Early this year, Spanish marine research organization Condrik Tenerife shared what may be the first recorded footage of a black seadevil anglerfish in daylight, near the ocean’s surface. The toothy species, famous for its bioluminescent lure, typically spends its entire life navigating darkness thousands of feet below sea level—which lent this particular anglerfish’s ascent a sort of heartwrenching magic, despite the fact that she likely made the trip due to stress or illness. “It’s so beautiful,” a comic’s depiction of a similar deep sea fish mused, gazing toward the sunset. “I might never have known.”

While 4th Floor to Mildness predates the little anglerfish’s journey, Swiss experimental artist Pipilotti Rist’s installation similarly contemplates the emotional terrain of a skyward gaze from underwater. On view at the Portland Art Museum’s Crumpacker Center for New Art through the end of January, this installation of 4th Floor—curated by the museum’s senior curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, Sara Krajewski—is also its West Coast premiere. The work was originally created in 2016 for the fourth floor of New York’s New Museum of Contemporary Art, hence the name.

In 1993, the Portland International Raceway—the city’s premier racing venue—installed a bunch of Christmas light displays around its track and invited people to drive through, luxuriating in the glow of holiday joy.

It’s possible I was in attendance that very same year: my father, a street racer in his youth, was certainly aware of PIR and my mother had always been a Christmas lights enthusiast, trucking us from neighborhood to brightly-lit neighborhood. I’m not certain, but I do have distinct childhood memories of slowly circling that track, watching the festive lights go by. Memory is not a vice grip, and everything slips away in the raging rapids of time. 

In any case, families throughout the metro area have been attending PIR’s Winter Wonderland for 33 years now, and—hey, if you’re looking to submerge yourself in the cozy arms of velvety Christmas cheer, it’s here again in 2025, and will probably continue next year and the next, forever and ever until the end of electricity as a commodity (or the heat death of the universe, whichever comes first).

At Winter Wonderland, PIR is lined with no less than 250 light displays, containing more than a million bulbs. Some people occasionally claim it’s the largest light display west of the Mississippi River. I don’t know if this fact is confirmable, but it certainly rolls off the tongue and flatters the holiday spirit of the community, so I’m willing to go along with it. 

Around ten years ago, Sunshine Division, an 102-year-old Portland Police Bureau-linked food assistance charity, used a grant from the Murdock Trust to buy the show from an events consortium, and set off on the slow and tedious task of replacing every tungsten light in the display with longer lasting, more energy efficient LED bulbs. Winter Wonderland is now Sunshine Division’s largest fundraiser of the year by a considerable distance. 

Many of the displays are from the very first show, 33 years ago. Some are newer. Many are designed by professionals who do contract work. Some are designed and built locally with the help of Hood to Coast (H2C), the famous local relay race. H2C is a vital partner in the event, assisting Sunshine Division with storage and upkeep in the offseason.

Winter Wonderland is usually experienced by drivers shutting off their headlights, and leisurely rolling around the track at a slow, steady pace. But on a single evening every year, cyclists who are unafraid to brave the cold are allowed to ride the nearly two mile-long course at their own pace, stopping for pictures, and feasting on cider and donuts after their ride. Sabrina Freeland, a local cyclist who claims she likes riding in any temperature, has made the Winter Wonderland ride a yearly tradition. 

“Usually we drag our kids with us, but most of them are off at college now. I’ve done this in the car and frankly, it just goes too fast. You have to go at the same speed as the person in front of you. I love doing it on bikes, because you can go around as many times as you want and see all the kids with their lit-up bikes and exciting helmets.”

One such child was seemingly tripping balls on holiday cheer, freezing temperatures, and adrenaline, while riding quickly through one of the large Christmas light tunnels, and yelling “I’M GOING THROUGH A PORTAL!”

“A portal to where,” this reporter was left to wonder. To the magic of the holidays? To a future where Winter Wonderland still stands, year after year? If only we jaded adults had access to this child’s pure and wonderful spirit, then we might know.

Winter Wonderland is open nightly through December 31, Mon-Thurs 5 pm-10 pm, Fri-Sun 4:30 pm-11 pm, $50-$165 (depending on size of vehicle).

Nurses at Legacy Emanuel hospital are raising alarm bells, saying hospital policies accommodating immigration enforcement agents violate the code of ethics they swore to uphold.

The Oregon Nurses Association (ONA) sent a letter to Legacy Emanuel President Bahaa Wanly on December 10, outlining concerns over the hospital’s compliance with state and federal law, as well as its own policies.

