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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 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. 
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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 […]

Posted inMovies & TV

Film Review: Björk’s Cornucopia Is What a Concert Film Should Be

How is it possible to be a literal deity while so deeply human?
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From 2019 to late 2023, Björk toured her immersive audio-visual concert experience Cornucopia around the world. The concerts clocked in at almost two hours, with the Icelandic goddess singing and dancing onstage the entire show. Sadly, the Pacific Northwest wasn’t a stop on the tour, but there’s now another way to experience the abundant splendor […]

Posted inMercury Music Picks

Mercury Music Picks: Uh Oh, Portland’s Alien Boy and Grails Host Album Release Parties the Same Night!

Plus the stacked lineup at St. Johns Bizzare and the nostalgia of the Jesus Lizard, Alison Moyet, and Slowdive
Avatar photo Nolan Parker

God damn, god damn, god damn—as Beyoncé would say—there’s a lotta stellar music being made in Portland right now! Longtime Rip City psych-outs, Grails drop their new album May 16 while up-and-coming pop-punkers Alien Boy drop their new one May 9. And while that’s all well and good, whose idea was it for them to […]

Posted inMercury Music Picks

Mercury Music Picks: Michael Hurley Memorial and Björk in Portland??

Plus big rave energy, hardcore, and Portland music news.
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Mercury Music Picks is all-city, baby! There’re shows represented in this week’s MMP in all five quadrants. There’s not much better in this life than catching an early show, jumping on your bike to mash across town, and arriving just in time to catch another band you’ve been dying to see. We rag on our […]

Posted inCity Guide 2025

Things To Do And See With EBT

Arts For All makes checking out many of the city’s cultural institutions a lot less expensive!
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[Read all of the articles in our Portland Fun Guide HERE! Looking for a print copy? Look at this handy-dandy map!—eds.] Did you know that as someone receiving food and/or cash assistance from the State of Oregon, you are automatically able to take advantage of the Arts For All—a program that allows EBT cardholders (the card […]

Posted inMercury Music Picks

Mercury Music Picks: Cyberplasm and Help Get Loud in Old Town

Plus Beacon Sound takes over Sou’Wester, three must-sees at Holocene, and Portland music news! 
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On god, this is the last time I claim this to be the most poppin’ week for live music in Portland! Because I reckon every week from now until October will be The Most Poppin’ week for live shows in Portland. That said, this coming week does have one of the gigs of the year, […]

Posted inMusic

Album Review: The Blue Knots Share Their Sun-Dappled Debut Becoming Noise

The new project’s micro-beat exploration is now your spring soundtrack.
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For fans of Broadcast, Stereolab, Darci Phenix The intrinsic pursuit of understanding and connection is deeply embedded in the works of Portland (and Nevada City) based multidisciplinary artist Danielle Stech-Homsy; her new project—the Blue Knots—releases its sun-dappled debut album, Becoming Noise, on April 25.  Dating back to her work as Rio en Medio in the […]

Posted inMercury Music Picks

Mercury Music Picks: Black Water’s Back, These Fucking Hands Last Show, and a New Performance by Yelling Choir

Plus reunited slowcore bands, Extradition’s spring concert, and Portland music news!
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Remember when I called last week the busiest week in Portland music of the year? Well, that was last week and this is this week, hunnies! The next seven days are beyond packed with potential gigs to see, and we’ve got the cream of Portland’s crop laid out for you below. Don’t forget: Just as […]

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