Michael Jackson

Seattle Seahawks’ training camp has been a success, with bright spots all around the field and expectations higher than ever heading into the regular season.

As Second Sky made its way into the evening, the heavy-hitters of the festival commanded the attention of nearly everybody present at the Oakland Arena grounds.

Before taking the stage at The New Parish on Sept. 9, rapper-songwriter Duckwrth sat backstage in an interview with The Daily Californian, reflecting on bringing his SuperGood tour to a place close to his heart.

His words suggest he feels owed a place and a voice in the R&B genre, a musical space that has long been pioneered and popularized by people of color.

The pressure of wanting to make a good first impression and the idea of taking a step toward what you’ll be doing for the rest of your life is nothing less than terrifying.

From the perspective of many fans, racism and general cruelty of humankind seemed to make Jackson a target.

Last Thursday, on the stage of The Masonic, Sivan seemed at home in the rainbow limelight. Running a hand through his shock of pale hair and shrugging off a loose, gray suit jacket to reveal skintight fitness wear, Sivan paused his set to say, “This is the gay one,” before performing “HEAVEN.”

When Letissier performed Friday at Oakland Fox Theater to a packed crowd — one that was by majority white and by majority queer-presenting — fans received the show before them in a magnetic reverie as they danced to the electric beat.

Velazquez is doing everything in her power to keep her grades strong: “I’m just really, really adamant about maintaining a strong presence,” she said. “I deserve to be here, and I want to be here. But in order to do that, you have to put the work in.”

Just before lovelytheband played “broken,” its biggest radio hit, Collins talked about the stigma of mental health and emphasized that his lyrics are more than a record of his emotions: They say that it’s OK to feel those feelings. No one is alone in feeling them — not him, not anyone listening to his music.