JANELLE MONÁE w/Saint Beauty
Sat June 13 at Edgefield, $43-46 (tickets on sale now)
Janelle Monáe is kind of a badass. Last month she released a rose-hued music video for her single “Pynk,” in which she wears an iconic pair of vagina pants that she now hopes to mass-produce. Two weeks later Monáe dropped her brand-new album Dirty Computer—pure electro-R&B excellence—and came out as pansexual in an interview with Rolling Stone that’s full of amazing quotes: “Being a queer Black woman in America, someone who has been in relationships with both men and women—I consider myself to be a free-ass motherfucker.”
FATHER JOHN MISTY w/Blitzen Trapper
Sat July 21 at Edgefield, $40-45 (tickets on sale Friday, May 11 at 10 am)
Although singer/songwriter Josh Tillman’s Father John Misty persona is really starting to wear on me, his forthcoming record God’s Favorite Customer is pretty dang good. Its first single, “Mr. Tillman,” is sung from the perspective of a hotel concierge trying to deal with the former Fleet Fox while he has a breakdown. A few of the best lyrics: “Mr. Tillman, for the seventh time/We have no knowledge of a film that is being shot outside/Those aren’t extras in a movie; they’re our clientele/No, they aren’t running lines and they aren’t exactly thrilled.” Hometown heroes Blitzen Trapper will open the outdoor show with songs from their 2017 album/stage production Wild and Reckless.
LAURYN HILL
Wed Sept 12 at Veterans Memorial Coliseum, $47.50-123 (tickets on sale now)
Ms. Lauryn Hill is celebrating the 20th anniversary of her groundbreaking, Grammy-winning, sole studio album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill with a 29-date North American tour that (thankfully) will stop in Portland in just a few months. Hill’s got a reputation for ghosting her own shows, but assuming she does show up, it’s reported that she’ll play the entire record in full.
ANGEL OLSEN w/Hand Habits
Wed Sept 12 & Thurs Sept 13 at Newmark Theater, $31-41 (tickets on sale Friday, May 4 at 10 am)
Angel Olsen is this generation’s Patsy Cline. Her voice is like a lightning rod for nuanced emotions, especially on tracks like “Sister” from her 2016 record My Woman. Last year Olsen released Phases, a collection of B-sides, rarities, and demos that includes an incredible, stripped-down cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “Tougher Than the Rest” and “Sweet Dreams,” my favorite of all her songs—it’s got cold, jangly guitar tones, she sings in an angsty near-yodel, and the lyrics are extremely emo: “Every time I close my eyes/Something small within me dies.” Olsen will play solo on her upcoming “Tiny Dreams” tour, exploring her early catalogue and debuting new material.
DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE w/Charly Bliss
Tues Sept 25 at Keller Auditorium, $36-59 (tickets on sale Friday, May 4 at 10 am)
When I was a preteen I cried in a mall food court because “Soul Meets Body” came on my iPod Mini and it was just so beautiful and so tragic. I’ll admit I haven’t been keeping up with what B. Gib’s been up to lately (other than that great Postal Service reunion a few years back), but I think deep down we all know OC-era Death Cab is the best Death Cab. They’ll be playing the Keller with Charly Bliss, whose 2017 debut Guppy is a pitch-perfect throwback to the indie pop-rock of 1990s rom-coms.
Also be sure to check our Things to Do Music calendar for more information about upcoming shows in Portland!