WEDNESDAY 7/13
MOUNT JOY, LITTLE STAR, OH ROSE
(Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison)Tonightâs probably the last time weâll hear from Mount Joy for a whileâthe local folk four-piece just released a three-song EP, but they're now headed into an indefinite hiatus. This bill also features hometown honeys Little Star, who released their incredible soft-punk debut, Being Close, earlier this year, and the dark folk of Olympiaâs Oh, Rose. CIARA DOLAN
FEAR OF MEN, PURO INSTINCT, PATRICIA HALL
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) Read our story on Fear of Men.
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) I was admittedly late for the Wye Oak train. When the Baltimore duo came out with their indie-folk opus Civilian (2011), I was a teenager listening almost exclusively to pop-punk, hardcore, and ska, the antithesis of the lamestream folk-pop that made superstars out of Mumford & Sons and the Lumineers. Whether it was because of my teenage angst or toxic masculinity (probably a little of both), I thought if you couldn't run around in a circle to something it wasn't worth listening to. It wasn't until listening to Titus Andronicus' The Monitor that I learned to love Wye Oak, though without knowing it. When Jenn Wasner's vocals come in on the second verse of the slow-burning ragtime piano track "To Old Friends and New," it's nothing short of chilling. Wye Oak has since released two more albums, including this year's Tween, a record full of tenderly written songs with undeniably catchy melodies that can soothe the most jaded soul. CAMERON CROWELL
THURSDAY 7/14
CHANTI DARLING, SASSYBLACK, BLOSSOM, DJ LAMAR LEROY
(Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison) Read our story on SassyBlack.
FRIDAY 7/15
FRED AND TOODY COLE, JENNY DON'T AND THE SPURS
(Revolution Hall, 1300 SE Stark) Tonight local legends Fred and Toody Cole of Dead Moon play the Revolution Hall roof deck, hopefully with a clear view of Portlandâs summertime skyline. Jenny Donât and the Spurs will join the cityâs favorite couple for a night of local country-punk rock. CD
(Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie) In the wake of his highly acclaimed fifth album, Lovers and Leavers, and a Grammy nomination for best country song (âChances Are,â covered by Lee Ann Womack), Texas-born singer/songwriter Hayes Carll brings a fantastic blend of soulful alt-country to the Aladdin Theater. Try not to choke up when he performs âThe Magic Kid,â a beautiful and haunting song about his love for his son. DOUG BROWN
(Hawthorne Theatre, 1507 SE CĂ©sar E. ChĂĄvez) Out and proud stoner/white rapper Asher Roth is making strides toward regaining relevance in the music industry, no doubt hoping to outgrow his identity as the "I Love College" guy. Since then Roth has parted ways with manager Scooter Braun and Schoolboy Records, signed to Def Jam, then left Def Jam for indie label Federal Prism, under which he released his second studio album, 2014's Retrohash. Roth's latest single, "Laundry," produced by Chuck Inglish, is the rapper's first release since February, when he dropped Rawther, the long-anticipated, rock-influenced collab EP with Nottz and Travis Barker. The fun visual for "Laundry" features Michael Christmas and Larry June as they post up at a laundromat and take turns through the verses, emphasizing the fresh-to-death scent of clean laundry. Co-headliner Larry June will join the skilled lyricist for the six-stop tour. JENNI MOORE
ROD, CHUGGER, GLACIER VEINS, TWO MOONS, LEE FAULKNER
(SMART Collective, 6923 SE Foster) Tonight's show celebrates the release of Rod's new EP, Pretty Sure, on Sound Judgment and Good Cheer Records. It's a follow-up to the local four-piece's fantastic inaugural EP, 2015's Where I Had Gone. Pretty Sure is seven songs of hook-heavy guitar rock that's scuffed up with lo-fi production and protective coatings of fuzz. "Circle Jerks" rides power chords with anxious immediacy, while "Lethal Weapon" sounds like the sonic equivalent of cartoon fights, where a brawl is just a frenzied cloud of dust with a few random limbs protruding periodically. Slow-burning standout "Whatever" is stripped down to just singer Tommy Celt and a guitarâan unexpectedly sweet intermission in the middle of the EP. It's followed by "Season One," one of the catchiest tracks I've heard from a Portland band this year. CIARA DOLAN
ATTALLA, QUEEN CHIEF, LIGHTNING RULES
