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Nolan Parker

Nolan Parker is the Mercury’s music and Blazers editor. They also run the Portland-area community resource, Government Palace. Follow them on Instagram and Letterboxd. Send pitches, releases, and collaboration ideas here.
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 […]

Posted inMercury Music Picks

Mercury Music Picks: The Dream of the ’90s Do Be Alive in Portland with Panchiko and Karate

Plus Esperanza Spalding and Michael Cera Palin are in town! 
Avatar photo Nolan Parker

AND WE’RE BACK! There’s so much rad(ical) music on the horizon in the coming days/weeks/months, it’s hard for anyone to keep track of! Thank goodness for resources like Mercury Music Picks, huh??  Speaking of, two of our Spotify playlists have been updated! Use them as guides for music discovery and get out to shows! Check […]

Posted inQueer

Even More! 2025 Pride Events: Bingo, Disco, and a Horny Gay Teen Comedy That Does Not Quit

Also, queer Asians celebrate at a wife-and-wife owned wine bar and Wonderwood Springs hosts Ye Olde Gay Faire!
Avatar photoAvatar photoAvatar photoAvatar photo Nolan Parker, Suzette Smith, Lindsay Costello, and Janey Wong

Everyone knows Portland Pride starts in June—despite the parade kicking up zir heels in July. Pride is already here, and the Merc is keeping a rolling calendar of event picks you might love. In this installment: a dedicated meet-up for queer Asians at a wife-and-wife owned wine bar, bingo from Tomorrow Theater’s ORIGINAL bingo queen […]

Posted inMercury Music Picks

Mercury Music Picks: Casual Hex Record Release Show

Plus, Blonde Redhead open for Bloc Party in the Clouds and Michael Cera Palin play the Mission!
Avatar photo Nolan Parker

Thursday, June 12 City Cast Portland ft. Nolan Parker I’ve been listening to the City Cast Portland podcast for a minute now, and what a sweet surprise that they’ve asked me to come on the pod! I’ll be talking about the best outdoor music happenings popping off in Portland over the summer—of which there are many—along […]

Posted inQueer

Portland Pride 2025 Events: Gays Eating the Rich

Plus, drag history, elf parties, synths, sewing club, and more!
Avatar photoAvatar photo Nolan Parker and Suzette Smith

Don’t make the mistake of thinking that Portland only celebrates Pride in July. That’s when the parade is, but we all know Pride is in June, and Pride is already here with all her loud-ass bike rides, cute meet-ups, and shocking developments. Portland Pride 2025’s top shocker may have already dropped: longstanding nightclub CC Slaughters […]

Posted inMercury Music Picks

Mercury Music Picks: Holocene Turns 22 and the Mercury on the City Cast Portland Podcast!

Plus Bloc Party and Portraits of Past play Portland for the first time in forever!
Avatar photo Nolan Parker

I usually try to save the Mercury Music Picks intro for joy… This week’s a little different. I am so tired—exhausted even—of people using the r-word thinking it’s somehow subversive and edgy when it’s actually completely fucked up and ableist. You know what’s actually subversive under an administration that’s currently demolishing resources for disabled communities? […]

Posted inMusic

Summer Festival SZN is Upon Us, Y’all!

What do Mannequin Pussy, Nonbinary Girlfriend, Portugal. The Man, and Outta Pocket all have in common?
Avatar photo Nolan Parker

Portland doesn’t play host to anything like Coachella or Primavera or Glastonbury, and thank god for that. Those dark carnivals are so blown out—they’re more for being seen and “influencing” instead of the actual music. What Portland does have is a bunch of music festivals that pull big names while still highlighting local and up-and-coming […]

Posted inMercury Music Picks

Mercury Music Picks: Take a Hike with Black Belt Eagle Scout and Introducing L.I.E. (Portland’s Best New Band)

Plus get Dragged Into Sunlight, tear it up with Chlorine, and Portland music news!
Avatar photo Nolan Parker

This past weekend I was afforded the opportunity to see two bands that I never thought I would have the chance to experience live: Rilo Kiley and American Football. The audiences at both shows knew every word to every song—it was emotional to say the least. Youthful heart break energy and nostalgia coursed powerfully through […]

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