Your roundup of this week’s most widely-read, shared, and discussed stories.

A conceptual rendering of the stage outside CenturyLink Field for the inaugural Upstream Music Fest + Summit, May 11-13, 2017
A conceptual rendering of the stage outside CenturyLink Field for the inaugural Upstream Music Fest + Summit, May 11-13, 2017 Courtesy Upstream

• Upstream Fest promises to be Seattle's own South by Southwest. Launched by Paul Allen, Upstream aims to promote the music of the PNW. While specific acts have yet to be announced, Upstream's Executive Director says that the festival strives to feature mostly local artists. It is scheduled to take place May 2017 in Pioneer Square.

• Meet Joseph Rosa, the new director of the Frye Art Museum. We called people from every stage of Rosa’s career to figure him out. They said things like: “I have the highest regard for him,” and, “I don’t know what the Frye is.” He starts the job on October 1.

The new battle for Seattles future.
The new battle for Seattle's future.
steve estvanik/shutterstock.com

• Don’t blame the Seattle housing crisis on tech workers. So says The Stranger’s Charles Mudede and local activist Cary Moon in a widely-read four part series this week. Who to blame then? “Hot Money” from Wall St. investors, a parasitic banking system, and those who oversimplify the issue to “NIMBYs vs. YIMBYs.” Okay, but what are we supposed to do about the crisis? Mudede and Moon lay out a comprehensive, multi-pronged solution to the problem.

• State Senator Reuven Carlyle is refusing to endorse Sound Transit 3, a ballot measure that would expand light rail throughout Seattle, including Ballard, which Carlyle represents. His reasoning is that funding for transit could be better put towards funding public education. ST3 proponents say that Carlyle is presenting a “false choice,” and that WA State should fund education while area residents tax themselves for more transit.

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• Kurt B. Reighley wrote a profile on the difficulty of loving Boy George. Reighley laments that while some may have found the pop icon “too gay," he found George “not gay enough.”

• Boy George responded to our feature, with a qualm about our usage of the term "nostalgia". Did George read the entire feature? Or did he just skim it? Suffice it to say, this wasn’t our average Twitter feud.


Cupcake Royale, Brown Sugar Baking Company, and Bakerilly will compete at Pyramids Beer-Infused Cupcake Competition on Saturday, which will also have live music and life-size games.
Cupcake Royale, Brown Sugar Baking Company, and Bakerilly will compete at Pyramid's Beer-Infused Cupcake Competition on Saturday, which will also have live music and life-size games. THEMACGIRL* / FLICKR

• In search of something to do this weekend? Stranger Things To Do has 73 options, and all of them cost $10 or less. From this to that, you’ll find something.

• If you’re looking for a weekend movie, you’re in luck. Our film critics have picked the 23 best movie screenings in Seattle this weekend. As with last week’s listings, Suicide Squad is not recommended. But Hell or High Water, starring Jeff Bridges, is, and rightly so.

• For the upcoming week, you have your pick of 22 highly-recommended Seattle concerts, from Toronto’s Weaves to R&B icon Freddie Jackson. Who do you want to see?

Enjoy the sun this weekend.