Not a lot to say by way of an intro this week. Everything is so heavy. Lean into yourself and your communities. Seek joy. Contribute to liberation in all the ways you’re able. Music, live music especially, is one of the few places real community and joy can be found, so go find it.
Thursday, March 12
Lo Steele
For fans of Nubya Garcia, Yazmin Lacey, Toni Braxton
Portland soul songstress supreme Lo Steele releases her new record Only a Drop March 13. The album’s first single, “Greenz,” is a potent reminder of the power of the blues, where the genre comes from, and how it can sound in 2026. The deeply Black art form can’t be manufactured, Steele rightly points out, coming from musical stock as the daughter of Portland blues and jazz icon LaRhonda Steele. But don’t get it twisted—Lo is her own artist. A fixture on our city’s theatre circuit (her portrayal of Gwendolyn Fairfax in Portland Center Stage’s production of The Importance of Being Earnest last year was lights-out funny) and a multitudinous force of creativity in the region. (Music Millennium, 3 pm, FREE, more info here, all ages)
Seffarine
For fans of Rodrigo y Gabriela, Shabv, Y La Bamba
If you’ve ever been to Morocco, you know the markets and squares of the country burst with life and voices and bodies (both human and animal) and music. The frenetic energy of the cultural and social hubs is music itself, an ancient music of gathering places that is otherworldly. Taking their name from the metalworking square in Fez, Seffarine sprang forth after singer Lamiae Naki and multi-instrumentalist Nat Hulskamp met at a coffeeshop in Fez, eventually marrying and forming the band. Now Portland-based, Seffarine is the bright femme vocals and Iberian-Arabic rhythms needed to undo the collective stress we are all feeling, fortifying us through to spring and summer. (Alberta Rose Theatre, 7:30 pm, more info here, all ages)
Friday, March 13
Sea Moss / Dwelling Unit / Obedient / Courtney Doorhinge
For fans of Trigger Object, Flesh Produce, Mika Miko
Moving from a house venue to Kenton Club is this unhinged lineup of some of Portland’s most ferocious noise and punk outfits. Sea Moss are here to destroy preconceived notions anyone may have concerning the sheer magnitude of harsh noise a two-piece is capable of. Punk-noise with a cabaret flair is the energy of Dwelling Unit, while Obedient rolls through with their justifiably livid poli-punk rage. (This will be Obedient’s first outing with new drummer, the wildly prolific Papi Fimbres.) First, and certainly not least, Courtney Doorhinge cuts all ties with reality as the show’s opener. I hope there’s condiments! (Kenton Club, 8 pm, more info here, 21+)
Related: Read our review of Obedient’s debut album Rastafarsi.
Friday, March 13 – Sunday, March 15
Dies Irae, Desirée
For fans of Kronos Quartet, 1000 Airplanes on the Roof, Meredith Monk
If the words “classical music” don’t tend to grab your attention, consider that Third Angle New Music’s curatorial flavor trends toward experimental takes on the form. So far, their 40th anniversary concert series has explored the works of minimalist pioneer Steve Reich from inside Hopscotch’s interactive art exhibits, and brought a string quartet and clarinet ensemble to the World Forestry Center. Maria Finkelmeier and Brady Evan Walker’s UFO-laden chamber opera Dies Irae, Desirée is next on the docket, in which a YouTube streamer-turned-cult leader claims to communicate with aliens. Cast members Sarah Tiedemann and William Pyle also play flute and saxophone among other live instrumentalists. (Vault Theater, various times, more info here, all ages) LINDSAY COSTELLO
Saturday, March 14
Cherry Cheeks / La Isla Electronica / Love In Hell / Xin
For fans of Lumpy & The Dumpers, Gravy Train, (punk) Tender Forever
Though I still don’t know if Portland’s Cherry Cheeks are chain punk or egg punk (or if people still use those designations), I do know that the pit fruit party punks hit it hard every show and hate cops—very cool. Spanish-language post-punks La Isla Electronica, AKA L.I.E., play tunes that either insight the dance floor euphoria or the mosh pit mayhem, your call. Word on the street is they’ve got their debut LP in the works right now! Happy punks Love in Hell and acousti-punk Xin roll deep opening this North Portland punk hootenanny. (Turn Turn Turn, 8 pm, more info here, 21+)
Related: Read our review of La Isla Electronica’s debut EP.
