Music❯Indie

JOSEPH is the Oregon-bred sister trio of Natalie, Allie, and Meegan Closner, known for
their powerful harmonies, emotionally honest songwriting, and genre-blurring blend of
indie pop, folk, and rock. Since releasing their breakout debut I’m Alone, No
You’re Not in 2016—which featured their hit single “White Flag” and landed them
on The Tonight Show, TODAY, and the Billboard charts—the band has steadily built a
devoted following through gripping live performances, national tours, and appearances
at major festivals including Coachella, Glastonbury, and Bonnaroo.

Over the years, JOSEPH has released a string of critically acclaimed records
including Good Luck, Kid (2019) and The Sun (2023), praised for their rich vocal
arrangements andsoul-baring lyricism. Their most recent release Closer to Happy (2026)
marks their boldest and most personal work to date. Co-produced with Luke Niccoli (Carly
Rae Jepsen, Miya Folick), the project explores themes of grief, self-trust, and radical selfacceptance.
Whether through triumphant anthems like “I Believe In Myself” or gut-punch
ballads like “Bye and Bye,” JOSEPH continues to turn lived experience into songs that
resonate far beyond the surface.

Music is more than just an aural language – it is a multitude of communication modes and literacies. Sight Reading features world-renowned songwriters translating between dialects in real time: the written language of music (usually expressed on staff), oral / aural traditions and “playing by ear” come together to work with Oregon Symphony musicians as they perform newly-created arrangements of songs by musicians who write their music in a variety of ways.

Jimmie Herrod

Jimmie Herrod is a singer, songwriter, and performer celebrated for his radiant tone and emotional depth. Hailed by The Seattle Times as “a voice like a beacon of hope,” Herrod brings striking expressivity to performances across stage and screen.

He rose to international prominence as a finalist on America’s Got Talent, where he earned the coveted Golden Buzzer from Sofía Vergara. He later returned to compete on AGT: All-Stars, further expanding his global audience.

Since 2017, Herrod has toured extensively with Pink Martini, performing throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. He is also a frequent guest with major orchestras across the United States and has collaborated with artists including Renée Fleming, Lalah Hathaway, Brian Blade, and Vince Mendoza.

Equally at home across genres, Herrod is known for performances that combine technical precision with warmth, clarity, and a powerful sense of connection.

Katherine Paul

This land runs through Katherine Paul’s blood. And it called to her. In dreams she saw the river, her ancestors, and her home.When the land calls, you listen. And KP found herself far from her ancestral lands during a time of collective trauma, when the world was wounded and in need of healing. In 2020 she made the journey from Portland back to the Skagit River, back to the cedar trees that stand tall and shrouded in fog, back to the tide flats and the mountains, back to Swinomish.

It is a powerful thing to return to our ancestral lands and often times the journey is not easy. Like the salmon through the currents, like the tide as it crawls to shore this is a story of return. It is the call and response. It is the outstretched arms of the people who came before, welcoming her home.The Land, The Water, The Sky is a celebration of lineage and strength. Even in its deepest moments of loneliness and grief, of frustration over a world wrought with colonial violence and pain, the songs remind us that if we slow down, if we listen to the waves and the wind through the trees, we will remember to breathe.

There is a throughline of story in every song, a remembrance of knowledge and teachings, a gratitude of wisdom passed down and carried. There is a reimagining of Sedna who was offered to the sea, and a beautiful rumination on sacrifice and humanity, and what it means to hold the stories that work to teach us something.

Chord progressions born out of moments of sadness and solitude transform into the islands that sit blue along the horizon. The Salish Sea curves along her homelands, and when the singer is close to this water she is reminded of her grandmother, how she looked out at these same islands, and she’s held by spirit and memory.

The Land, The Water, The Sky rises and falls, in darkness and in light, but even in its most melancholy moments it is never despairing. That is the beauty of returning home. When you stand on ancestral lands it is impossible to be alone. You feel the arms and hands that hold you up, unwilling to let you fall into sorrow or abandonment. In her songs Katherine Paul has channeled that feeling of being held. In every note she has written a love letter to indigenous strength and healing.

There is a joy present here, a fierce blissfulness that comes with walking the trails along the river, feeling the sand and the stones beneath her feet. It is the pride and the certainty that comes with knowing her ancestors walked along the same land, dipped their hands into the water, and ran their fingertips along the same bark of cedar trees.

This is a story of hope, as it details the joy of returning. Katherine Paul’s journey home wasn’t made alone, and the songs are crowded with loved ones and relatives, like a really good party. And as the songs walk us through the land it is important we hover over the images and the beauty, the moments that mark this album as site specific. The power of this land is woven throughout, telling the story of narrow waterways, brushstrokes, salmon stinta, and above all healing. Let it take you. Move through the story and see the land through her eyes, because it is a gift, awelcomedsʔabadəb.

**The word “gift” in Lushootseed, the language of the Coast Salish people“

Nick Jaina

Nick Jaina is a Portland-based musician and writer whose work bridges music, literature, and performance. Originally from Sacramento, he has lived and worked in Portland, New York, and New Orleans, shaping a multidisciplinary creative career.

Jaina is the author of the memoir Get It While You Can, a finalist for the Oregon Book Award and now in its third printing. His writing has appeared in The Atlantic, McSweeney’s, and Oregon Humanities.

As a musician, he has released numerous albums under his own name, including 2025’s The Monster Mash, blending literary sensibility with adventurous songwriting. His work often crosses artistic boundaries, reflecting a deep engagement with narrative and form.

He co-founded and served as music director for the New York-based ballet company Satellite, collaborating with dancers from Juilliard School and New York City Ballet, with performances at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

Jaina has also composed scores for films and documentaries including All Sorts, Cement Suitcase, and Elemental: Reimagine Wildfire.

