Jeff Lynne’s ELO Is Coming to Portland

Jeff Lynne’s ELO is coming to Portland in 2019.

ELO, of course, stands for Electric Light Orchestra, and is the poppy, proggy, strings-tinged band Lynne fronted during the 1970s and early ’80s; the band was originally formed by members of Birmingham, England psychedelic band the Move—which included Lynne, songwriter/sonic architect Roy Wood, and drummer Bev Bevan—but when the Move dissolved and Wood left to focus on his band Wizzard, Lynne and Bevan took the ELO reins.

The tour hits Portland on June 29, 2019, when Jeff Lynne’s ELO will be playing at Moda Center. As near as I can tell, it’s the first time ELO has played here since… wow… 1974—for the tour supporting their Eldorado album. (ELO also played a show in Eugene in 1976.) [CORRECTION: The site jefflynnesongs.com indicates that ELO also stopped through Portland in ’76, playing the Paramount Theatre—now the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall—on February 6.] A lot of things have changed in the past 45 years, but fortunately the efficacy of ELO’s musical fairy-dust isn’t one of them.

You’ll notice, of course, the slight difference of moniker: This isn’t being billed flat-out as Electric Light Orchestra for some reason—perhaps due to confusion over different incarnations of the band following their disbanding in 1986: Bevan formed ELO Part II (later renamed the Orchestra), and there were other splinter acts along the way, as Lynne followed a solo career and became producer to the likes of Tom Petty and the reformed Beatles. But the “Jeff Lynne’s ELO” that’s coming here next year features Lynne and longtime ELO keyboardist Richard Tandy, and they’ll be playing all the tunes from the group’s radio-hit heyday.

What tunes, you ask? Electric Light Orchestra is responsible for a frightening number of songs already etched into your hippocampus, whether you’re aware of it or not. Click the jump below for a stroll through a smattering of ELO’s vast, hit-drenched catalog.

Tickets for Jeff Lynne’s ELO Portland show go on sale to the general public at Livenation.com and Ticketmaster on Monday, October 29 at 10 am. However, American Express cardholders can get tickets starting this Wednesday, October 24 at 10 am. [UPDATE] And there are a bevy of other presales listed on the Ticketmaster page, including “Fan Club,” “Official Platinum,” and “VIP Packages” presales, which start tomorrow, Tuesday, October 23. A further clutch of presales drop on Friday, October 26, including the “Live Nation,” “Live Nation Mobile App,” “Ticketmaster,” and “Radio” presales. Good luck, everyone.