Sunday, March 15
Peaches / Pixel Grip
For fans of Le Tigre, Bijoux Cone, Vaginal Cream Davis
After chatting with Peaches ahead of her new album No Lube So Rude a few weeks ago, it was made abundantly clear that Peach is the real fucking deal. We talked about her transcendence into the realm of queer elders, the state of the world at the moment, and her first new album in 11 years. On No Lube So Rude Peaches doesn’t shift focus away from the body and sex, but reframes thinking around time. As one hopes and expects of anything new from Peaches, the new album is filled with party-rocker anthems and so much rhyming. A personal favorite appears on “Fuck How You Wanna Fuck” when she rhymes progesterone with calzone. Sometimes you do want to meet your heroes. Pro tip: Tomorrow Theater is screening Peaches Goes Bananas the night before the show. (Crystal Ballroom, 8 pm, more info here, all ages)
Tuesday, March 17
Toody Cole / Forty Feet Tall / Chatter Box
For fans of Thee Headcoatees, Iguana Death Cult, The Traditional Fools
A long-lived life of rock ‘n’ roll, true love, and doing it herself is Portland legend Toody Cole. Founding member of our city’s greatest rock ‘n’ roll punishers Dead Moon, there’s no praise that can be showered on Toody that’s undeserved. Toody’s got lifetimes—plural—worth of stories, so buy her a whiskey and see if you can get a few out of her. Towing the line between angelic post-punk and hard-hitting post-hardcore is where you’ll find the Forty Feet Tall bad boys. I popped my knee so hard in their homecoming show pit at Mississippi Studios last month I thought I was going to pass out—that’s what’s up with FFT. The Chatterbox garage-punks round out this perfect Portland bill. (Star Theater, 8 pm, more info here, 21+)
Also very worth it…
Figure Eight / Spiderling / Yudai at Swan Dive – March 11, more info here
East Forest at Aladdin Theater – March 13, more info here
Nudity / The Intima / Vague Fugue at Wyrd Hut – March 13, more info here
Ogre single release at Trouble Bar – March 13, more info here
Snuffed on Sight / Forced to Suffer / Manos De Fierro / Mescaline Maniacs / Slime at High Limit Room – March 13, more info here
Stella Zekri / Batom / Mr. Drew at Process – March 13, more info here
Gabriel Kahane at Strum – March 14, more info here
Peaches Goes Bananas at Tomorrow Theater – March 14, more info here
Songs For Snow Plow Drivers / Smiling Strange / Lovable Wholes at Turn Turn Turn – March 14, more info here
Tiffadelic / Yana Uba / Graveyard Gossip / DJ Glitter Ghoul at The Coffin – March 14, more info here
Barna Howard / William Surly & The Barroom Gospel Band at Mississippi Studios – March 15, more info here
Spiritual Cramp / Bass Drum of Death / Fentanyl / Amusement at Polaris Hall – March 16, more info here
New Music Portland:
Having trouble working five days a week and deciding what to eat for dinner? No worries; Big Top has you covered. Elyse Schrock and Richard Alex Olsen—the public access variety show geniuses behind Playland Studios and The Big Box Set—dropped a sweet little single with the songs “Dinner Ideas” and “3 Days A Week.” They’ve never steered me wrong, and they won’t do you dirty either.
The Cosmic Tones Research Trio continue their outpouring of heavenly spiritual jazz with the release of Live at Public Records. Recorded live at NYC’s Public Records in September last year, the album allows those who haven’t seen the Trio live to experience some of the magnificence of a Cosmic Tones performance, giving more personality to the individual members. For those who have seen the Trio, the recording reminds of the exuberant joy of the band’s music. As far as I can tell, the recording is only streaming here.
Half Portland, half Fort Lauderdale, FL, all hardcore. Today, the Gouge Away menaces share their new 7″ single “Figurine.” Lead singer Christina Michelle whiplashes back and forth between her singular screaming and a feigned innocence. Let them make art! Catch Gouge Away at Revolution Hall, opening for Wednesday on April 21 and 22.
Mercury writer and Sun Ra scholar Jesse Carsten has released a new EP under their Half Shadow moniker. Wind Inside is a four-song dalliance through the mind of an artist thinking on the coming and goings of the universe: the seasons, nothingness, life, love, gnosis, and death. All this ponderance comes full circle back to Carsten themself through desire, parenthood, the body, lovers, and flowers.
Idiot Vehicle just shared their new Dear Jacqueline EP. Self-described soft-grunge, might we add the distinction of California garage rock?
The irresponsibly heavy Machine Country are back with Inbred Bastard Killer. If you’re rightfully mad about the state of… everything right now, IBK makes the perfect sonic companion to burning down ICE facilities. See you there!
The MerKaBa Brotherhood consists of Roman Norfleet and Andre Raiah (AKA Brown Calvin), two members of Be Present Art Group. Their self-titled debut album is slated for a May 15 release on the venerable Mississippi Records. If the release’s first single is anything to go by, we’re in for the ecstatic Blackness that is the duo’s other groups (Brown Calculus and The Cosmic Tones Research Trio among them) shifting to a possibly more beat-driven sound. Head down to Mississippi—they might have what you seek.
Yesterday, Modest Mouse released a new single and added dates to their already massive spring/summer North American tour. One of the dates is in Alaska, very cool. Another is with My Chemical Romance, very interesting. Is the single heralding a new MM record? Perhaps. Is the new single good? Perhaps.
Hot damn, it’s always good getting new music from Papi Frimbres and the Orquestra Pacífico Tropical crew! Yesterday the cumbia heavyweights announced the June 19 arrival of their third album El Poder. In the same announcement breath, the band dropped El Poder’s first single “Fantasma.” OPT brings the Brown sound from way down, shaking hips from Mexico to Portland.
Trigger Object has unleashed upon this mortal realm her latest album Choking On a Crunchwrap Supreme as the World Burns. Affectionately known as COACSATWB, the artist’s latest force majeure is a punishing pollination of field recordings, synth work, and hardware electronics. Enjoy that last gooey bite—the end is nigh.
Portland Music News:
Longtime darlings of Portland’s neo-folk scene, The Builders and The Butchers, are getting the full nerd treatment. Long Tail Games has launched a GoFundMe in support of a new tabletop board game called Devil Town. Taking place in Anywhere, USA, Devil Town is a storytelling game based on the lyrics of the band. Will it crack you up like Cards Against Humanity or infuriate like Monopoly? Only one way to find out…