45th Parallel Universe is a collective of musicians dedicated to celebrating great chamber music through intimate, imaginative performances. Comprised primarily of musicians from the Oregon Symphony, the ensemble brings exceptional artistry and a spirit of collaboration to every project.

Since 2009, 45th Parallel has blurred boundaries between old and new, classical and contemporary, bluegrass and jazz, fiddle and folk. Their programming reflects Portland’s vibrant creative community, drawing together diverse audiences through unexpected and thoughtfully curated musical experiences.

Known for its “360-degree” approach to programming, the ensemble seamlessly weaves Bach and Beethoven alongside adventurous repertoire and cross-genre collaborations. These projects often feature artists from a wide range of traditions, embracing the richness and diversity of the region.

At its core, 45th Parallel Universe believes in music as a powerful and shared human experience—one that is both timeless and ever-evolving.

“When we travel down those old back roads, that’s when we finally find our way,” sings Portland songwriter Richard Colombo — and that spirit of discovery runs through every note he plays. For over four decades, Richard has been a beloved songwriter, performer, teacher, and community builder whose heartfelt songs blend timeless storytelling with themes of love, courage, and joy. Known for his clear tenor voice, masterful guitar work, and playful energy, Richard’s performances move easily between the profound and the delightfully whimsical — especially when he breaks out his banjo ukulele. A night with Richard leaves audiences feeling uplifted, inspired, and connected.

Inge Hoogerhuis is a singer-songwriter, but that is not how she started out - a lounge and cabaret singer from way back when, who traveled up and down Highway 75, to Las Vegas, and then found a home on the West Coast. She has sung in grange halls to fancy hotels, for 20 people from the back of a pick-up truck to 500,000 in San Francisco's Gay Pride. But her favorite thing to do is to write songs that capture both the humor and melancholy of the West, and that ruminate over love and justice, lost and gained. You can catch her on Spotify or at local watering holes around Portland.

Wendy Emerson is a folk jazz guitarist and vocalist whose music is influenced by ballads and show tunes from the swing era, as well as folk and rock music from the 1950s on. Her repertoire consists of jazzy covers and originals about love and loss served up with a generous helping of speaking truth to power.

Brent Calderwood is a Portland-based singer, songwriter, guitarist, and pianist inspired by indie-folk, Americana, and the American songbook.

Jake Xerxes Fussell is a North Carolina-based musician and thoughtful interpreter of folk songs, drawing on nineteenth- and twentieth-century vernacular music and archival field recordings. He has released five studio albums, including his latest, When I’m Called, produced by James Elkington and featuring a range of guest musicians. Fussell and Elkington also collaborated on the soundtrack for the film Rebuilding. Dougie Poole is also featured.

Eight-time Grammy-winner Beck has traveled light years from his emergence as a reluctant generational spokesperson when “Loser” exploded from a rejected 1992 demo into a ubiquitous 1994 smash. In the decades since, Beck's singular career has seen him utilize all manners and eras of music, blurring boundaries and blazing a path into the future while simultaneously foraging through the past.

Surfacing just as the mainstream and alternative rock intersected, no small thanks to his 1994 debut Mellow Gold, Beck quickly confounded expectations with subsequent releases including the lo-fi folk of One Foot in the Grave. But the album that first cemented Beck’s place in the pantheon was 1996’s multi-platinum Best Alternative Grammy winner Odelay. Odelay remains a key cultural touchstone from the indelible hooks of "Devil's Haircut” and “The New Pollution" to the irresistible call and response of the Grammy-winning "Where It's At.”

From the world-tripping atmospherics of 1998's Mutations (Beck's second album to win the Best Alternative Grammy) and the fluorescent funk of 1999's Midnite Vultures through the somber reflections of 2002's Sea Change, 2005's platinum tour de force Guero, 2006's sprawling The Information, 2008's acclaimed Danger Mouse-produced Modern Guilt, no Beck record would ever sound like its predecessor.

That pattern would be upended in sublime sonic fashion with the 2014 release of Morning Phase. A companion piece of sorts to his 2002 masterpiece Sea Change, Morning Phase conjured the staggering downtempo impact of that record through the lens of an infectious optimism. The chorus of critical acclaim for Morning Phase was instant and unanimous, as Beck rolled into 2015 taking the Album of the Year top honor at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards, as well as the prize for Best Rock Album. Morning Phase also won in the Best Engineered Album (Non-Classical) category.

True to his chameleonic nature, Beck followed up Morning Phase’s subdued beauty with Colors, an intoxicating rainbow of auditory tricks and treats that went on to win Best Alternative Music Album (Beck’s third) and Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical (the second Beck album to do so) at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards in 2019. That same year, Beck would offer a first glimpse into his 14th studio album Hyperspace with the stunning surprise single “Saw Lightning”—written and produced by Beck and Pharrell Williams, who would be credited as co-writer and co-producer on seven of Hyperspace’s 11 tracks.

Beck has spent much of the last few years dazzling live audiences with a grab bag of engaging performances ranging from a handful of freeform one-off shows, to 2023’s massive Summer Odyssey tour with co-headliners Phoenix. Summer Odyssey played to packed houses from the Kia Forum in L.A. to Madison Square Garden and beyond, and was followed by a historic full concert performance with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra—which inspired a series of orchestral performances at the likes of New York’s Carnegie Hall and London’s Royal Albert Hall. The past few years have seen Beck embark on limited runs of orchestral dates featuring musicians who played on milestones including Mutations, Sea Change and Morning Phase accompanied by native orchestras in each city, delivering uniformly unforgettable evenings of unique symphonic arrangements of classics and deep cuts from his towering catalog and beyond.

