Each week, there’s an avalanche of upcoming albums, films, books, theater and art—from monumental new voices in culture to guilty pleasures worth indulging in. We’re here to help narrow down what deserves your attention. Our picks for the week of July 15th are below:
The Album: Sara Bareilles’ single “Brave” has been burning up the airwaves and the album its on, The Blessed Unrest, drops this week. The singer-songwriter, who co-wrote some of the music with fun.’s Jack Antonoff, will hit the road later this summer in support of the record. Out Tuesday.
The Book: Beloved writer David Rakoff’s posthumous Love, Dishonor, Marry, Die, Cherish, Perish follows a series of characters whose lives are randomly linked, showing off his singularly witty, strong voice and making clear what a loss his passing truly was. Out Tuesday.
The Festival: Visual art, performance, dance, architecture, lectures and more come together in Denver this week for the latest iteration of the Biennial of the Americas, a festival exploring the culture and art of North, South and Central America. Opens Tuesday.
The Movie: Free Willy it’s not. In Blackfish, documentary filmmaker Gabriela Cowperthwaite looks at Tilikum, a captive whale that’s been responsible for several deaths, and asks whether the animals we think we control are really tame at all. Opens Friday.