(The Know, 2026 NE Alberta) Heavy times at the Know tonight, where two Portland bands will team up with a touring outfit from Wisconsin to pulverize whoever shows up and gets in the way. Lightning Rules is local, and their first EPâout last Septemberâis a retro rock 'n' roll ripper that, at its catchiest ("Pull Me from Hell"), sounds kind of like Foo Fighters, whose singer used to be the drummer in Nirvana, y'know. Queen Chief is also local, and they do heavy in a different way, with buzzy Queens of the Stone Age swagger and a sound like the Pacific Northwest before the gold rush. Addictive stuff. Last up is Attalla, all the way from Oshkosh, Wisconsin. These cats have it dialed in: tremendous guitar tone, killer stoner/doom riffs, a rumbling low end, non-cheesy throwback vibe. They're good and they're far from home; go see 'em and say hi. BEN SALMON
SATURDAY 7/16
(Bossanova Ballroom, 722 E Burnside) Fresh off its controversial ouster from Euphoria Nightclub (see this weekâs feature), you wonât want to miss the first Blow Pony event in its new monthly home, Bossanova Ballroom. Dance the night away at the highly popular raucous queer-centric event (âa confusing disco for homos and their lovers!â) with New York City-based rapper Dick Van Dick, San Francisco-based electro-hop duo Double Duchess, and some highly talented DJs. DB
(Mission Theater, 1624 NW Glisan) Itâs becoming an annual event: The city of Portland declaring July 15 Ray Davies Day in honor of a show he played here four years ago, and now the tradition of celebrating one of Englandâs finest songwriters continues (albeit one day late). Portland bands like Wampire and the Cry! will cover some of the best chestnuts from the Kinksâ treasure trove, including masterpieces like âWaterloo Sunsetâ and âTired of Waiting for You.â NED LANNAMANN
(Revolution Hall, 1300 SE Stark) M. Ward's notable for many reasons, the greatest being his ear for subtlety. He's known in pop culture as the other half of She & Him with actress Zooey Deschanel, but in the Northwest, it goes deeper. Ward's built a legion of fans thanks to his slow-burning songwriting, soft husky tenor, and laidback guitar. It's music that channels influences like the Monkees and the Beach Boys. This spring he released his long-awaited eighth release, More Rain. It's feel-good music with a solid core, a guilty pleasure without the guilt. JENI WREN STOTTRUP
TITTY POP!: ILL CAMINO, II TRILL
(Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison) Titty Pop! is a quarterly event from the team that brought you Twerk and Slo' Jams, among other staples of Northwest queer nightlife. DJs II Trill and Ill Caminoâwho prove again and again that they can get any dance floor poppin'âprovide the cuts, with visuals dreamt up by Kayla Oh and aesthetic direction provided by local illustrator and designer Ebin Lee. The focus is on pure club jams, so come prepared to break a sweat to everything from NOLA bounce and Chicago juke to booty bass and reggaeton. This is an all QPoC-produced eventâa much-needed change of perspective for Portland dance floors. DANIELA SERNA
(Disjecta, 8371 N Interstate) The Deep Underground (DUG) collective takes over Disjecta for the third time this year with a night of music, dancing, food, and art. What started as a group of friends throwing house shows a little over a year ago, creating and providing a space for Portland artists to make and share their art, has blossomed into one of Portland's most important recurring arts and cultural events. Focusing this week on the theme of diaspora and displacement of communities, and the strengthening of those communities, DUG will showcase dozens of Portland artists in a multitude of mediums. Among those set to perform include musician and multi-instrumentalist Amenta Abioto, seven-piece band POPgoji, with their mash-up of American pop/soul and infectious Brazilian beats, and hip-hop artist and North Portland native Mic Capes. Get there early! SKYLER WALRATH
THE SPITS, CHEMICALS, SEX CRIME
(Dante's, 350 W Burnside) Sean and Erin Wood of legendary Seattle band the Spits play songs that invoke the psyches of anyone who's ever shotgunned a beer in a half pipe, broken a window at a house show, or experienced drunken anger management issues. Since the early '00s they've filtered these dangerous inclinations through a prism of robotic goth and Ramones influences and then plastered the totally ripped results onto a succession of highly coveted cassettes, singles, and LPs. These releases have influenced many a discerning misfit who, like Black Lips, King Khan, and local heroes the Mean Jeans, have actively pledged allegiance to their infected skate punk salvo. Those luminaries were no doubt also affected by the Spits' mind-blowing audiencesârabid diehards who often match the band's own blistering machinations to set lists of dystopian anthems designed to electrify all of the dark parts inside of you. CHRIS SUTTON
