Hey Portland, you okay? Just a few weeks in, 2024 is already feeling like a doozy. For local music fans who are enjoying their regained electricity and freedom, here are some new developments, events, and upcoming music buzz to anticipate Hear in Portland!
MUST SEE:
Upcoming local event(s) featuring local artist(s).
WRK!
New band alert! Improvisational vocalist and one-woman soul band Amenta Abioto (Yawa), has joined forces with Brown Alice (Vaughn Kimmons of interplanetary post-soul and experimental jazz duo Brown Calculus), and LA-based soul musician Jacque Hammond to form a trio called WRK!. The group is set to make their live debut on January 26, and we couldn’t be more stoked to hear the supergroup’s sound. Abioto announced the band’s formation and upcoming debut on Yawa’s Instagram, dancing comedically to “original audio,” which is presumably a beat from the band’s forthcoming releases. The TikTok-style video also announced a few upcoming performances: WRK!’s debut show at Jack London, a solo Yawa show on February 4 at Portland Art Museum with Rejoice! Diaspora Dance, a Yawa performance on February 10 at Tomorrow Theater, and a February 29 show at Holocene where Yawa supports headliner Roman Norfleet And Be Present Art Group.) (Jack London Revue, 529 SW 4th, Sat Jan 26, $15-150, tickets here, 21+)
MUST LISTEN:
New release(s) from a Portland-relevant artist.
“Wife” (VIDEO), Wynne feat. Chris Patrick
On January 18, after much teasing and anticipation, Wynne made good on her promise to release the music video for “Wife.” The single and final track from Wynne’s Some Like It Hot EP marks a change of tune from the album’s otherwise noncommittal, “hot girl summer” attitude. The music video is steamy, showcasing Wynne in scenes of domestic bliss with actor Benjamin Steinhorn—who has played her love interest in music videos before as a rejected contestant on a spoof of The Bachelorette in “High Standards” and playing boo in “Look At You.” As the video for the album’s final track winds down, Wynne begins to tease her next EP, which will be part two in the series. Sitting on the hood of a car with her fictional boo, she stares at a projected image of a globe while a new song with a familiar voice begins. This is a clear tease of a collaboration with EarthGang, which fans have been craving since Wynne supported the Atlanta hip-hop duo on their “Mirrorland” tour.
ADDED TO THE QUEUE:
Some upcoming music buzz to add to your radar.
Sleater-Kinney
Guitarists-vocalists Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein, released a new 10-track Sleater-Kinney album on January 19, titled Little Rope—their first release on Loma Vista Recordings. Before the full album dropped, the Olympia-to-Portland band teased fans with a blistering single and an accompanying one-take music video for “Untidy Creature.” The track closes out the new full-length, capping off other highlights like scorching album opener “Hell” and the fuzz-forward “Six Mistakes.” In April, the band returns to the familiar territory of Crystal Ballroom—where they played their final show before going on hiatus in 2006. It’s super sold out, but there’s always the second hand sellers. (Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside, Fri April 5, 8 pm, SOLD OUT, all ages, w/ Palehound)
