by Wm. Steven Humphrey Who's ready to have some fun? Well, the Mercury is here to help with FREE TICKETS to see some of Portland's best concerts and events—our way of saying thanks to our great readers and spread the word about some fantastic upcoming performances! (Psst... if you want to say thanks to the Mercury, please consider making a small monthly contribution to keep us alive and kickin'!) And oh boy, do we have some fun events coming at ya this week! CHECK IT OUT! • Enter to WIN FREE TICKETS to see Drew Holcomb on May 6 at Revolution Hall! Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors play Revolut ..read more

by Wm. Steven Humphrey Who's ready to have some fun? Well, the Mercury is here to help with FREE TICKETS to see some of Portland's best concerts and events—our way of saying thanks to our great readers and spread the word about some fantastic upcoming performances! (Psst... if you want to say thanks to the Mercury, please consider making a small monthly contribution to keep us alive and kickin'!) And oh boy, do we have some fun events coming at ya this week! CHECK IT OUT! • Enter to WIN FREE TICKETS to see The Mission UK on May 1 at the Mission Theater! In late 1985 Wayne Hussey and Craig Ad ..read more

Plus, soul singer-songwriter Julia Logue at Jack London Revue, and we hear Kyle Smyle Again. by Jenni Moore It’s starting to feel a lot like spring, and we’re basking in all the projects blossoming in our music scene. We recently had the pleasure of celebrating Jonny Cool’s contribution to Ella Mai’s single “DMFU,” which reached certified gold status last year. We're bumping Mat Randol’s new EP, The World Keeps Spinning, and also looking ahead to a 4/20 show at Jack London Revue featuring Julia Logue and BrandonLee Cierley. Let’s get into all of it Hear in Portland. MUST SEE:  Upcoming lo ..read more

Nothing says "We love our fans," like a five-song encore. by Melissa Locker New York welcomes its heroes home with a ticker tape parade; Portland does it with a Friday night slot at Crystal Ballroom in front of a jubilant crowd. “We are very happy to be home in Portland,” Sleater-Kinney singer and guitarist Carrie Brownstein announced from the stage. “This has been a very long tour and we’ve been looking forward to this night for a long time.” The feeling was decidedly mutual. The record they were touring to support, Little Rope, is hardly the best-of collection one might expect from a pair of ..read more

Sleater-Kinney's Crystal Ballroom show is strangely affordable right now on the resale sites. by Suzette Smith Something strange we noticed this afternoon: There's an abundance of affordable Sleater-Kinney tickets on the resale market right now. And that's sort of normal when resellers might buy up a large amount of stock so they can turn a profit on a popular group—the Crystal Ballroom show sold out very quickly, as one would expect in the band's hometown—but it's also just going to be a bummer if those stubs don't go to fans. Whether you're looking for something to do tonight, next weekend ..read more

Orquestra Pacifico Tropicale, Caicedo, and Seattle's Terror/Cactus play a cumbia-forward show you must not miss. by Jenni Moore As we count down to being inevitably, forever changed by Cowboy Carter, the new Beyoncé album, we know our new Beyoncé-changed self will still be stoked about things happening on a local level, including some of Portland’s own beloved country-western musicians Jenny Don’t and the Spurs. We've got news about a new release from that group. We’re also jazzed about a chance to see Orquestra Pacifico Tropicale (basically always), and the fact that Pickathon just released i ..read more

Anderson brings her Let X = X tour to Portland with New York jazz ensemble Sexmob handling the horns. by Audrey Vann Pioneering electronic musician Laurie Anderson has produced a treasure trove of work throughout her 55-year career. Last week, we took readers through "Five Laurie Anderson Songs That Aren’t “O Superman," but that barely scratched the surface of her seven major label albums, two full-length films, and the numerous experimental instruments she's invented—just to name a few of her projects. On Friday, Anderson brings her Let X = X tour to the Keller Auditorium to revisit material ..read more

by Robert Ham The arrival of listening bars—meticulously designed haunts built around the playing of vinyl records on high-end stereo equipment—in the Portland metro area was inevitable. A mainstay of Japanese musical culture since the ’50s (an estimated 600 audiophile cafés and bars are currently in operation there), the concept has been imported to the US over the past few years, with a recent arrival being Shibuya, a hotspot in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood that opened last fall.  It was around that same time that Sonder Listening Bar arrived in our neck of the woods. A similarly them ..read more

by Audrey Vann Laurie Anderson has made an awe-inspiring mountain of music across her 40-year career as an experimental, trailblazing artist. You can attach multiple creative practices to her name, but her most well-known song—thanks to radio play from famed BBC DJ John Peel and an unexpected gen-z resurgence that landed her on the TikTok Billboard Top 50—is “O Superman.” If you scroll, you’ve heard the sample of Anderson’s track; she modulates her voice to an eerie, disembodied being, flatly singing: “Well you don’t know me / but I know you.” She’s questioning justice, safety, power, and tech ..read more

Jakki and the Pink Smudge's sunny new single “Going Up,” and country-tinged, rock-infused Chris Stapleton at Ridgefield. by Jenni Moore Happy official spring, Portland! This week we’re honing in on the thrilling news that the Thesis has a new home base, indie rockers Jakki and The Pink Smudge have a new single out, and this summer, country music superstar Chris Stapleton is swinging pretty close—15 miles away ? at RV Inn Style Resorts Amphitheater. Read all about these locally relevant music news that’s happening Hear in Portland.  MUST SEE:  Upcoming local event(s) featuring local a ..read more