Arts & Entertainment Editor Scott Renshaw interviews himself—his most challenging subject yet—to find out why the 24-Seven column has been replaced by The Essentials.

What have you done to 24-Seven?
We are considering the possibility that on certain days of the week, your best choice might be staying home.

What’s the point of the new title?
If your time and money are as valuable as ours, we want to point you not just at the so-so time-passers, but at the truly exceptional ways to enjoy the local arts and entertainment scene.

What makes The Essentials different from 24-Seven?
Too often, when we’re looking forward, we’re at the mercy of a press release to tell us everything we know about an event. When you see an item listed in The Essentials, you’ll know that a City Weekly contributor actually saw the performance, read the book, viewed the artist’s work. We’ll also highlight music, film and other areas previously left out of 24-Seven.

But won’t that make me a weekend behind all the cool kids?
If you must be first on your block to catch a show, the information will still be down below in “Here & Now.” But we’ll have something substantial to say about it only after first-hand experience. And we hope that the entities staging these events will appreciate that such a recommendation should mean a little more.

Is that the only upside?
Nope. Keep your eyes on CityWeekly.blogspot.com as we send our writers into the world to cover more dance, more music, more comedy, more everything than we ever have before. No publication in this state will be in more places—which is how you can know that we know what’s truly essential.