“Here’s to life” Fans around the world can be found singing the chorus of the Roger Clyne-penned fan favorite “Mekong” and toasting their glasses in unison to celebrate life through rock-n-roll. But the inspiration for the song dates back to the time Roger went to Taipei, Taiwan, as a college student to teach English during the day and busk with his guitar at night for money.

Today, as Clyne prepares to release his 11th studio album, he continues to transform his life experiences, inspirations, observations and his own muses into timeless music. And whether he’s wearing his Converse high tops, boots or sandals, Clyne’s blend of punk rock, americana, indie-pop and mariachi influences have made him, drummer PH Naffah, guitarist Jim Dalton and bassist Nick Scropos — collectively known as Roger Clyne and The Peacemakers.

Station to Station: A Roadtrip Through Modern Creativity, Directed by Doug Aitken. 62min. Not Rated.

The Station to Station feature film is made-up of 62 one-minute films including conversations, performances and unrepeatable moments from the journey, bringing together an amazing cross- section of people and places, from icons of culture to a hitchhiker found on a desert road. With each changing minute the film explores creativity through a different artist, musician, place or perspective, ultimately revealing a larger sense of modern expression transcending the individual voices.

Station to Station is a journey through our evolving creative culture.

Featuring: Beck / Jackson Browne / Thurston Moore / Patti Smith / Ed Ruscha / Doug Aitken / Giorgio Moroder / Mavis Staples / Cat Power / Lawrence Weiner / William Eggleston / Mark Bradford / No Age / Urs Fischer / Olafur Eliasson / Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti / Dan Deacon / Christian Jankowski / Ernesto Neto / Thomas Demand / Sasha Frere-Jones / Cold Cave / Stephen Shore / Suicide / Lucky Dragons / Eleanor Friedberger / Gary Indiana / Paolo Soleri / Scott Dadich / The Congos / Savages / Aaron Koblin / Sun Araw / Liz Glynn / Yoshimio Trio / Theesatisfaction / White Mystery / Sam Falls / Black Monks Of Mississippi / Cornbread Harris / Bloodbirds / The Conquerors / Destruction Unit

We do not generally provide advisories about subject matter or potentially triggering content in films, and films exhibited don’t necessarily reflect the views of PAM CUT or the Portland Art Museum. In addition to the synopses, trailers, and other links on our website, further information about content and age-appropriateness for specific films can be found on sites like Common Sense Media, IMDb, and DoesTheDogDie.com.

Houndmouth is an American rock band from New Albany. In 2026, the band returns with Lordy, a stripped-back, emotionally direct record that marks a new chapter for frontman Matt Myers. After a period of creative stagnation shaped by major life changes, Myers reconnected with his songwriting through raw, unfiltered expression, largely writing alone for the first time. The result is an intimate, roots-driven album focused on rebuilding, acceptance, and forward motion. Supported by producer Brad Cook and a close-knit group of collaborators, the band continues its evolution while retaining the melodic instincts and Americana foundation that first defined its sound.

Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers bring a dynamic mix of punk rock, Americana, indie pop, and mariachi influences, drawing from their new album, “Hell To Breakfast!”

The second night of 'Sight Reading - Musical Dialects' at the Portland Book Festival features world-renowned songwriters Anna Tivel, Willy Vlautin, and Wonderly collaborating in real time. Performers are accompanied by new arrangements from 45th Parallel Universe.

It all started with John Candy. Some 31 years after the comedian’s death, Jim Ward was watching a documentary about him, and in it Macaulay Culkin—who had starred in a number of films with the late actor—said something that really stuck with the musician. So much so, in fact, that, after months of pondering and overthinking what Sparta’s sixth full-length album would be named, Ward decided that those very words—“cut a silhouette”—should be the title.

“He said that when he met John Candy, he just entered your brain and cut a silhouette,” says Ward. “Like, he just left an impression is the way I see it. And when I heard him say that, I was like ‘Oh! That’s what I want this record to be.’ I want it to leave an impression. At this point in my career, that's what I yearn for. I'm working so hard to make something meaningful to me, and I really want people to get a chance to feel it as well.”

Of course, Ward’s 30-plus year career in music has already cut plenty of silhouettes, first as a vital member of pioneering post-hardcore outfit At The Drive-In, then as the frontman of Sparta. The latter released their first album, Wiretap Scars, in 2002, second record Porcelain in 2004, and third LP, Threes, in 2006. Due to a couple of hiatuses, a fourth album, Trust The River, didn’t arrive until 2020, followed two years later by a self-titled fifth album. But there have also been a handful of solo releases, a collaborative album with poet Bobby Byrd, and an LP and an EP by Sleepercar, Ward’s alternative country project, not to mention successful anniversary tours celebrating those first two Sparta albums. It all adds up to a legacy—and yes, that’s the correct word to use—that has been leaving an indelible impression on people for a long time now.

The Tallest Man on Earth is known for animated, expressive performances and songwriting that critics have compared to Bob Dylan. Influenced by Dylan and early American folk artists, Kristian Matsson describes his music as shaped by what feels natural to him. His 2023 album, “Henry St.,” was his first recorded with a band and brings together a range of musical ideas and sounds.

With Andrea von Kampen. All Ages

Montreal-born, Nashville-based Allison Russell is a Grammy, Juno, Americana, SOCAN, and Folk Award–winning artist and Polaris Prize–shortlisted singer-songwriter, producer, author, actor, and human rights advocate.

Her acclaimed solo debut Outside Child (2021) was followed by The Returner (2023), released via Concord/Fantasy. Prior to her solo work, she co-founded and toured internationally with Po’Girl, Birds of Chicago, and Our Native Daughters, and remains an active collaborator with OND and a member of Joni Mitchell’s Joni Jam.

