What does it feel like to hear new music by a cherished artist who has passed away? How do we hold memories of a childhood we barely remember? Who decides how individuals identify and what we call ourselves? Heavy questions on a sunny summer day in July that certainly aren't answered in this week's Mercury Music Picks, but are simply brought to the fore and the clouds pass by overhead.
There's a lot happening this week through the end of August. You ready?
Wednesday, July 9
Patricia Wolf / Edward Pack Davee / Carly Barton
For fans of Ann Annie, Omni Gardens, Loscil
Hrafnamynd, the stunning documentary by Portland-based experimental filmmaker Edward Pack Davee, was released last year. Now the film’s stunning score by Portland-based ambient musician Patricia Wolf is being released as a standalone album via Barcelona record label Balmat. Like Hrafnamynd the documentary, Hrafnamynd the album builds worlds within worlds examining how we—collectively and individually—process and carry memory. This very special event will feature a screening of the film, a live performance by Wolf, a Q&A with the artists, and a DJ set by Carly Barton. (Holocene, 8 pm, tickets here, 21+)
Related: We spoke to Patricia Wolf and Edward Pack Davee ahead of the album release about memory, sound design, and more here.
C Powers / Cay Horiuchi / Leeonn
For fans of Doon Kanda, free DJ sets, dancing in the day
C Powers, a powerful force in Portland’s currently exploding electronic music scene, released a new full length album this year that goes so incredibly hard, you’ll be out of your homes and into the streets. Poignantly named Unlawful Assembly, the album features protest sound clips over pixelated micro-beats, and subdued low-end bass on tracks titled “I Will Not Live In A Fascist State” and “Defund and Abolish.” This is the kind of music Portland (and the world) needs right now. Presented by Canyon Vibration and Mount Tabor Dance Collective, the lineup is rounded out by Cay Horiuchi and Leeonn. (Laurelhurst Park, 6 pm, FREE, all ages)
Missouri Executive Order 44 / Sea Moss / Gun Shy / Unspeakable Carnage
For fans of June of 44, Botch, Trigger Object
Of the Missouri Executive Order 44 the order, Wikipedia says, “known as the Mormon Extermination Order, [it] was a state executive order issued by Missouri Governor Lilburn Boggs on October 27, 1838, in response to the Battle of Crooked River,” continuing, “Governor Boggs directed that ‘the Mormons must be treated as enemies, and must be exterminated or driven from the State if necessary for the public peace—their outrages are beyond all description.’” So true. Of Missouri Executive Order 44 the band, I say they fucking rip! Their new Split Seven Inch rips, the openers rip, and (I’ve heard) High Limit Room rips! (High Limit Room, 7 pm, tickets here, all ages)
Sunday, July 13
Modular on the Spot
For fans of free synth and hardware shows in a park
Presented by the socialist angels Synth Library Portland, Modular on the Spot is a monthly event hosted at idyllic outdoor settings across the Portland area featuring an ever-rotating cast of some of Portland’s best, most audacious, most out there electronic musicians all for free! July’s MOTS gathers together Porcelain Girls, Mandonno Productions, Half Gate, Cave Cricket, Eric Schlappi, Noct/Fang for three+ hours of modular and live hardware sounds in the green serenity that is Kenilworth Park. Again, this is a free event—that said, it takes a lot of time, energy, and money to produce these events and keep Synth Library Portland going, please consider donating if you can! (Kenilworth Park, 6 pm, FREE (but actually donate here), all ages)
Monday, July 14
Macy Gray
For fans of Tina Turner, Tracy Champman, Amy Winehouse
Celebrating the 25th anniversary of her 1999 opus, On How Life Is—truly one of the greatest albums of the Y2K era—Macy Gray will be playing the monolith in its glorious entirety. There’s sex, there’s murder, there’s God, and there’s the eternal battle of good and evil, love and devastation, all delivered by Gray’s unmistakable raspy soul vocal stylings. Without hesitation I can say this is one of my favorite albums of all time, truly zero skips across the entire release. That said, Macy Gray did spout off some ignorant transphobic malarky back in 2022 that she has since walked back, going public with an apology saying that she has learned from the experience and will continue to educate herself. How very “I Try” of her. (Crystal Ballroom, 8 pm, tickets here, all ages)
Also very worth it…
Tropical Fuck Storm / J.R.C.G. at Aladdin Theater - July 8, tickets here
Crush on Everyone featuring Alien Boy DJ set / Sadder Star / DJ Tanner at Turn! Turn! Turn! - July 9, FREE
The Shivas / Supreme Joy / Shox at Kenton Club - July 10, tickets at the door
Thomass Jackson / Wormbox at High Water Mark - July 11, tickets at the door
Family Worship Center / Gill Brothers Band / Graham Farrow at Showdown Saloon - July 11, tickets here
Swam Dogg / Celebrity Telethon at Star Theater - July 12, tickets here
Neffa-T / Brux / Plus at Holocene - July 12, tickets here
Bradley Zero / Ginkgo / Symcty at Process - July 12, tickets here
Intro to Modular Synthesis for Women, Femmes, and Non-Binary Folks at Synth Library Portland - July 13, FREE
Dustbunny / Dolly Creamer / Nonbinary Girlfriend at Lollipop Shoppe - July 13, tickets here
Mealworm / Floating Clouds / Starbird at High Water Mark - July 13, tickets here
Portland Music News:
Finished in March 2025, Broken Homes and Gardens is the last new music Michael Hurley recorded before leaving this temporal plane on April 1, 2025. The music doesn't sound new or old, nor do the vocals—they're timeless, forever, just like the man himself. This is the first of what is sure to be many posthumous releases of the Doc's music. Pre-order the album here and cherish it.
