Mercury Music Picks

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 […]

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, […]

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 […]

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 […]

Two days ago, as I was hauling the last loads out of the charred remains of my old, burnt out apartment building, a stranger who had been watching me from the bar next door came out to offer condolences for my having lost my home. Giving me a hug, they said they had put $10 […]

It should come as no surprise that as the weather gets better, our calendars become more full. If there wasn’t so much to be done here at the Mercury, this round-up would be double what you see here before you today! That said, these shows are the cream of the absolute crop this week, trust. […]

This Mercury Music Picks goes out to all the soggy ladies, all the soggy ladies! It’s been wet out there lately and yet, I keep going to all these shows and they keep getting packed out—y’all do be making this music editor emotional. But wait, there’s more! More shows to go check out, more sights […]

Spring is springing, festival announce season is in full swing, and there are so many shows popping off in Portland, it’s bananas! As ever, the Portland Mercury has rounded up what, in our humble opinions, are the best music happenings in town that we believe are worth your time, coin, and attention. Go to as […]

The reason Portland has such an expansive music ecosystem is not luck, it’s because a lot of hard working people are deeply passionate about music—live music specifically—and pour themselves into making live music accessible and fun. Don’t take that for granted, y’all! Without the support of the greater Portland community—going to shows, buying records and […]

If you want something to do besides watching the puddles gather rain, then this week’s Mercury Music Picks round-up is for you! With the continuation of PDX Jazz Festival, lots of local and national punk, and a DJ from South Africa pulling into town, there’s literally something for everyone. Plus, we’ve added a local music […]

Welcome to the (re)launch of Mercury  Music Picks! Every week we’ll sift through the sea of concerts, gigs, and shows to let you know what’s really good in Portland. This week we’ve got three(!) local artists hosting album release gigs and the Queen of Neo Soul, Erykah Badu, pulling up to town. See you in […]

Do you ever have that thing where you’ve had a cold for a week and a half, but then you have to listen to At the Drive-In—just to make sure it still rules? I am here—wrapped up in a blanket burrito—fist-pumping this edition of Mercury Music Picks with the vigor of a one-armed scissor. In […]