In 2024, Russell joined Hozier’s Unreal Unearth tour across the U.S. and Europe, with their duet “Wildflower & Barley” earning her first Billboard Hot 100 entry. Her Rainbow Coalition ensemble and All Returners tour continued through 2025 across Australia and North America. She also co-wrote “Human Mind” with Hozier for Mavis Staples.

Russell has received eight Grammy nominations and one win, alongside multiple honors including Americana Award nominations and Album of the Year, a Juno Award for Contemporary Roots Album of the Year, International Folk Music Awards, Canadian Folk Music Awards, and UK Americana Awards. She was also named Billboard Women in Music Canada’s Breakthrough Artist of the Year and shortlisted for the Polaris Prize.

She made her Broadway debut as Persephone in Anaïs Mitchell’s Hadestown in November 2024 and has since completed a second run in the role. Offstage, Russell is a powerful advocate and organizer, curating the historic Once and Future Sounds set at Newport Folk Festival and co-founding Love Rising, which has raised over $550,000 in support of LGBTQIA+ communities.

Her forthcoming memoir will be published by Little, Brown, and her third album is slated for release in 2026.

Already an established solo artist, Oregon based singer/songwriter, Brooklyn Del, has put together an electric band to showcase her unique brand of dark country and desert rock. Featuring members of Power of County and Forest Grove Outlaws, Brooklyn Del and The Revelators have begun rotations on the Northwest show circuit and look forward to the release of both their recently completed EP and live album. Keep an eye out for upcoming shows, videos, and records!

Georgia Parker is a singer-songwriter from Kent, England, now based in Los Angeles. She released her debut album, Same Time Tomorrow, in August 2024, establishing herself as a distinctive voice in contemporary folk and indie music. Her sophomore album, Pumpkin (March 20, 2026), is largely self-produced and further defines her richly textured, sonically delicate sound.

Rooted in indie folk, chamber pop, and indie rock, Pumpkin explores the limits of emotional self-protection. Beneath that guarded exterior, the songs return to an inner child still longing for safety, tenderness, and rest - a theme distilled, somewhat wryly, in the album's title and final track, "Pumpkin," a term of endearment that gestures toward softness rather than defense. Haunting, cinematic, and deeply reflective, Parker crafts immersive, emotionally resonant songs that balance vulnerability with sharp, intelligent lyricism.

Houndmouth is an American rock band from New Albany, In 2026, the band returns with Lordy, a stripped-back, emotionally direct record that marks a new chapter for frontman Matt Myers. After a period of creative stagnation shaped by major life changes, Myers reconnected with his songwriting through raw, unfiltered expression, largely writing alone for the first time. The result is an intimate, roots-driven album focused on rebuilding, acceptance, and forward motion. Supported by producer Brad Cook and a close-knit group of collaborators, the band continues its evolution while retaining the melodic instincts and Americana foundation that first defined its sound.

Buffalo Jones, Stephen Ashbrook

Following a string of encounters too strange to be coincidence, Robbie Kingsley, Franco Solari, Dylan McCue and Zach Levy came together to form The Hails. Despite first playing in an insular Miami high school music scene, the band officially formed at the University of Florida in Gainesville, turning the tattered carpeting and beer bottle lined shelves of their shitty college house into a distinct, refined sound that is now synonymous with their name.

After graduation, the group made the pilgrimage back to their home of Miami, the city that directly influenced the sound of their early shimmering singles "Younger" and "Stay," debut EP He Seems Upset (2020), and the subsequent Alive in Strange Ways (2021).

After releasing their debut album What's Your Motive (2023) and gaining international praise, The Hails have created their own unique style of collaboration with band members living in Miami, DC and Brooklyn. Recent highlights of the road include holding court at festivals like Governors Ball, III Points and Okeechobee, interspersed between sold-out headline shows and tour support for The Revivalists, Quarters, The Beaches, flipturn and the moss. This year will see The Hails back out on the road as they ready for the release of their second full-length album later this year.

Meldrop is a five-piece jazzy indie rock group hailing from the Seattle/Tacoma, WA area. The band originally started as a four-piece in the fall of 2022, when River Esqueda, Elijah Tuncap, Kirran Medchill, and Aidan Goodman worked together at a Tacoma restaurant called the Lobster Shop. After a routine night of bussing tables, the boys got to talking and learned that they all shared a passion for playing music. They immediately planned a jam session later that week and what followed was a spark that inspired them to practice and write together over the next 6 months. Meldrop made their live debut at a college house venue called Cush Hill in April 2023, and continued playing shows through the spring and summer. However, tragedy struck in August amidst the recording of their debut project, when a pipe burst in their practice space, flooding the building and destroying their equipment. A week later, Medchill had to step away due to his ongoing struggle with addiction, forcing the band to cancel their upcoming shows. They spent the next 2 months finishing the EP before resuming rehearsals and bringing in a new member, Aidan Maggi, to fill the vacancy. The new lineup took to the live scene in November, just in time to play a show celebrating the release of their self-titled EP around Christmas time.

In the new year, the band continued playing shows and growing their following into the Seattle scene, also taking the time to record new singles "Coyote Country" and "Nude Walter Beach." During this time, they had planned on letting Maggi step out upon Medchill's return, but when the time came to make the switch, the boys realized that they all meshed together too well to let anyone go. It was clear that yet another lineup change was in order. In June 2024, the band returned to Cush Hill to unveil Meldrop's final form, a five-piece consisting of Esqueda and Medchill both on guitar and vocals, Tuncap on drums and vocals, Maggi on bass, and Goodman on keys. The new-look Meldrop's style blends influences of jazz, rock, and the blues into a truly unique and smooth sound that has encapsulated listeners in the Seattle area and all around the world. Driven by a genuine love for their craft, the band continues to experiment with new ideas, pushing their music to new places and chasing their dreams of pursuing music full-time.