TANGO ALPHA TANGO, LEMOLO, SNOWBLIND TRAVELER
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) Since 2009 Seattle's Lemolo has garnered acclaim for their icy mix of just-so piano recital songwriting, astronomical synth textures, and bandleader Meagan Grandall's languidly sleepy voice. This summer Lemolo is touring in support of 2015's Red Right Return, an album with songs that are structured like water: Tempos find paths of least resistance, while tensions build and release in a way that's free flowing but purposeful. Much like water, listeners' attention can ebb. But on tracks like "Aglow," when Grandall steps aside long enough to let the guitars and dynamics explode like sparklers in the night, her band is indeed something to behold. WILLIAM KENNEDY
GREAT GRANDPA, TWELVE GARDENS, BOREEN, TURTLENECKED
(Mother Foucault's, 523 SE Morrison) Portland blog and zine Witch Haus (co-edited by Mercury Music Editor Ciara Dolan) has put together a fantastic lineup for this show. Twelve Gardens makes shimmery, gritty garage rock that should be played softly while driving late at night, with rhythms as hypnotic as the repetition of streetlights you'd be gliding under. Turtlenecked is one man's special orchestral power-pop visionâit's wild weirdness that seems like it shouldn't be as wonderfully catchy as it is. Boreen is the lushest of bedroom pop; it feels like someone murmuring their own sweetly melancholic memories to you as you're falling asleep, so the next morning you believe they're your own. Seattle five-piece Great Grandpa makes roiling rock that's heavy, winding, and warm. Pulling from influences like Pavement and Speedy Ortiz, Great Grandpa's music really hits the spot, and often skewers it. FIONA GABRIELLE WOODMAN
SUNDAY 7/17
MALT BALL: NATASHA KMETO, PT. JUNCTURE WA, THE GHOST EASE, AAN, BITCH'N, MONTHS
(Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi) Is there a more perfect union than beer and music? The answer is no. To celebrate this sacred bond, we at the Mercury teamed up with Mississippi Studios and Oregon Brewers Guild to bring you our fifth annual Malt Ball. This Sunday, put on your best beer-drinking clothes and head to N Mississippi, where youâll be greeted by a double whammy of intoxication: Six guest brewersâStormBreaker, Fort George, Double Mountain, Hopworks, Hair of the Dog, and Lompocâhave crafted delectable beers specifically designed to pair with each of the fantastic lineupâs six local bands. Thereâs the soulful electro-pop of Natasha Kmeto, the lo-fi folk-rock of Point Juncture, WA, the conjuring punk of the Ghost Ease, the freeform grooviness of Bitchân, the electrifying riff-rock of Months, and the experimental pop of Aan. Donât forget about the beer. Mmm. Beer. CD
(Revolution Hall, 1300 SE Stark) See Saturday's preview.
(The Know, 2026 NE Alberta) It's hard not to be intrigued by anything described as "sludge as fuck," and for NorCal band Teeph it's pretty accurate. Thematically rooted in the weed arts (of course, they're from Chico), the band hopes to actualize their prophecy of selling out this tour in support of their forthcoming album, Widowmaker. It's likely Teeph's dreams will come true, as their sludgy, punky meta-metal has gotten them far enough to share the stage with Portland's prized rock package Gaytheist. With even more support from post-metal kings Sol, this show will contribute to the extended sendoff of our beloved venue the Know. CERVANTE POPE
MONDAY 7/18
ADVANCE BASE, WEIRD CACTUS, CLAY COLE
(The Waypost, 3120 N Williams) Read our story on Advance Base.
TUESDAY 7/19
NERD NIGHT OUT: THE DOUBLECLICKS, DANIELLE ATE THE SANDWICH, BARBARA HOLM, LUCIA FASANO
(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) Hey, nerds! Put down that book, because tonight belongs to usâat least at the Doug Fir, where geek-folk sister musicians the Doubleclicks headline Nerd Night Out, along with jokey tunes from Danielle Ate the Sandwich, and delightful stand-up from Barbara Holm and Lucia Fasano. The Settlers of Catan can wait! MEGAN BURBANK