We in the thick of it now, y’all! Project Pabst and Pickathon are right around the corner, the summer concerts are heating up at the Square and Edgefield, and being in and around water is top priority. 

Like many in Portland, I love cruising around the PNW in summer visiting friends and family, losing myself in the insane diversity of the bioregion, and making the most of this vitamin D we’re being gifted. And though gathering stories of past lives and creating new ones is the spice of life that must flow, I am so deeply ready to be in Portland for the rest of the season, locking in with Portland’s music and the weirdos making it. What say you?

Tuesday, July 22

Obedient / Gaytheist / Conspire

For fans of Cerce, Necking, Rabbits

Thank god for Obedient because we need more supergroups in Portland. The band consists of members of Black Shelton and Help, and a sick tattoo artist—they all rule. The snarling callouts of frontwoman Lacey Karbomb are easily interchangeable with a tone of feigned innocence before the whole band dunks our asses in a bucket of sloppy noise-punk. This is the tuffest all-gender pit in Portland, NO CREEPS! The mustached menaces in Gaytheist pummel us mere mortals in the middle spot, with Conpsire’s Euro-inspired post-punk opening the whole night up. This show is the album release party for Obedient’s new one, Rastafarsi, as well as being the tour sendoff for them and Conspire. (Mississippi Studios, 8 pm, more info here, 21+)


Wednesday, July 23

of Montreal / Bijoux Cone

For fans of the Unicorns, Grandaddy, Broadcast

Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer is one of two of the first brand new vinyl records I ever bought as a teen (the other being Panda Bear’s Person Pitch), of Montreal has meant a lot to me for a very long time. They gave me, and I’m sure a lot of other queer youth living in rural AmeriKKKa, license to be flamboyant, wear skin tight “girl jeans,” and express gender outside what is ascribed to “boys” and “men.” Their over the top stage presence, too-camp-for-words costumes, and maximalist avant-pop sound are the stuff of glamour legend—I reckon they’ve been single handedly keeping the feathered boa industry going for well over a decade. Not one to be outdone, opener Bijoux Cone brings her own high femme benzo-pop energy to the extremely danceable evening. (Wonder Ballroom, 7:30 pm, more info here, all ages)

Friday, July 25

Dance the Dream: Into the Visual Realm of Kate Bush

For fans of arthouse film, golden era MTV nostalgia, goddesses taking human form

Guided by the immaculate curatorial prowess of Holocene talent buyer Gina Altamura (AKA DJ Serious Moonlight), Tomorrow Theater and XRAY.fm have teamed up to screen The Line, The Cross, The Curve. Singer-songwriter high priestess Kate Bush wrote, directed, and starred in the 43-minute visual accompaniment to her 1993 studio album The Red Shoes. Included in the evening’s delights are specially selected music videos from Bush’s oeuvre touching on the otherworldly femininity of the artist that, dare I say it, is present in us all. Run up that hill to bust some clouds with your babushka! Feel the red shoes kicking inside your sexual healing! (Tomorrow Theater, 7 pm, more info here, all ages) 

Friday, July 26 & Saturday, July 27

Project Pabst

For fans of the reformation of iconic Portland punk bands, the reformation of iconic Mid-West emo bands, and other good music

Project Pabst is back with a vengeance this year, hungry to prove it’s Portland’s favorite music festival. The lineup is unbelievably stacked with a conscious energy switch between the two days, allowing you to choose your own adventure between the more punk sets of day one and the indie-emo joy of day two. First day fest faves include Iggy Pop, Devo, the Damned, the Exploding Hearts, and Mannequin Pussy—these headliners are bonkers in-and-of-themselves, but the fact we’re being treated to an Exploding Hearts reunion show is not only exploding my heart but my mind as well! Day two’s lineup is the perfect comedown from the high octane of day one, featuring sets by Death Cab for Cutie, Cap’n Jazz, Dustbunny, and more. I don’t care what you too-cool-for-school jabronis say about Death Cab, they rip; I never thought I would get to see Cap’n Jazz live; and Dustbunny are one of Portland’s best bands right now. (Tom McCall Waterfront Park, July 26–27, more info here, 21+)

Related: Check out our more expansive breakdown of Project Pabst 2025 and have a listen to the playlist we pulled together for the occasion below!

Also very worth it


Adam Miller / Jeff Schroeder / Ilyas Ahmed at Holocene - July 23, more info here

Tranq / Spurr / Cherub Chains / Wise Guy / Likewise / 7 Dragons at High Limit Room - July 25, more info here

Parliament-Funkadelic ft. George Clinton at Cuthbert Amphitheater - July 25, more info here

No Quiet Hours Fundraiser at The Off Beat - July 25 & 26, more info here

Mary Yuzovskaya / Andrew Paris / Wave4ms at Process - July 26, more info here

Shana Cleveland / Will Sprott at Showdown Saloon - July 28, more info here

Portland Music News:

Lollipop Shoppe launched their “Monday Night Live” music series yesterday with body rocking, soul shaking performances by reggae legends the Abyssinians, local homies Dreckig, and the Impact Sound DJs bringing the heat. And get this, there’s post-show karaoke! This is a really sick addition to Portland’s blooming free music landscape in the wake of the death of Rontoms Sunday Sessions.