Joseph is the Oregon-bred sister trio of Natalie, Allie, and Meegan Closner, known for their powerful harmonies, emotionally honest songwriting, and genre-blurring blend of indie pop, folk, and rock. Since releasing their breakout debut, I’m Alone, No You’re Not, in 2016 — which featured their hit single “White Flag” and landed them on The Tonight Show, TODAY, and the Billboard charts — the band has steadily built a devoted following through gripping live performances, national tours, and appearances at major festivals including Coachella, Glastonbury, and Bonnaroo.

Over the years, Joseph has released a string of critically acclaimed records, including Good Luck, Kid (2019) and The Sun (2023), praised for their rich vocal arrangements and soul-baring lyricism. Their most recent release Closer to Happy (2026) marks their boldest and most personal work to date. Co-produced with Luke Niccoli (Carly Rae Jepsen, Miya Folick), the project explores themes of grief, self-trust, and radical self-acceptance. Whether through triumphant anthems like “I Believe In Myself” or gut-punch ballads like “Bye and Bye,” JOSEPH continues to turn lived experience into songs that resonate far beyond the surface.

Afie Jurvanen does not spend too much time in cities these days. For nearly two decades, Jurvanen was a fixture of the Toronto scene, both as a valued multi-instrumentalist and producer for friends like Feist, The Weather Station, and Kathleen Edwards and as the architect of one of his country’s most celebrated artists, Bahamas. Jurvanen came of age across Bahamas’ first six albums, the restlessness of jumpy early hits like Pink Strat and Barchords slowly shifting into the generous domesticity of 2023’s Bootcut. But Jurvanen has long been drawn to open spaces, to a quieter life. In 2009, the year of his aforementioned debut, he began visiting Nova Scotia, the Atlantic Ocean. Over the next decade, his trips became more consistent, then more frequent, and then longer, until, in 2019, Jurvanen and his family of four finally made the move—nearly 2,000 kilometers northeast, to Nova Scotia. They live a lifestyle, Jurvanen half-jokes, that is “close to Mennonite.” The kids are homeschooled. No one has an iPad. Text messages can feel like miracles.

For a long time, Jurvanen didn’t know what to do with My Second Last Album. After cutting a legitimate country record in the city where the genre lives, was it a too-weird left turn to put out a loose-limbed indie-pop set cut in a shed? He thought about slicing it into singles or splicing it as a bonus onto some sort of future Bahamas compendium, maybe even shelving it altogether. But then he put the record back on after not hearing it for several months and had the simplest and most profound realization possible: He loved these songs, the way they sat together, the story they told about who he was at that moment—a married father content to live in the country alongside the very ocean where he surfs, a musician who often goes to his buddy’s house to casually make some music. It became My Second Last Album, one of Bahamas’ truly indispensable works.

Laith - Originally from Houston, Texas, Laith is a Portland-based songwriter whose music draws from the Texas country tradition and Northwest psychedelia. His debut album *Lightning* blends outsider country, personal storytelling and rock ’n’ roll.

Richard Tripps - Blending mystical folk, psych rock and indie rock, Richard Tripps makes dreamy, nostalgic music rooted in introspective songwriting. His full-band performances bring an energy reminiscent of The Velvet Underground and The Clean.

Secret Family (Oakland, CA - A collection of longtime friends making Bay Area garage rock with psychedelic and pop influences. Their songs began on old four-track recordings, eventually finding new life as a full band. Their latest album, *Grouse Head Talisman*, arrived in September 2026.

FRIENDS FRIENDS - A surrealist, DIY and ever-optimistic Portland alt-rock five-piece. Their debut EP, *Nobody’s Sorry*, explores themes of self-discovery and acceptance.

21+

DOORS 8pm MUSIC8:30pm

GET TIX HERE: https://tinyurl.com/SecretTrippsAtTheSIx

**Atlantis Lounge is All Ages until 9:00 PM, at that time any minors will be asked to leave the space. Thanks for your understanding!

Part of the Portland Book Festival, ‘Sight Reading - Musical Dialects’ features world-renowned songwriters performing newly created arrangements alongside musicians from 45th Parallel Universe. Night one features Jimmie Herrod, Black Belt Eagle Scout, and Nick Jaina.

After spearheading the alt-country movement with Uncle Tupelo, Jay Farrar pursued his vision with Son Volt, who recorded three landmark albums in the ’90s before the groundbreaking artist put the band on extended hiatus and cut three solo LPs. Missing the free exchange of ideas and the surprises that inevitably occur when a group of simpatico musicians locks in, Farrar assembled a new Son Volt lineup in 2004 and has since released nine albums. The latest album, Sound Signal Serenades, was released as a special 2026 Record Store Day limited edition LP. Jay Farrar’s work often seeks out the ghosts of America's discordant or forgotten past, converses at length with them, and writes songs that stake a claim to a better future.

Every handful of years, Neko Case resurfaces with a new album and reminds listeners that she is one of our greatest living songwriters - perpetually becoming more fearless and adventurous. "She has cultivated one of the most distinctive voices in American song," Stereogum declared. "Her albums unravel like musical picaresque: restlessly digressive, bluntly funny, strange - but never in ways you'd anticipate."

The Grammy-nominated iconoclast's ninth LP, Neon Grey Midnight Green, is her biggest-sounding and most intimate-feeling album yet. Released last fall to immediate critical acclaim and declared an essential album in her catalog, the album was laid down live with a full band. More "in the room" than any of her past work, even breaths and shirt-sleeve rustlings were kept in the final mix as a reminder that "humans were here."

"There are so few producers who are women, nonbinary, or trans," says Case, who identifies as gender fluid and uses she/her pronouns. "People don't think of us as an option. I'm proud to say I produced this record."