“Despite Legacy’s policies largely reflecting appropriate compliance with statutory obligations, there is a growing gap between Legacy’s written policies and the actual practices nurses are witnessing,” said the letter, signed by ONA attorney Thomas Doyle. “As a result, ONA bargaining unit members and their patients are being placed at risk.”

The letter comes as multiple Legacy staff members spoke to the Mercury on condition of anonymity over the past two weeks, saying they feared retaliation for speaking to the media without authorization.

They said US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents bring detainees to Legacy almost daily, often to treat injuries sustained during violent immigration arrests. Medical staff says ICE agents have been permitted to stay bedside with patients, even during private, clinical conversations and treatments requiring sensitive attention. Nurses say they’re concerned Legacy’s policies around immigration enforcement are unethical, harm public health, and damage the organization’s reputation in the community.

ONA’s letter said practices at Legacy may violate the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) standards by allowing agents to listen in during confidential medical care, and may also violate the organization’s own policies.

“Legacy cannot simultaneously claim to follow HIPAA and Legacy’s own non-public area designations, while allowing effectively unlimited, unregulated officer presence in clinical spaces,” the letter said.

A Legacy Health spokesperson said the implication in ONA’s letter that the hospital has experienced a substantial increase in law enforcement, including ICE, in their facilities is not true.

“We are disappointed with ONA’s approach to publicly share a letter through the media this morning that we received late yesterday, before we had the opportunity to respond with accurate data and information,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “This approach of sharing incomplete and misleading information perpetuates misinformation and creates additional fear and confusion for our people and for patients who rely on us for care, potentially causing patients to delay emergency care.”

Documents obtained by the Mercury show administrative staff believes the immigration enforcement agencies have selected the emergency department at Emanuel hospital as a “go to” site for caring for people in their custody.

“This should be seen as an opportunity to provide the best care for a vulnerable patient population, rather than a burden,” said an email sent to staff in November and obtained by the Mercury. “I am confident that we can provide the most compassionate and thorough care in the region regardless of the challenges we face along the way.”

However, multiple Legacy staff members tell a different story, saying the hospital narrowly interprets its role in caring for patients, creating a culture of fear of advocating for patients in ICE custody. Staff are also told they cannot distribute cards informing patients of their rights under the US Constitution—commonly called “red cards.”

Blaire Glennon, a registered nurse at Emanuel hospital, raised concerns during public testimony in a November 19 Portland City Council meeting.

She said executive staff told medical staff to treat immigration agents like any other law enforcement agency, that staff cannot contact a patient’s family until after they leave the hospital, and that they cannot provide legal resources to patients.

“Our hotels, hospitals, and the Macadam ICE facility are providing infrastructure for ICE to operate,” Glennon said.

Other sources spoke to the Mercury, sharing similar concerns. They said Legacy could choose a different path that would not help facilitate President Donald Trump’s hardline immigration approach, but instead, the hospital’s policies erode the trust necessary to do their work.

“We have an obligation to the public, to ethical practice, to our patients, that just feel completely violated,” a source told the Mercury.

They said the hospital frequently works with different law enforcement agencies, including Portland Police Bureau, and said those agencies are usually understanding about the role of the hospital.

“With ICE, it has been drastically different than that,” they said.

Sources said patient care has been disrupted by agents, who have obstructed standard care practice, blocking medical staff from placing IVs in patients’ arms, and shackling patients to beds despite them posing no danger to themselves or others. In another instance, agents facilitated a discharge after one night in the hospital’s care, earlier than medically necessary, according to a nurse on scene.

“That person, had they been a regular member of the public whose rights are being respected, I guess they would have probably stayed at least three days,” they said.

Still, video obtained by the Mercury from a December 4 staff town hall shows administrative staff wants to stay off the Trump administration’s radar, not rock the boat, and maintain relationships with officials—largely due to funding concerns.

“We don't want to risk funding cuts, and there's risk to that, so we're really trying to navigate the waters as smoothly as possible,” a Legacy vice president, said.

Sources who spoke to the Mercury said agents often remain in the room with patients, even while medical staff are providing sensitive care.

An internal “Law Enforcement (LE) Process FAQ” document, updated November 3, obtained by the Mercury says clinical team members can ask any law enforcement officer to leave the room, but the officer can say no. The FAQ also notes that officer refusal should be documented.

