Support Smart, Local Journalism
Make a Small Monthly Donation

Give now
Avatar photo

Nolan Parker

Nolan Parker is the Mercury’s former music editor.
Posted inMercury Music Picks

Mercury Music Picks: There’re Still Deltron 3030 Tickets Available (Sort Of)!

Plus an African highlife legend, electronic music overlords, and Portland music news.
Avatar photo Nolan Parker

The Mercury turns 25 this year and we’re throwing a big birthday bash at Polaris Hall on July 31! Pulling up to the function are Pure Bathing Culture, Nonbinary Girlfriend, and Karma Rivera, and you are invited! Sadly (but also happily), the show sold out in less than 48 hours and I didn’t even get […]

Posted inMusic

The Portland Mercury Turns 25–Come Party With Us!

Pure Bathing Culture, Nonbinary Girlfriend, and Karma Rivera are gonna be there too! 
Avatar photo Nolan Parker

Wow, time (non-linear) really just flies doesn’t it? According to the Gregorian calendar, the Portland Mercury is now old enough to rent a car! And that’s really saying something. Founded in the year 2000 by our still fearless leader Wm. Steven Humphrey, the Mercury has been reporting on news, culture, and getting into trouble for […]

Posted inMercury Music Picks

Mercury Music Picks: Michael Hurley’s Final Album and Patricia Wolf’s New Film Score

Plus free outdoor music and Missouri Executive Order 44! 
Avatar photo Nolan Parker

What does it feel like to hear new music by a cherished artist who has passed away? How do we hold memories of a childhood we barely remember? Who decides how individuals identify and what we call ourselves? Heavy questions on a sunny summer day in July that certainly aren’t answered in this week’s Mercury […]

Posted inAlbum Review

Album Review: Patricia Wolf Scores the Documentary Hrafnamynd

Playful sonics swirl with the landscapes of Iceland and director Edward Pack Davee’s narration. 
Avatar photo Nolan Parker

There is a sacred captivation present in the Pacific Northwest felt by many of those who call this corner of the world home: The powerful vastness of landscape, the diversity of the region’s flora and fauna, and the evergreen presence of water. It’s the birds of the Pacific Northwest that have captured the heart and […]

Posted inMercury Music Picks

Mercury Music Picks: Bijoux Cone Reunites The Mommys, Wu-Tang Brings Da Ruckus!

Plus locals Pale Violet, Shanea, and IX of Swords shred across Portland.
Avatar photo Nolan Parker

What a ripper weekend! Homie Fest VI was everything it was supposed to be and so much more—the vibes were truly immaculate. Everyone who was there were homies somehow, and people who didn’t know each other were besties by the end of the second night. Music has such a powerful impact, able to form community […]

Posted inQueer Guide 2025

Be Gay, Do _____.

Welcome to the Mercury‘s 2025 Queer Guide!
Avatar photo Nolan Parker

Howdy y’all, My name is Nolan Parker, I’m the new-ish music editor at the Mercury, and I’m an absolute faggot—welcome to the 2025 Queer Guide! Queerness is expansive beyond comprehension, literally—there aren’t enough letters in all the alphabets combined able to describe our existence. We’re involved in every facet of every society, whether you’re aware […]

Posted inQueer Guide 2025

Battle of the Hexes

Post-punk weirdos Casual Hex hold a black mirror to society on Zig Zag Lady Illusion II.
Avatar photo Nolan Parker

Now split between Portland, Seattle, and Tacoma, Casual Hex return with new album Zig Zag Lady Illusion II—the politically charged sonic continuation of their first full-length. The new LP dropped June 13 via Seattle’s Youth Riot Records. The band has been quiet since the release of their weirdo post-punk monolith Zig Zag Lady Illusion in 2018, and—despite being […]

Posted inQueer Guide 2025

Be Gay, Make a Mixtape!

Put any of these queer Portland artists on a mix and your boo will swoon!
Avatar photo Nolan Parker

Portland is full to her hilt with incredibly talented queer musicians and artists! This here mixtape is a love letter to all the queer creators of Portland past, present, and future. This obviously non-exhaustive playlist is a living testament to the expansive nature of queer existence: we’ve got trans vaporwave inventors, come-fuck-with-the-crew hardcore, a Black […]

Posted inQueer Guide 2025

Do This, Do That: Queer Events Until Pride and Beyond

The gayest-looking queer bike rides, dance parties, and community events on our calendar this Pride season.
Avatar photoAvatar photoAvatar photo Lindsay Costello, Nolan Parker, and Suzette Smith

Portland’s Pride season is loooooong. And this new list of parties, art shows, bike rides, history exhibits—and more—is similarly shaped 😉. The parade may be in July, but we’re queer all year round. Ongoing: Outliers and OutlawsCommunity & Activism  Did you know Eugene was once dubbed a “lesbian mecca”? Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for […]

Posted inMusic

Are We Homies?

Papi Fimbres is back with Homie Fest VI! 
Avatar photo Nolan Parker

It’s been six long years since the last Homie Fest, and the wait is finally over—Homie Fest VI is back June 27 and 28 at the jewel of the Central Eastside, Swan Dive. We caught up with festival nucleus Papi Fimbres to get the scoop on everything Homie Fest.  Right when Fimbres pulled up to […]

Posted inMercury Music Picks

Mercury Music Picks: First Show at New All-Ages Hardcore Venue, High Limit Room!

Plus so much stellar music and world class hip-hop. 
Avatar photo Nolan Parker

Has everyone dried out from the atmospheric-river-torrential-downpour over the weekend?? Phew, thank goodness! I was about to start building my ark there for a second…. This week is full to the brim with fabulous concerts, AND—most exciting—sees the release of the Mercury’s 2025 Queer Issue! The issue’s theme is “Be Gay, Do _____.” and is […]

Gift this article