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Mark Lore
Posted inPickathon

Pickathon 2024 Maintains the Live Music Magic

The farm music fest sent everyone home with a new favorite band—we were surprised to find plenty were from Portland!
Avatar photoAvatar photoAvatar photo Mark Lore, Jenni Moore, and Suzette Smith

Portland-area farm music fest Pickathon could have lost some of its magic this year. There were more tickets on offer, which meant a potential for larger crowds. The days were hot and dusty—even if they weren’t as scorching as previous summers. And anytime you left Pendarvis Farm, you needed to wind through a suburban subdivision, […]

Posted inPickathon

The Mercury’s Guide to Pickathon 2024: Nine Music Picks You Must Not Miss

Listen for La Lom, Andi Oasis, and Lo Steele. Plus, our hot anticipation for Geese’s Justin Bieber cover
Avatar photoAvatar photoAvatar photo Mark Lore, Jenni Moore, and Suzette Smith

The forecast for this year’s Pickathon looks temperate compared to the past two scorchers, but the line-up is looking hotter than ever. Here are nine picks from the Mercury’s music nerds. See you in the forest!

Sitting at your desk waiting to fuck off and get in a field? Here are the Mercury’s music picks for Pickathon 2024. Fight us in the comments. I love talking about music.

Posted inMusic

Oregon Symphony’s Deanna Tham Helps Us Unpack the Greatest Modern Film Composer

Avatar photo Mark Lore

It’s incredible to think John Williams’ music is still finding its way into moviegoer ears, here in 2023. The legendary composer-conductor scored The Fablemans for his longtime film partner Stephen Spielberg in 2022. This year, Williams returned to the franchise that sealed his place in history as the greatest modern film composer: Indiana Jones. No […]

Posted inFall Arts 2023

Appreciating the Musical Genius of John Williams

We asked associate conductor Deanna Tham to unpack the Oregon Symphony’s take on the greatest modern film composer.
Avatar photo Mark Lore

It’s incredible to think John Williams’ music is still finding its way into moviegoer ears, here in 2023. The legendary composer-conductor scored The Fablemans for his longtime film partner Stephen Spielberg in 2022. This year, Williams returned to the franchise that sealed his place in history as the greatest modern film composer: Indiana Jones. No […]

Posted inMusic

The Mercury’s Favorite Moments of Pickathon 2023

“The volunteers were kind. The music was excellently curated, and I again came out of it appreciating new artists.”
Avatar photoAvatar photoAvatar photo Jenni Moore, Mark Lore, and Suzette Smith

It felt like a lot was riding on this year’s Pickathon. In 2022, its first year back after the pandemic, we saw some of the farm fest’s returning pains. We also jumped around to GZA with the Phunky Nomads and decided Pickathon could still bring the magic. This year, the interim work was obvious. Neighborhood […]

Posted inMusic

Get Farm-Zoned With the Mercury’s Pickathon 2023 Picks

Lee Fields, Thee Sinseers, GEL, W.I.T.C.H., and many more play the best darn little music festival held 16 miles outside of Portland.
Avatar photoAvatar photoAvatar photo Jenni Moore, Mark Lore, and Suzette Smith

Stepping back onto Pendarvis Farm for the return of Pickathon last year—after two years without—felt like a return to happiness. We went bright-eyed about the line-up, the landscape, and the lunch options—not to mention memories of idyllic, mysteriously-appearing communal hammocks, streetwise busking children, and the festival’s new wellness expansion. It did not disappoint. The first […]

Posted inMusic

Orange Is the New Black: Finland’s Oranssi Pazuzu Turns Black Metal on Its Head

Avatar photo Mark Lore

RAINER PAANANEN Black metal has a long and notorious history: isolation, murder, Satanism, and even nationalism have been associated with some of its most infamous practitioners. The music itself is icy, dissonant, and chaotic. Of course, black metal—and metal in general—has continued to splinter and evolve over the past three decades, while in many cases […]

Posted inMusic

Live Review: Iron Maiden at Moda Center

Avatar photo Mark Lore

Iron Maiden Kathleen Marie “Scream for me, Portlaaaand!!”That’s a phrase this city hasn’t heard in, oh, 32 years—the last time Iron Maiden performed here supporting their Somewhere In Time record. Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson’s classic refrain, immortalized on the band’s classic Live After Death record (“Scream for me, Long Beach!”), never got old Friday night, […]

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