Happy new you! Welcome to 2026, you absolute smoke shows! Did we all get home safe after our NYE functions? I barely made it out alive, not because of intoxication, but because the Forty Feet Tall boys and the Nonbinary Girlfriend theys tore it the fuck up at Trouble Bar so deeply it was hard to walk after. And then three days later, Dustbunny almost sold out Mississippi Studios for their record release party (and I mean party), with Femme Cell and Pileup. Both gigs went hard—house show style—distilling the renaissance energy that was Portland 2025, imbuing the first few days of 2026 with an incredible hit of dopamine. Massive shouts to all those bands, both those venues, and to everyone who showed up to support any local music during this “slow” time of year. 2026 LFGGGGGGG!
Jabronis do be saying this is the slow part of the year, that there’s not a ton of music happening in Portland (or wherever jabronis live—Spokane? Northern Idaho?). I, and the Mercury, absolutely beg to differ. A few shows I’ve been looking forward to for months are happening later in January (Berlin-based Portlander Colin Self at Mississippi, Cate Le Bon at Rev Hall, and Steve Reich’s Counterpoints at Hopscotch), and this week is no slouch in the sack either with… well, you’ll just have to keep reading if you wanna find out.Â
Tuesday, January 6Â
The Passion of Joan of Arc live-scored by Lori Goldston
For fans of cello drones, silent film, biblical reckoningÂ
Seattle cello godhead Lori Goldston has been on a Portland tear the last couple months. She cruised down the corridor in October to play several sets at Improvisation Summit of Portland, and live-scored the 1911 Italian silent film L’Inferno with Corey J. Brewer at Tomorrow Theater in December. For this, her first 2026 appearance in the Rose City, Goldston tackles the 81-minute film The Passion of Joan of Arc. This is your chance to see a live score for the 1928 French film that Mercury film critic Dom Sinacola is saying “had a prominent influence on Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning (2012),” and what Minto Press mastermind Meredith Adams is calling “ACAB cannon.” (Hollywood Theatre, 6:30 pm, more info here, all ages)
Friday, January 9Â
Keeks / Cosmos Dark / Yawa
For fans of Mykki Blanco, D’Angelo, SassyBlack
If you haven’t picked up on it yet, there’s a powerful current of both Black and trans musicians flowing through this city, challenging perceptions of the largely white (and cis male) dominated scenes of Portland. R&B doll Keeks dropped her massive album Gwendolyn last year that, if I was more on top of it, would have been included in the Mercury’s Best Albums of 2025. On the album, Keeks’ silky-smooth vocals disarm and refresh with look-me-in-the-eyes honesty that might draw a blush as your panties hit the floor. On album hard-hitter “The Chillest, Pt. 1,” Keeks lets you know and expects you to remember her rapping ain't a game: “I do not do blow, I am a fucking lady / If I’m in your venue, you gon’ fuckin’ pay me.” Black futurist experimentalists Cosmos Dark and Yawa bring a powerfully nourishing femme energy in the opening slots. (Swan Dive, 8 pm, more info here, 21+)
At First, At First / My Point of You / Swiss Army Wife / ¡Gonzales!
For fans of Everyone Asked About You, Pretty Girls Make Graves, Rainer Maria
Eighties and ’90s alternative music changed the game forever. There was grunge, new wave, shoegaze, hip-hop, goth, hardcore, nu metal, and on and on. Most of those genres sank into the background, but have had big resurgences in the last decade. “But what about emo?” *holding gun to back of astronaut’s head* “Emo never left...” Though it has gone through several waves. From the early Rites of Spring days, to the second wave of Braid and Cap’n Jazz, to the Warped Tour 2005 mainstays The Used and From First To Last, emo has continually reinvented itself to remain on the fringes of the underground. Champions of the genre, Portland-based bookers Mallbrawlreds are bringing the Texas emo outfits At First, At First and My Point of You through town—two femme-fronted bands that would’ve been right at home touring the Midwest emo circuit of the ’90s, proving that Texas is, in fact, the reason. Local legends Swiss Army Wife pull up too, shouting one of my favorite lines of all time on their track “Aight, I’mma Head Out”: “It’s a basement, not a gated community.” Setting it off, bringing the brown sound are Portland’s ¡Gonzales! Better get to the gig early. (Leaven Community Center, 7 pm, more info here, all ages)
Friday, January 9 - Saturday, January 31Â
Color & Sound vol. 4
For fans of visual and aural stimulation when it’s needed most
Feeling SAD? Need something to look forward to during January? May we suggest Clinton Street Theater’s fourth installment of Color & Sound. On select Fridays this month, Clinton Street will be screening vivid, loud films to brighten up what some are calling the first month of 2026. The aging flamboyance of Swan Song, the riotous Zoot Suit, a Jeff Buckley documentary, BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions’ Portland premiere, a jukebox documentary, and Mira Nair’s Mississippi Masala are the crown jewels of the series. (Clinton Street Theater, 7 pm, more info here, all ages)
Sunday, January 11
Ragana / Drowse / RhododendronÂ
For fans of Wolves in the Throne Room, Earth, Bell Witch
There’s something about the Pacific Northwest that lends itself to the creation of dark, heavy music burning with catharsis. It’s probably all the low skies and cold and wet, huh? Lucky for us, the Olympia Indigi-queers Ragana and the Portland-based drone manipulator Drowse have banded together, releasing Ash Souvenir late last year. As both bands—and black metal in general—are want to do, the album is filled with gorgeous slow-builds that evolve into anthemic shredding and guttural screaming. This is regional music of the highest order, heavy hangs the head that misses this first Portland excavation of the album. (Mississippi Studios, 8 pm, more info here, 21+)
Also very worth it…
Isabeau Waia’u Walker & The Noise Boys / Port Velvet at Mississippi Studios - Jan 9, more info here
theyhungusfrompowerlines / Middling / For You Always For You / Pretending / It’s You! It’s Me! And There’s Dancing! at Alleyway - Jan 9, more info here
Silicon Radio ft. Batom and Crochet at Company - Jan 9, more info here
DJ Manny at Barn Radio - Jan 10, more info here
Dyke Nite ft. Stas Thee Boss and DJ Aspen at Nova - Jan 10, more info here
Larry Beckett at Music Millenium - Jan 10, more info here
Swing Girls at Tomorrow Theater - Jan 10, more info here
Fundamental / Body Shame / Laughing About Nothing / Long Deer at Wyrd Hut - Jan 10, more info here
Hedwig and The Angry Inch at Tomorrow Theater - Jan 11, more info here
Portland Music News:Â
Pickathon 2026 may feel like a long way off from early January, but it'll be here before you know it. And, to put a little pep in your step, festival tickets are going on sale for the cheapest you'll find this Wednesday, January 7 at 10 am. As a super special treat, Cole Gann of Forty Feet Tall is featured at the top of Pickathon's ticket portal, and who wouldn't pay to see that? (P.S. Scroll to the bottom of the page and sign up for their newsletter to get an extra $15 off.)
