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There’s nothing better for a musician than performing live, but that doesn’t mean those gigs are guaranteed good times. And the musicians probably wouldn’t want it any other way. “It’s different every time,” said Spokane Valley-based singer-songwriter Olivia Vika, 17, who has amassed more than 200,000 listens on Spotify since February.

We’re well into the fourth quarter of 2020, and this eventful-yet-uneventful year has me wondering: Which will come first, the release of “Cyberpunk 2077” or a COVID-19 vaccine? It seems like a strange comparison, but hopes are high for both despite being hampered by endless delays and setbacks.

RetailMeNot surveyed people about Halloween, with topics including activities and favorite candies, and RetailMeNot found that 80% of respondents say their plans are changing due to the coronavirus pandemic, as everyone is still looking to create normalcy.

For Jess Walter, his native Spokane inspired his latest novel, "The Cold Millions." New York, Hollywood and Italy were the scenes of some of Walter's prior novels, but the winner of the Edgar Allan Poe Award in 2005 for "Citizen Vince" taps into his hometown for "The Cold Millions." The novel commences in 1909 in Peace Valley Park.

Writing novels is a lonely occupation. But Spokane, which lives up to its reputation as a literary hotbed, boasts a number of talented novelists. Some of the wordsmiths, such as Jess Walter and Chris Crutcher, are close friends. The latter, whose novels include "Loser's Bracket" and "Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes," is a vocal fan of Walter.

“Rebecca,” Alfred Hitchcock’s 1940 adaptation of the novel by Daphne du Maurier, is one of the greatest, most influential movies ever made. A masterwork of style, tone and technical prowess, the gothic tale of obsession and suspense fused the kind of lush romance associated with “women’s pictures” of the era.

When the Spokane Arena asked local music fans who is on their bucket list in 2018, Bruce Springsteen placed 13th, somehow behind Imagine Dragons. After scanning various concert websites and checking with local music encyclopedia Bob Gallagher, it's apparent that the Boss has yet to perform in Spokane.

Halloween is somehow one of the least scary things going on this month, so we understand if you'd rather not turn on a horror movie right now. This writer counts herself among the Frankenweenies who would rather mark the holiday this year by watching something campy or cute with a dash of spookiness.

Whip-smart cultural criticism delivered in an appealing package is what writer-director Justin Simien does best, as he demonstrated in his first feature film, “Dear White People,” and the spinoff Netflix series of the same name. His second feature, “Bad Hair,” is winking social commentary.

For a band made up of three outsiders hailing from different parts of the U.S., it’s uncanny how much Merlock sounds like Spokane. In narrative, atmosphere and tone, there is a consistency to the stoner-doom metal trio’s catalog that feels as indebted to the sonic sludge pioneered by fellow Washington state rockers the Melvins as much as their own devotion to be different.

Are you simultaneously sick of and addicted to the daily drumbeat of bad news? All those stories about the politicization of mask wearing? About the latest coronavirus misinformation to seep out of the White House, a White House whose current occupant seems to tacitly sanction white supremacy and anti-Semitism?

What’s new for home viewing on Video on Demand and Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, HBO and other streaming services.

As the busy owner and head brewer of Spokane’s Perry Street Brewing, Ben Lukes felt the opportunity to enjoy some rare downtime with his 6-month-old daughter last Friday afternoon was preferable to watching the internet livestream of the 2020 Great American Beer Festival.

On Sept. 21, it was announced that for $7.5 billion, Microsoft would be purchasing ZeniMax Media Inc. Will this acquisition mean huge franchises like “The Elder Scrolls,” “Fallout,” “Doom,” “Dishonored” and “Wolfenstein” would become exclusive to Xbox and PC moving forward?

The hospital gurney that shows up mere minutes into “2 Hearts” – carrying one of its four protagonists and trailing a wake of weepy loved ones behind it – telegraphs that the story we’re about to see is a medical tear-jerker, the nature of which will not be difficult to guess given the clumsy hints that are sprinkled throughout its early scenes.

Fortunately for Khalil Islam-Zwart, he had an airport pickup sign when he was meeting Public Enemy's Chuck D at Spokane International Airport in 2003. The hip-hop legend was catching a ride with Islam-Zwart for a speaking gig at Eastern Washington University.

After experimenting with different writing styles for years, local artist and photographer Joyce Wilkens found in poetry an inspiring new world of expression. To celebrate the release of her first collection, “Poetry Pie,” Wilkens will host a socially distanced open house this weekend.

It’s no secret BTS is dynamite on the music charts – and as of Monday, the South Korean boyband has made Billboard history by landing at both No. 1 and No. 2 on the Hot 100. With “Savage Love” beating out “Dynamite” for the top spot, BTS is the first group to achieve such a feat since the Black Eyed Peas.

Fans of Miranda July know what they’re in for when they settle in to watch one of her movies. Since her 2005 feature debut “Me and You and Everyone We Know,” and her follow-up “The Future” in 2011, she has become the kind of writer-director whose work inevitably seems to be described as “quirky.”