Today she is announcing a new run of 'Neon Grey Midnight Green' tour dates that begin this fall on the East coast and end with two shows in Case's hometown of Tacoma, Washington.

Bonnie Bishop & Ryan McMullan

Recorded live to tape in just two days, Robert Ellis’s exquisite new album, Yesterday’s News, is as stripped-down as it gets, with the celebrated songwriter and producer’s delicate, reedy tenor accompanied only by nylon string guitar, upright bass, and the occasional piece of handheld percussion. The arrangements are harmonically sophisticated here, drawing on the open tunings and intricate fingerpicking of English songwriters like Nick Drake or Richard Thompson, and Ellis’s performances are similarly subtle and nuanced, tapping into the bittersweet longing of Chet Baker and the playful poignancy of Bill Evans and Jim Hall.

Dylan Thom at Holocene, Portland, Wednesday, November 4, 2026 · 7PM · 21+ · $23.06. Dylan Thom is an independent, LA-based musician making heartfelt earworms existing somewhere between twee-tronica, emo, and indie folk. His live show expands into...

Soul'd Out Presents: Lila Forde and Zan Fiskum.
Doors: 7:00pm
Show: 8:00pm
Ages 21+.

Special Note: Ticket holders for this show receive free admission to Jack London's Burly Q Revue Cabaret after the music!

LILA FORDE
With a voice steeped in jazz, soul, folk, and old-school American songcraft, the Seattle-born, Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter has always carried a deep sense of self through her music. But on Life Can Still Be Sweet, her sophomore album, that self comes into fuller focus: A little older, a little wiser, more instinctive, and more firmly in command of the world she’s building. Warm, whimsical, and full of growing pains, the record captures Forde in the thick of her twenties – chasing songs, learning lessons, finding her people, and holding onto beauty even when life gets hard.

“I think I have a really unique voice – not just my literal voice, but my proverbial voice,” Forde says. “In this day and age, and in this industry, there’s a lot of trend following, and there’s a lot of homogeny. I’m just really trying to be my own artist.”

That individuality has been there from the beginning. Raised in a spiritual, music-filled household in Seattle, Forde grew up without a television and with her feet in the dirt – the daughter of a musician and meditation teachers who encouraged her to stay curious, grounded, and creatively free. She sang in choirs, studied jazz in college, and steeped herself in the classics, from Bonnie Raitt and Carole King to Ella Fitzgerald and Nancy Wilson, while developing her soulful California sound that feels unmistakably her own. https://lilaforde.com/

Zan Fiskum is a singer and songwriter from Maple Valley, WA, whose music blends folk, soul, and cinematic pop into emotionally vivid storytelling. Known for her commanding vocal range and a diversean diverse sound rooted in the Pacific Northwest, Zan has built a dedicated following through a series of independent releases that have amassed over a million streams. She has opened for artists including The Avett Brothers, Kingfish, Mon Rovia, and shared the stage with John Legend and Dave Matthews. https://zanmusic.net/

JLR Seating Map Notes: For this show, you may reserve individual tables on the map pictured. Note that some tables have limited sightlines as noted. General Admission ticket holders note that seating and sightlines are limted and may be standing room only. All table reservations include admission.

1. For Table Reservations: Note the relative location of the stage and bar on the map. Then click a table number to see prices, or click "Show All Tickets". Click the + button to add a specific table to your cart.
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3. Click "Agree & Checkout"

The Low Bar Chorale is thrilled to welcome internationally acclaimed multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, and producer Laura Gibson as a special guest. To celebrate the 20th Anniversary of her debut album, If You Come To Greet Me, Laura is re-releasing her first four records on vinyl. Sing together and learn harmony parts for some of her best-loved songs from these albums, as well as some favorite covers and guilty pleasures. Come sing with one of the defining voices of Portland's musical legacy.

Aslin is an indie-folk songwriter and performer born and raised on Sauvie Island, Oregon making intimate, lyric-driven indie music. She grew up playing shows around the state, recently returning home to Portland after completing her degree in music business in Tennessee. Her latest EP, Inflight, details her journey of leaving home, chasing her dream of playing music across America, before finally returning home—balancing folk-inspired songwriting with atmospheric production. Aslin has opened for artists like Phoebe Bridgers and continues to build a name for herself in Portland’s music scene through live shows, self-released records, and a deep archive of unreleased songs. She’s currently focused on performing across the West Coast and shaping her next full-length album.

Goodnight, Texas is a band you’ve heard somewhere. You’re going through their catalog, hearing lyrics about trapped coal miners and lovebird bank robbers. Banjos and mandolins, genre tough to pin down. Their new album “Signals” has some teeth. The first single, “Runaways,” even features a guest solo from Metallica’s Kirk Hammett. Beyond the memorable riffs, it seems like they’re stretching sonic roots deeper in every direction on Signals, with studio help from Oakland’s Ian and Jay Pellicci (Deerhoof, Tune-Yards).

Googling, you find recent features in NME, Rolling Stone, No Depression and Consequence of Sound and appearances at festivals like Austin City Limits, Red Wing Roots, SXSW, Old Settlers and Beachlife Ranch. They’ve toured with The Dead South, Larkin Poe, Shakey Graves, Trampled by Turtles, The Brothers Comatose, and John Craigie. In 2020, their song “The Railroad” was the opening montage theme for episode one of Tiger King, which had 53 million streams in its first week. Maybe that was where you heard them. Wait a minute - they have 250 million streams across platforms; maybe you heard them in your friend’s car on a cross-country road trip through the real town of Goodnight, Texas - the exact midpoint between songwriters Avi Vinocur and Patrick Dyer Wolf’s homes on each coast.

