Author: William Kennedy
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Best Local singer/songwriter
1. Baroque Betty (Bettreena Jaeger), Instagram.com/baroque_betty. 2. Halie Loren, HalieLoren.com. 3. Amiia Nectar, Instagram.com/amiianectar. After landing in the top three for many years, Bettreena “Betty” Jaeger takes first place in the Best Singer-Songwriter category, and if you’ve ever heard her darkly beautiful indie folk songs,…
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Best Local comedian
1. Hazel Jae, Instagram @hazeldaez. 2. Seth Milstein, Facebook.com/sethmilstein and Instagram @sethmils. 3. Jen Jay, Facebook.com/JentotheJay and Instagram @jen_to_the_jay. Raunchy and ready to rumble, Hazel Jae calls herself an “observational, queer and sex positive comedian” — sex positive, or as she puts it in one…
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Best Queer gathering spot
1. The Sparrow & Serpent, 211 Washington St., 541-844-1280, SparrowandSerpent.com. 2. Crow & Cart, 543 Blair Blvd., 541-505-7240, CrowandCart.com. 3. Jameson’s Bar, 115 W. Broadway, 541-485-9913, Jamesonsbar.com. Emily Chappell, owner of The Sparrow & Serpent, Eugene Weekly readers pick for the Best Queer Gathering spot…
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Best bar you won’t know how to get to unless you know how to get there
86 Bar and Restaurant The Gordon Hotel 555 Oak St. 86Speakeasy.com. Typically, when someone recommends a bar that you might want to check out, the location might be the first thing mentioned. But telling you the address or even exactly where the 86 Bar and…
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Best Event Venue
1. Cuthbert Amphitheater 2300 Leo Harris Pkwy. 541-762-8099.TheCuthbert.com. 2. Hult Center 1 Eugene Center. 541-682-5000. HultCenter.org. 3. WOW Hall 291 W. 8th Ave. 541-687-2746. WowHall.org. Sources close to Cuthbert Amphitheater tell Eugene Weekly the summer 2024 concert series is already stacked, and that facility upgrades…
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Best Local Band
1. The Sugar Beets Facebook.com/TheSugarBeets. 2. Satin Love Orchestra Facebook.com/satinloveorchestra. 3. High Step Society HighStepSociety.com. Eugene is a music-loving town, and if a local band encourages us to get up and dance, audiences remain loyal for years. For more than three decades, 2023’s Best of…
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Best Local Singer/Songwriter
1. Halie Loren HalieLoren.com. 2. Bettreena Jaeger, Baroque Betty BaroqueBetty.com. 3. Ziree Sun, Dez Brock Facebook.com/dezbcreative. Look back at Halie Loren’s Eugene Weekly Best of Eugene singer-songwriter win record, and see what Weekly readers have known all along: When the history of Eugene music —…
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Best Food cart pod community
The Friendly Garden 2758 Friendly Street. TheGardenonFriendly.com. Nestled in one of Eugene’s best neighborhoods, commonly known as the Friendly Area, The Friendly Garden is our 2022 Best of Eugene staff pick for Best Food Cart Pod. Located right on Friendly Street, directly across from the…
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Best Bowling alley for upscale food
Lane 25 1166 State Hwy 99 N. 541-688-9904. EntertainmentEugene.com. If bowling brings to mind cheap hot dogs and watery beer, leave those notions behind at Lane 25, my staff pick for the best place for grownups to go bowling. Located in the Gilbert Center on…
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Best Comedian
1. Jen Jay Find on Facebook. 2. Seth Milstein Find on Facebook and Twitter. 3. Mike McGowan Find on Facebook and Twitter. After a few false starts in comedy in her teens and 20s, Jen Jay signed up for her first comedy open mic at…
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Best Comic book store
1. Books With Pictures 99 W. Broadway C, 541-485-1048. Books-with-Pictures-Eugene.Myshopify.com. 2. Radar Toys 3061 W. 11th Ave., 541-515-6459. RadarToys.com. 3. Nostalgia Collectibles 1280 Charnelton St., 541-484-9202. NostalgiaCollectiblesEugene.com. Opening their doors two weeks before the pandemic shutdown in spring of 2020 was not ideal, but Books…
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Best Comedian
1. Seth Milstein Find on Facebook. 2. TIE Leigh Anne Jasheway AccidentalComedic.com. 2. TIE Mike Leamons Find on Facebook. 3. Jen Jay Find on Facebook. Comedy keeps the 2021 Best Comedian Seth Milstein sane. It also drives him crazy, he says, “but usually in a…
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Best Singer-Songwriter
1. Halie Loren HalieLoren.com. 2. Calysta Cheyenne Fortune’s Folly. FortunesFollyBand.com. 3. Bettreena Jaeger BaroqueBetty.com. At this point it’s pretty clear: Eugene loves Halie Loren, winner of this year’s Eugene Weekly’s Best of Eugene best singer-songwriter category. Lucky for us, Halie loves us right back. “There…
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Best Local Band
1. High Step Society HighStepSociety.com. 2. Fortune’s Folly FortunesFollyBand.com. 3. Medium Troy MediumTroy.com. High Step Society, winner of this year’s Best of Eugene best band category, plays electro-swing, a style of music popular in Europe but just catching on in the States. Electro swing, sometimes…
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Best Artist
Ila Rose Ilaroseart.com Shanna Trumbly Shannatrumbly.com Wayde Love Facebook.com/wayde.art Ila Rose has always been compelled to draw and paint, even as a kid. And, she says, nature is a big part of her inspiration. “We would be tanning hides as kids,” she says of her…
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Best Bike Shop
Paul’s Bicycle Way of Life 556 Charnelton Street. 541-344-4105. 2480 Alder Street. 541-342-6155. Bicycleway.com. Hutch’s Bike Shop 960 Charnelton Street. 541-345-7521. 2100 Main Street, Springfield. 541-741-2453. Hutchsbicycles.com. Arriving by Bike 2705 Willamette Street. 541-484-5410. Arrivingbybike.com. It’s hard to imagine a future without bicycles. And as…
