Ben Salmon

On her new record “Canyon,” Portland composer Mary Sutton draws in the classic and the personal—from Erik Satie to a painting by her father, Cherokee artist Jerry Sutton—to bring listeners gorgeous impressions of the natural world. Read about the album and artist in this profile by Ben Salmon.

“Canyon” the new record from Mary Sutton draws in the classic and the personal—from Erik Satie to a painting by her father, Cherokee artist Jerry Sutton—to bring listeners gorgeous impressions of the natural world. Read Ben Salmon’s profile of the Portland composer.

Members of Portland tech thrash trio U SCO became friends at a MAX stop in Beaverton, running into one another after practicing at nearby practice space Bongo Fury. The indescribable metal / noise / math-y thrash that followed was hardly heralded by the ordinary music meet-cute. Ben Salmon profiles the band and their new album.

The new album from Portland tech thrash trio U SCO defies description, but we’ll still try: monolithic and euphoric, with one track containing epic interlocking bass clarinet from Golden Retriever’s Jonathan Sielaff.

The new record from Portland-based songwriter Jeffery Silverstein shows more country influence than ever before and features—somewhat spoken—vocals. Read Ben Salmon’s profile of Silverstein and “Western Sky Music” here.

Growing interest in Portland-based songwriter Jeffery Silverstein’s brand of shimmering Americana music has put him at a crossroads. Read Ben Salmon’s profile of Silverstein and his new record “Western Sky Music” here.

When she’s not touring the world with the Decemberists, collaborating with an array of local musicians, or writing and recording her own solo works, Jenny Conlee teaches piano—mostly via Zoom. So she was fully prepared, when asked during an interview, to explain the seven ancient Greek musical scales—or modes—that form the foundation of about half […]

In 2022, between the middle of June and the day after Christmas, Aaron Liu released six full-length albums and an eight-track tribute to Taiwanese singer Teresa Teng—all under the name Ghost Pop. “I started writing,” Liu told the Mercury from his home in Tigard, where he grew up, “and the songs just kept coming.” Liu’s albums […]

Hunter Noack playing piano in Big Sky Montana Arthur Hitchcock When he answers the phone for an interview with the Mercury, Hunter Noack is moving stuff from a storage unit to a flatbed trailer. His traveling concert series In A Landscape, which stages classical music performances outdoors, is hitting the road again. “We’re going to […]

Abronia Joey Binhammer Read a few reviews of Abronia’s first two releases and chances are you’ll spot some recurring imagery. “When you listen to these songs you can easily imagine them being the score for grand Jodorowsky desert scenes,” Record Crates United’s Keith Hadad wrote about the Portland band’s 2019 album The Whole of Each […]

Canary Room Photo by Grace Daenen, Courtesy of the artist Maddy Heide was supposed to graduate last year. That was the plan before COVID-19 came along and prompted the 22-year-old Lewis & Clark College student to take a year off from school. She spent a lot of that time outside. “I worked as a gardener […]