In an era of excess and endless distraction, the New York-based singer/songwriter Margaret Glaspy rejects the noise in favor of something far more essential. Glaspy has assembled a selection of songs that span from fictional vignettes to unguarded self-revelation to empathetic observation of the troubled world around her. Produced by Joe Henry (the three-time Grammy-winning singer/songwriter/producer known for his work with luminaries like Aimee Mann and Joan Baez), I Am Both ultimately stands as a striking new statement from one of the modern music canon’s most formidable songwriters.

An evening of singer songwriters - an Album release from Seattle's Claire Conway and an EP release from Essie Hum supported by Arran Fagan

Donation - $10 (cash / venmo at doors)

RSVP Online - Cash or venmo tickets collected at doors

Doors @ 6:30 pm

Music at 7 pm

715 SE Grand

Claire Conway(Seattle)

(Album Release)

Blending heartfelt, confessional lyrics with intimate instrumentation, Claire Conway is a songwriter and storyteller with an ear for authenticity. Raised on country radio in Charleston, South Carolina, Claire began writing music at ten years old, played her first gig at thirteen, and released her first EP while still in high school. Now residing in the Pacific Northwest, she’s shared local stages with contemporary folk touring artists Lowland Hum, Matthew Fowler, and The Head and the Heart’s Josiah Johnson.

From her 2019 EP "Missing" to 2021's "Be Good," Claire's early songwriting exhibits a clear-eyed intimacy and a wise-beyond-her-years level of poise and introspection, drawing listeners in with hushed guitar melodies, warm vocals, and compelling lyrical meditations on the birth and death of love, growing up, and self-discovery.

After years of writing, recording, and performing throughout the PNW and internationally, Claire is set to release her debut album in November 2026, produced by Lacey Brown and Damien Jurado in Seattle, WA.

Essie Hum

(EP Release)

Of Portland, OR - Essie Humberston’s storytelling and chants anchor an ethereal, shoegazey dreamscape.

Arran Fagan - Praised for his introspective lyrics and vivid storytelling, Portland-based folk artist Arran Fagan has garnered a following in his native Oregon with his uncanny ability to weave the personal and universal. After getting his start in the grassroots music scene of Southern Oregon, Arran has spent the greater part of his life pursuing music, creating wistful and evocative songs that explore themes that connect us all—loss, addiction, change, and the endless passage of time.

A singer-songwriter known for his lyrical acumen and plaintive harmonica style, Joe Pug dropped out of college and moved to Chicago where he worked as a carpenter before breaking into the city's music scene. Since 2008 he has released a string of critically-acclaimed albums and toured heavily in the U.S. and abroad. Paste Magazine wrote of his music: "Unless your surname is Dylan, Waits, Ritter or Prine, you could face-palm yourself to death trying to pen songs half as inspired."

He has toured with Steve Earle, Levon Helm, The Killers, Justin Townes Earle, Sturgill Simpson, and many others. He has appeared at Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo, and The Newport Folk Festival. His music has appeared on NPR's "Prairie Home Companion" and "Mountain Stage". His music has been released by Lightning Rod Records, which features an alumni roster of Jason Isbell, Billy Joe Shaver, and James McMurtry.

Additionally, he is the creator and host of the popular podcast The Working Songwriter.

The seventh album from Foy Vance, The Wake marks the completion of a decades-long journey defined by tireless soul-searching and life-altering revelation. While playing a gig on the Spanish island of Lanzarote in January 1999, the Northern Ireland-born singer/songwriter experienced a moment of unprecedented transcendence onstage, then learned the next morning that his father had suffered a fatal heart attack that very night. Overcome by grief and a galvanizing clarity, Vance immediately resolved to create seven albums informed by the loss of his father—a traveling preacher who moved their family to the American South when Vance was a baby, and set him on his life’s path by teaching him to play guitar early in his childhood. At turns devastating and ecstatic and wildly illuminating, The Wake reveals an artist highly attuned to the task of preserving the human spirit in an often-unforgiving world.

Edda Glass and her long-time collaborator Max Hatt have “forged a unique sound,” says NPR’s Larry Groce. Their alternative musical universe stretches effortlessly from award-winning original material to reinventions ranging from “Wichita Lineman” to “Girl from Ipanema” to “Falling Grace.” Edda’s unmistakable voice and evocative lyrics draw audiences into the immersive textures of Max’s guitar and compositions, creating a cinematic soundscape that resonates like folk, harmonizes like jazz, and grooves like bossa nova.

Ann Powers of NPR Music tags it “Beautiful… #chills” while Nels Cline (Blue Note, Wilco) finds it “subtly poignant, elegantly funky, and haunting without trying to be.” They have been presented by NPR, PBS, NYC’s Lincoln Center, DC’s Kennedy Center, and Wilco's Solid Sound Festival.

Serene, Nostalgic, Harmony-Centric. NPR’s All Songs Considered described Sturtz as “a reassuring breath of fresh air that pulls me back to simpler times."The group is serene and folksy, with melodic vocals soaring over low string instrumentation. Sturtz released their second studio album, Hyacinth, in September 2024, and they're hard at work writing songs for their next album now. When they’re not playing music, you’ll probably find them gardening, honing in on their photography skills, or parading their giant dog around town.

Haley Johnsen is a Portland-based Americana artist blending alt-pop edge with powerhouse vocals and emotionally charged songwriting. Often compared to Brandi Carlile and Bonnie Raitt, she delivers heart-forward storytelling wrapped in bold, anthemic hooks and an electrifying live presence. Haley has toured with and opened for artists including Allen Stone, KT Tunstall, Joseph, The Talbott Brothers, and Liam St. John, and performed at the nation’s largest festival. Summerfest, last year in Milwaukie, WI. Her 2026 NPR Tiny Desk Contest submission featuring her single “Lyin’ Man” marks a bold new chapter of new music dropping May 2026. With millions of streams worldwide via the Virgin Music Group, sponsorships with Fender and Breedlove, and a headline slot at Seattle’s Fremont Fair Festival this summer, Haley Johnsen is bringing the Pacific Northwest’s freshest sound to the world, one unforgettable performance at a time.

