Dear readers,
I have finally arrived back in the Mercury office after a cool 19 days on the road. As glamorous as DIY tour life can be (sleeping on floors, squeezing into a car like a sardine, etc.) it is also incredibly fulfilling (I definitely teared up at every show thinking about how lucky I am to travel and play music with my best friends). All that to say, I’m happy to be back in Portland and am ready to spend this brisk pumpkin-flavored-everything-filled fall discovering new sounds. A big thanks to Holly Hazelwood for helping me curate the Music Picks these past weeks! As I’m still catching up and getting grounded, I’m rolling out more selects this week with her help, spanning from classical cello to high-spirited hip-hop.
Saturday, October 3-Sunday October 4
Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5
For fans of Yo-Yo Ma, Tunde Jegede, Tina Guo
This is the last Oregon Symphony production of 2026, and if you’re a fan of classical in any way, you won’t want to miss it. A unique feature, this symphony includes a spotlight on renowned cellist Abel Selacoe. The performance marks the West Coast premiere of These Righteous Paths, a piece co-commissioned by the Oregon Symphony and composed specifically for Selacoe by Grammy Award-winning composer Jessie Montgomery. Also featured is Glinka’s Overture to Ruslan and Ludmilla, and of course the famous Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5.
(Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway, $39-$55, more info, all ages)
Sunday, October 4
hey, nothing
For fans of Pinegrove, Big Thief, Wilco
In 2025, I skipped the chance to see Built to Spill for the umpteenth time at a festival to take a chance on the infectious Georgian duo of Tyler Mabry and Harlow Phillips. I’ve never seen a crowd dance and mosh to a band that they, too, had just discovered with quite as much gusto. Their blend of bedroom pop and Midwest emo was perfectly captured on last month’s Hound, the best record they’ve made yet. It’s a miracle they’re still playing venues as small as the Hawthorne, but if I have any say in the matter, they won’t be for much longer.
(Hawthorne Theatre, 1507 SE Cesar E. Chavez, $33.89, more info, all ages) HOLLY HAZELWOOD
Monday, October 5
An Evening With Geordie Greep
For fans of black midi, Héctor Lavoe, Willie Colón
The former black midi frontman is many things: a cantankerous samba-addict, a purveyor of vivid storytelling from the POVs of incels and creeps, and the guy turning the nation’s youths onto jazz-rock and Willie Colón records. 2024’s The New Sound is one of the more singular experiences to come along in the last few years, and Greep’s last Portland show in support of that record was a three-hour odyssey that left us wanting even more. The Greepster’s return is a classic “Evening With” setup, meaning you can count on another mega-sized block of virtuosic, cross-genre bangers that make the title The New Sound seem far less self-aggrandizing.
(Revolution Hall, 1300 SE Stark, 8 pm, $34.41, more info, all ages) HH
Tuesday, October 6
Jane Removers
For fans of underscores, lucy bedroque, 2hollis
Last year, I saw an outdoor Jane Remover set that lasted exactly 30 minutes. During that time, Remover climbed the stage’s scaffolding barefoot, screamed “WHERE’S MY WIFE?!?!” in the faces of everyone they could reach, and drank champagne out of their high heel. They also made every trans person within earshot sob at noon on a Friday with a rendition of “Claw Machine,” a song they performed in the film I Saw the TV Glow. Remover headlining a show in Portland in a room as big as Revolution Hall feels long overdue, and the joy of seeing a trans person taking over such a space is, frankly, truly goddamn inspiring. If you aren’t feeling up for the weekly T4T Social at the Worker’s Tap just up the street, this is truly the best alternative.
(Revolution Hall, 1300 SE Stark, 8 pm, $40.31, more info, all ages) HH
Friday, October 9
Lyrics Born
For fans of Jurassic 5, Latyrx, Aceyalone
Are you the type of person who loves hip-hop, but misses when it was a lot more cartoonish and goofy? You’re in luck: Bay Area legend Lyrics Born will be returning to Portland after a pair of excellent sets at this year’s Pickathon to deliver a bevy of hits about smoking weed (with or without your lady), the joys of rapping, and being the bringer of great vibes to any party he steps into. His stage presence is goddamn infectious, a reminder of a bygone era in rap when being a rapper was supposed to be really fun. Plus: he’ll have a backing band with him, one of the best choices any rapper can make!
(The Den, 116 SE Yamhill St, 8 pm, $32.44, more info, 21+) HH