Dance

Dance This

July 13 At the 20th Annual Dance This show, all ages, regions, and experience levels converge. Bhangra, Mexican, Croatian—each segment becomes part of a cross-cultural lineup so diverse it encompasses the globe. But in the finale, all barriers fall and the different troupes meet in a pirouetting celebration of human bodies in motion. Paramount Theater

Concert

The Roots

July 22 Don’t let their Fallon gig fool you. Questlove, Tariq Trotter, and company have been making consciously brainy, artfully fractured music for three decades. Their last, And Then You Shoot Your Cousin, was a satirical, kaleidoscopic look at stereotypes in the hip-hop community. Their Tonight Show chops only assure you that these are seasoned pros. After all, the Beatles cut their artistic teeth as a nightly bar band. Woodland Park Zoo

Comedy

Steve Martin & Martin Short

"Working with Steve is very much like the film Deliverance: It's all fun and games until the banjos come out." —Martin Short

July 7 Steve Martin and Martin Short’s variety show raises dad jokes to the level of great jazz. Paramount Theater

Special Event

Dragonfest

July 14 & 15 Deep in festival and parade season, Dragonfest remains singular. The Northwest’s major pan-Asian fete sets the Chinatown–International District abuzz with martial arts demonstrations, a food walk with $3 bites from more than 40 restaurants, Japanese and Korean drumming, and the titular Chinese dragon dances—which pulse like fearsome and spectacular ribbons through the neighborhood. Various locations

Concert

Wye Oak

July 15 When Wye Oak switched from melancholy indie to synthpop with 2014’s Shriek, the move was all the more startling because they maintained their dreamy soul. With the recent The Louder I Call, the Faster It Runs, two sensibilities come together: Keyboards still paint in atmospheric watercolor, while Jenn Wasner’s voice anchors and elevates songs about navigating contemporary discontent. Neumos