Mercury Staff

Podcasting 101 After becoming an avid listener to fantastic shows like This Is the Read, The Friend Zone, and Jen Kirkman’s I Seem Fun, I myself have even thought about entering the apparently lucrative world of podcasting. If you’re also curious about what it takes, Jeni Wren Stottrup of Gritty Birds podcast and XRAY FM […]

Sturgill Simpson, The London Souls There was a time you could catch singer-songwriter Sturgill Simpson playing intimate gigs in Portland—at the Mercury’s annual Chili Jam, for example, or at Mississippi Studios. These days, Simpson’s selling out the Crystal and the Keller, but don’t despair: His unfuckwithable mix of old-school country, beer-swiggin’ honky tonk, and trippy […]

Ms. Lauryn Hill The career of hip-hop icon Ms. Lauryn Hill is full of stops and starts: She’s released just one studio album, 1998’s The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, and is known for cancelling shows at the last minute (hold your breath, Portland). But nearly 20 years after her debut, Hill’s blissed-out harmonies continue to […]

Rae Sremmurd, Lil Yachty, Eearz, BoBo Swae, Impxct The Tupelo, Mississippi-hailing hip hop duo consisting of brothers Khalif “Swae Lee” Brown and Aaquil “Slim Jxmmi” Brown hit the Crystal in support of their new full-length, SremmLife 2. Atlanta’s Lil Yachty provides support. 8 pm, Crystal Ballroom, $35, all ages Criminal Phoebe Judge, Lauren Spohrer, and […]

Tory Lanez, Jacquees, Kranium, DJ VeeCee Add yet another Canadian hip-hop/R&B sensation to the list: 24-year-old Tory Lanez, whose lead single, “say It,” has helped hoist him into the national spotlight. Plenty of cosigns later, his debut studio album, I Told You was released in August. It’s a “swavey” mix of moody knocks like “Flex,” […]

PWR BTTM, Bellows, Lisa Prank While most of Oliver Kalb’s music released under the moniker Bellows conjures the acoustic intimacy of Elliott Smith or Sufjan Stevens, “Orange Juice” (from his September release Fist & Palm) is a game-changer—here the Brooklyn musician/producer sings through heavily auto-tuned vocals over electronic backbeats. “Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter” resonates with […]

The Great Dictator So there’s an election coming up, apparently? Did you hear? Or maybe you’ve been hearing about it for years and years and years and are now at the point where you want to ram a screwdriver into your ear so you can stop hearing about it. DON’T DO THAT. Here’s a better […]