Whether you’re looking for a new local album to get into, a promising live show, or just a reason to get out of the house, we’ve got you covered. This week’s Hear in Portland has us ready to fuck up the night—at an upcoming party celebrating Beyoncé’s dance music masterpiece, to a new full-length from Snugsworth, and in anticipation of a spring headliner visit from Kingsley.
MUST-SEE:
Can’t miss upcoming events.
RENAISSANCE / RENAIDDANCE: Celebrating Beyoncè’s Latest Masterpiece
In need of an excuse to move your body to Beyoncé on a weekday? As is so often the case, an upcoming dance party at Holocene shall provide. The evening’s goal is “celebrating Beyoncé’s latest masterpiece,” Renaissance, as well as the house music, disco, techno, and ballroom scenes that inspired it. And the prospect is damn near irresistible. Clubgoers should come expecting to hear every last song from the album and more—from empowerment anthems like “Cozy,” and “Alien Superstar” to the Afrobeat-infusion on “Heated”—to the love-drunk “Cuff It,” to the six-minute-long “Virgo’s Groove,” to the exceedingly vogue-worthy “Pure/Honey.” Hit the high rollin’ “America Has a Problem” ready to grind. (Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison, Wed, January 18, 9 pm, $15 adv, $20 day of event, tickets here, 21+)
MUST LISTEN:
New release(s) from a Portland-relevant artist.
The Elephant in the Room, Snugsworth
Snugsworth’s production credit is likely already familiar to you from the dancehall-informed beat for A$AP Ferg’s “Shabba,” and/or frequent collaborations with neo-soul singer (and fellow Portlander) Blossom. But the artist’s solo catalog has been consistently growing over the last few years, too. Following up 2020’s Fleeting Moments, 2021’s Femboy, and several demos and one-off singles from last year, the Houston-to-Portland transplant released The Elephant in the Room at the top of the New Year. On this latest project, not one of these 16 tracks makes it over three minutes long, and we’re loving the stark contrast between songs like the melancholy “It Hurts,” which directly precedes a stoned and shivering “Paranoid,” in which Snugs raps “Who that knocking at the door, Got me tweaking / If that’s 12, look, please don’t let them in / I be paranoid, I can’t even trust my friends.”
ADDED TO THE QUEUE:
Some upcoming music buzz to put on your radar.
Kingsley
Kingsley is the music project of singer-songwriter Moe Lincoln, who moved to Portland from Chicago in 2016, and found a home in the city’s music community for several years—working for independent venues like The Old Church and the Roseland Theater. While Kingsley recently relocated to London, the genre-fluid singer is back in town in March to headline this show, aptly named Phone Home. Expect to hear Kingsley slay songs like “Ghost” and the blues- and folk-influenced “Without You” from her 2018 EP, I Am Because I Am, and hopefully catchy highlights like “All Me (featuring Haley Johnsen)” from her 2021 studio album Crying on Holidays. Gospel-, folk-, and soul-inspired singer-songwriter Amy Evans provides support to the bill, along with new wave pop band Camp Crush. (Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi Studios, Sat March 4, 8 pm, $15, tickets here, 21+)
