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Nolan Parker

Nolan Parker is the Mercury’s former music editor.
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 […]

Posted inMercury Music Picks

Mercury Music Picks: Outsider Portland Album Releases and Berlin DJs

Plus the next gen. of nu-metal and Portland music news!
Avatar photo Nolan Parker

As I’m writing this, I’m still buzzing after seeing Lambrini Girls at Mississippi Studios on Sunday. Their politics are abolitionist, their energy was off the charts, and they cajoled concert goers into building a human pyramid with ten people that the rest of the audience then started a circle pit around. It was one of […]

Posted inMusic

The Portland Mercury’s Back on Spotify, Baby!

This is huge for the community, trust us. 
Avatar photo Nolan Parker

Well well well, what do we have here? Why, it’s the relaunched Portland Mercury Spotify account of course!  We’re dropping three heater playlists on you today with many more coming down the pipe in the weeks/months/years to come! These highly curated playlists have been pulled together by real Portland humans who care deeply about your […]

Posted inMusic

Photo Review: Alien Boy vs. Grails

Two rad Portland bands, one night… Choose your fighter! 
Avatar photo Nolan Parker

Whose idea was it to hold release shows for Alien Boy and Grails on the same night, at different venues a mile apart? I’d like to speak to your manager, please! On May 9, Alien Boy unveiled their incredibly fun, emotionally vast You Wanna Fade? at Polaris Hall with LA’s Phony, and Conspire doing their […]

Posted inMercury Music Picks

Mercury Music Picks: Hyperpop’s Enfant Terrible Alice Longyu Gao and Berlin Darling Nils Frahm at It Again

Plus electronic music daddies, PNW favorites, and Portland music news! 
Avatar photo Nolan Parker

Jesus, it’s already mid-May! Time’s not linear but this year is just whizzing by! I hope everyone kissed their mammies, buried the hatchet, or were able to do something nice for themselves on Sunday! Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and birthdays are celebrations of life that—even if you don’t get on with your parents or dislike […]

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