Suzette Smith

Suzette Smith

Suzette Smith is the arts & culture editor of the Portland Mercury. Go ahead and tell her about all your food, art, and culture gripes: suzette@portlandmercury.com. Follow her on Twitter, Bluesky, and Letterboxd.

Recent Articles

Where's Portland Music Month This Year?

MusicPortland put the annual celebration on pause for 2025, citing complications from the election and a desire to expand its vision.

The Mercury's Favorite Culture Moments of 2024

Doing something stupid in Ladds, dressing up for the movies, and finding catharsis at live shows, et al.

The Mercury's Favorite Books of 2024

On this list, revolutionary writings share space with Portland zombies and memories of the Barefoot Contessa

Movies & TV Nov 20 3:07 PM

Film Review: In Heretic and Don't Move Meek Heroines Fawn and Freeze

This fall, femmes find new ways to survive.

Last-Minute Gifts from PDX Airport—That Are Actually Great

In Portland even our airport presents are thoughtful, lovely, and local.

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Food and Drink Nov 11 4:30 PM

Secret Aardvark Drops Hot Nut News

The Portland-area hot sauce company celebrated 20 years of flavorful, spicy sauciness with a new snack.

Music Nov 8 11:00 AM

Screaming With Meaning: The Definitive Blood Brothers Lyrics Q & A

Ahead of the hardcore band's sold out show at Revolution Hall, Johnny Whitney and Jordan Blilie tell us what the group's intense, abstract song lyrics really mean.

Food and Drink Oct 29 12:34 PM

Could the James Beard Public Market Rise From the Corpse of Corporate Failure?

Long envisioned as Portland's version of Seattle's Pike Place, the market would also provide an answer to downtown’s dearth of fresh produce.

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Theater & Performance Oct 19 10:30 AM

Mikki Gillette's Hero's / Healer's Journey Begins With a Content Warning

 No More Candy is charming and adorable, even as its characters work through very heavy traumas.

Mercury Music Picks Oct 16 3:30 PM

Mercury Music Picks: Once Chance To See That At the Drive-In Doc in Portland

Erykah Badu headlines the 2025 PDX Jazz Festival, and we have NEW Haley Heynderickx songs—INCOMING!

TBA Sep 13 4:07 PM

TBA Review: Goner Contains Some of the Best Booty-Shaking You'll Ever See

Is Malik Nashad Sharpe's choreography a means of torture, escape, or memory?

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Theater & Performance Sep 9 4:47 PM

TBA Review: Te Moana Meridian Proposes Moving the Prime Meridian

Sam Hamilton makes a solid proposal; Mere Tokorahi Boynton sings it in te reo Māori.

Fall Arts 2024 Sep 5 4:00 AM

The Portland Mercury's Fall Arts Guide: Your Rx for Art

Art stories, fall performances, a calendar of cool shows, and a dog in a tiny backpack!

Fall Arts 2024 Sep 5 3:54 AM

Keller Auditorium Conundrum

After a punt from City Hall, the fate of the Portland theater scene's crown jewel is still up in the air.

Fall Arts 2024 Sep 5 3:36 AM

Portland Summer—Reviewed

A deeply subjective account of music events we attended and what we thought of them.

Fall Arts 2024 Sep 5 3:32 AM

How Lola Milholland Cooked Up Group Living and Other Recipes

It’s a memoir. It’s a cookbook. It’s a combination memoir cookbook.

Culture Aug 15 12:30 PM

City of Portland Gets Back With the RACC to Distribute Small Arts Grants

After last year's contentious fallout between the the Regional Arts & Culture Council and Commissioner Dan Ryan's office, many worried RACC would be shut out.

Pickathon Aug 8 6:01 PM

Pickathon 2024 Maintains the Live Music Magic

The farm music fest sent everyone home with a new favorite band—we were surprised to find plenty were from Portland!