their in-your-face punky, funky dance rock. Three songs into their two-night album release party in May, the Sunset’s walls started to drip with sweat from the relentless mess of moshing, dancing, and crowdsurfing for an hour straight. I love Zookraught! And I know you will, too.

Harbor Island Studios, the region’s only publicly-owned stage, has new operators. Kirk Nordenstrom and Kris Flink, the Executive Director and Director of Operations of the local film nonprofit CREATE48, will officially oversee facilities, operations, and productions. The news was officially announced on Tuesday morning by  King County Executive Girmay Zahilay, providing another temporary reprieve for the studio. However, how long the duo can operate the space is still in limbo.

Cis het woman here. I got extremely angry today because a guy I’ve been seeing (let’s call him “Cam”) in a MFM triad for the past ten years started to film me giving head to my other male partner (call him “Stan”) without asking. I only have two “third rail” boundaries, Dan, and one of them is no photography. This happened one other time, a few years ago, when Cam started videotaping Stan fucking me. Stan noticed and told Cam to stop. Both times my face was showing.

Boeing Lost Another Major Defense Contract: The Boeing Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS), the radar-dished plane you may remember smoldering on a Middle Eastern tarmac after the US Air Force gravely underestimated their Iranian counterparts, is on the way out for NATO, Reuters reports. The US-dominated alliance chose Swedish manufacturer Saab as a replacement for their aging fleet of flying radar bases.

Seattle’s full of places to drink and lounge in the sun, but if you’re thinking it’s a nice day to chill on a patio, chances are so is everyone else. Patios, rooftop bars, back decks—they all fill up fast around here, so we cobbled together some of our reliable favorites for the next time you end up patio hopping. And, because this is Seattle, we’ve also included a selection of anti-patios for you sun-loathing, Vitamin D-deprived vampires (complimentary).

This story was originally published in The Stranger’s July 2026 print issue. It’s the month where we celebrate the birth of this complicated nation, and if you’re feeling mixed emotions about how to commemorate the US’s semiquincentennial (250th!), I have a solid game plan for you. This July, I’m taking special aim at American food classics made even better by Asian American chefs in the city. These spots show us that Asian Americans really do be taking that “American” part very seriously.

MONDAY 7/6 Seattle Chamber Music Society’s Tasting Notes: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt (FOOD) We all know Kenji as a NYT Best-Selling, James Beard Award–winning author, chef, content creator, and newish Seattleite, but fun fact: He was once on track to be a virtuoso violinist, and he still dabbles in the classical sphere.

Good morning! The Fourth of July weekend is over, which means we have at least two more weeks of hearing surprise fireworks at 1 a.m. After some perfect, mild weather this weekend, we’re spiking into the 80s just for today. It’s a good day to remember that we’re surrounded by water on three sides. Get in it, on it, or around it. Let’s do the news. It’s Seattle’s Last World Cup Game: And USMNT is back.

Welcome to Noise Complaint, The Stranger‘s new audio and video music podcast featuring live performances right here at The Stranger HQ. Streamed live and released every other Friday, we invite a great band, musician, or wonderfully weird act to perform. Tune in, discover something new, and support art in your city. On Apple, you can subscribe to the video podcast here. On Spotify, here.

Want more? Here’s everything we recommend this month: Music, Visual Art, Literature, Performance, Film, Food, and This & That. Lotus L. Kang: I hear the hollow boom of time Through Sept 27 Deep within the Frye, there’s a curious contraption: a delicate, industrial light- and color-casting machine made of yards and yards of 35-mm film spooled around a motorized, powder-coated steel-and-aluminum frame that slowly turns, scattering the soft glow of stage lights through amber film.