This is a Double release Show at the beloved Mother Foucault's Bookshop. At this show, you will hear music from local singer-songwriters, Essie Humberston, Claire Conway, and Arran Fagan. Essie Humberston will play songs from the 3-track EP that she recorded with funding from the RACC Grant. Come listen to some beautiful tunes surrounded by the smell of old books and the light of a candelabra.

Babehoven is the Hudson, NY based project of singer-songwriter Maya Bon and collaborator Ryan Albert. Since 2017, the band has carved out a sound that blends melodic indie and folk rock with an occasional nod towards country. Bon serves as the project’s principal songwriter and lyricist, while Albert, a multi-instrumentalist and producer, further shapes the sonic world around her songs. Together, they’ve built a body of work that feels both intimate and expansive.

Colorado songwriter Emily Scott Robinson beckons to those who are lost, lonely, or learning the hard way with American Siren, her first album for Oh Boy Records. With hints of bluegrass, country, and folk, the eloquent collection shares her gift for storytelling through her pristine soprano and the perspective of her unconventional path into music.

“I think that the thread running through the album is those things that call to us, and how we can't resist that call,” she says. “It’s about the siren songs that come up through our lives.”

Though not fully autobiographical, American Siren gracefully blends imagined characters with the meaningful people she’s encountered on her journey. Showcasing her ability as a storyteller, “If Trouble Comes a Lookin’” invents a scene where a vulnerable priest and an unhappy wife meet in an Arkansas hotel bar. “Hometown Hero” is an emotional tribute to her cousin, a veteran lost to suicide. “Lost Woman’s Prayer” stems from the words of a sage friend she met while traveling abroad, while “Every Day in Faith” is a personal testament to seeing things through.

Otto Lange is a fresh new sound! An indie multi-generational singer-songwriter based out of Multnomah Village, Portland, OR. Otto sings & plays guitar solo & with his band. Putting a brand-new twist on music from the past to today + new, fresh original music!

At a young age, he has already played at Mississippi Pizza, Willamette Garage, Renners, The White Eagle, Artichoke Music, John's Marketplace, Multnomah Days & corporate events for companies like Bob's Red Mill & United PDX Soccer in Portland, OR & Metro... just to name a few. He is a talent worth checking out.

Otto is also part of an internship called Andy's Music Club by Gentog Community Services out of PDX. Its focus is on intergenerational work & work with neurodegenerative disorders in the forms of teaching, music care, performance & course studies. This is one way Otto gives back to society.

Northern California-based duo Misner & Smith bring poetic, story-rich songwriting and masterful vocal harmonies to their live performances. Their music blends Americana with rock, traditional folk, and pop influences, creating a gloriously nonconforming sound. Their acclaimed album All is Song celebrates music, songwriting, and collaboration.

The Old Yellers began in early 2001 when founding members Michael Berly and Matty V Hartless came together with the goal to write great songs built around vocal harmonies and well crafted stories. The idea was to write songs with a message that could be felt and understood by nearly anyone. They were soon joined by friends Diego Joyeux and Tim Connell and this core group has been playing together in one form or another ever since.

In the years that followed, albums were made, tours were undertaken, fun was had and many great musicians would take their turn coming in and adding to the overall magic. It is difficult to label them any one thing, because at times they have seemed more Rock and Roll, or Alt-Country, or Americana, or Folk Rock, but there is and always has been, a consistency, a uniqueness, something special, that has woven itself throughout the path they have traveled. Whether you call them The Old Yellers or The Yellers, they are are at heart, an American band, writing and performing their own original music, that above all, strives to evolve the consciousness of the global community and generate a real revolution of spirit.

The Bands powerhouse core has been blessed to surround themselves with a cast of stellar musicians who have, for nearly 15 years, formed the family band that is The Old Yellers. The band defies the limits of categorization into a single genre and can take a crowd on a seamless journey from raucous country honky tonk, to tender heartfelt ballads, past a potential Irish jig and back to the cornerstone of rock and roll all in the span of just a few songs. Yeller music is an eclectic blend of rollicking good time songs that win crowds over again and again.

Matty V of Lucky Beaucoup sets down the bass and picks up an acoustic guitar to lead a five-piece combo including Mike Danner (Trashcan Joe), Jesse Lee Young (Swamp Thang), Simon Lucas (Tapwater) and Bernard Gomez (everybody), performing a new body of work called Fever Dream.

James Cook, singer/songwriter extraordinaire of Trashcan Joe, unveils The Oompapas group featuring himself on tenor guitar and vocals, Travis Oakley (Love Bomb Orchestra) on sousaphone and Mike Danner (Saloon Ensemble) on accordion and vocals. The oOOMPAPAs play classic jazz-influenced originals and a few choice Jazz standards, with strong elements of jug-band Americana and polka.

Austin B. Sweeny's sound combines the organic acoustic sounds of Mumford & Sons, Sturgill Simpson, and Van Morrison with the electric West Coast sounds that harken back to the Eagles, Pearl Jam, and Jackson Browne. His songwriting is self-referential and extremely personal, yet universal. It touches on themes of growth, freedom, anxiety, addiction, spirituality, and the pure joy of an open highway.

Produce Row café has been the Central Eastside's food and drink hub for almost 60 years. This casual yet sophisticated gastropub features an award-winning, year-round, heated patio, 24 rotating taps, craft cocktails, and elevated comfort food.