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Nolan Parker

Nolan Parker is the Mercury’s former music editor.
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?
Avatar photo Nolan Parker

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.
Avatar photo Nolan Parker

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! 
Avatar photo Nolan Parker

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.
Avatar photo Nolan Parker

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 […]

Posted inMusic

Gang of Four Bassist Dave Allen Has Died

The Portland music juggernaut was 69, and had struggled with dementia. 
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On April 5, Portland lost another champion of music with the passing of Dave Allen at 69. Allen was an early member of influential post-punk band Gang of Four, writing and recording their first two albums—Entertainment! and Solid Gold—in 1979 and 1981 respectively. Along with their contemporaries, like Talking Heads and ESG, Gang of Four […]

Posted inMusic

The Top 10 Releases to Seek Out on Record Store Day 2025!

Pharoah Sanders, Charli xcx, Sunn O))), and more to throw on your turntable!
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Record Store Day (RSD)—the Black Friday for music nerds—started out in 2008 as a way to revitalize interest in vinyl and physical record stores. Initially it was a pretty rad yearly event, and an excuse to issue rereleases of out-of-print albums, along with special editions of newer records on vinyl. Some of these could only […]

Posted inMercury Music Picks

Mercury Music Picks: Etran de L’Aïr Lights Up Wonder Ballroom, An Oregon Music Hall of Fame Benefit Show, and Roseblood’s Record Release Party

Plus two American Sign Language performances, some Cali hardcore, and vaporwave is back??
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It’s really starting to feel like Portland spring up in here: One day you’re hiking Dog Mountain in short shorts, hitting Sugar Pine and the Sandy River on the way back into town. The next day, it’s head-to-toe rain gear hustling yourself down to Holocene to catch Crystal Quartez’s record release show after Kraftwerk at […]

Posted inFood and Drink

Keeper Coffee Opens Its Second Location in Milwaukie

The two-story beauty is about to be your new favorite destination cafe.
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There’s been a tectonic shift in the world of cafe build-outs the last few years that, in my opinion, is an extremely welcome change. It seems as though we’ve moved away from the sterile, almost lab-like cafes back to the more comfortable, welcoming atmosphere of ’90s coffee houses—all without taking a hit to coffee or […]

Posted inMusic

The Apple of Portland’s Eye, Michael Hurley Passes Away at 83

Listen to the outsider folk hero’s songs today and always. 
Avatar photo Nolan Parker

One of the brightest lights in Portland’s music constellation has gone out. It was announced this past Thursday that Michael Hurley, aka Doc Snock, passed from this temporal plane suddenly and peacefully on April 1, 2025 at the age of 83. Hurley wove his incomparable simplistic genius deeply into the fabric of Portland’s folk and […]

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