Isa Peña, the director of strategy at Innovation Law Lab, said statewide immigration defense networks and family members have recently reported an uptick in people brought to hospitals for injuries sustained during violent arrest. Injuries have included broken bones, and glass in patients’ eyes from agents breaking their car windows during arrest.

Peña compared local hospitals’ choice allowing federal agents to remain in patients’ rooms to instances of domestic violence, saying hospitals do not allow domestic violence abusers to stay in the room with the survivor.

“They’re essentially allowing the person who has injured this person to be in the room as this individual is trying to seek medical care,” Peña said. “That is, I think, really really concerning.”

The practice also has a chilling effect on the broader community. Similar to the drop in students going to school when ICE agents appear there, vulnerable people may not seek medical care because they are afraid of what might happen at the facility.

“People should be able to go to the doctor without fear of losing their loved one or being detained at the hospital,” Peña said.

The Legacy spokesperson said in a statement that law enforcement officers have not come to its facilities for enforcement actions.

Still, ONA’s letter to Wanly, Legacy’s president, said that while Legacy’s written policies recognize that hospitals must remain places of healing, not enforcement, its practices must live up to its words. 

“We are asking you, as LEMC President, to acknowledge these gaps and to work with nurses, other frontline staff and their union to close them before a serious incident, lawsuit, or regulatory action forces the issue in a far more adversarial setting,” the letter said.

Legacy said in a statement that staff can report concerns about violations internally.

“We have internal processes for our staff to follow if they believe there has been a policy or HIPAA violation(s) so they can report the incident, and we can investigate,” the spokesperson said. “This reporting can be done anonymously to ensure that every employee feels safe submitting a report on behalf of a patient or themselves.”

The Mercury provides news and fun every single day—but your help is essential. If you believe Portland benefits from smart, local journalism and arts coverage, please consider making a small monthly contribution, because without you, there is no us. Thanks for your support!

Good morning, Portland! Here's hoping your day is smooth, that the cafe line is short, the coffee is hot (or just icy enough if that's your thing), the bus has open seats or your bike ride is dry. Earth is a shit show, and you deserve some good fortune.

📰 This just in, let's go. 

IN LOCAL NEWS: 

• If Multnomah County isn't careful, its Preschool for All program might end up creating universal preschool on or ahead of schedule. That's despite ongoing attacks from local business interests and politicians who argue every which way that the big struggle families face in President Trump's America is wealthy people paying too many income taxes in Oregon. (Why is it rarely mentioned that Oregon does not have a sales tax? Seems worth mentioning that Oregon does not have a sales tax would be useful when talking about local tax rates. Oh.) Multnomah County announced Thursday that the Preschool for All program will be able to offer 7,460 seats for families next year—nearly doubling the number of children currently enrolled. Seems good. Taylor Griggs has the scoop.
  
  
• Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested a father in front of his children Thursday morning in St. John's. As it happened, neighbors confronted the agents, and endured pepper balls being shot at them, apparently saying they were "warning shots." 
  
  “They’re not welcome in our neighborhood," one neighbor told Fox12 Oregon. "They’re trying to tell us they’re keeping the neighborhood safe while they’re ripping families apart. It’s not okay.”

Neighbors: ICE agents arrest dad driving kids to school in N Portland, shoot pepper balls >> https://www.kptv.com/2025/12/12/neighbors-ice-agents-arrest-dad-driving-kids-school-n-portland-shoot-pepper-balls/

[image or embed]

— FOX 12 Oregon (@fox12oregon.bsky.social) December 11, 2025 at 7:00 PM

• Oregon is beating records it set in the 1950s for confirmed cases of whooping cough, which is obviously a sign we are in the healthiest of American eras. This trendy little thing is making waves all across the nation. Now, you too can enjoy nearly eradicated diseases that lead to breathing struggles and fractured ribs from endless coughing. But OPB reports while it is certainly a factor, the rise in cases is a bit more complicated than the simple narrative of vaccine hesitancy and the work our Dear Leader is doing to keep the country in tip-top shape. It actually starts with the shots themselves, and the duration of their protection against a pertussis infection. There's more to the story here at OPB.
  

When Emma Boster, singer of Portland-grown metalcore giants Dying Wish, told her family she would be talking to the Mercury, her grandmother responded, “Tell them you’re a fifth-generation Portlander!” Though she moved to Nashville, Tennessee, three years ago, the pull of Rip City is inescapable—an inevitable fact when your family has been part of it for so long. “I’m actively trying to make my way back, but we're so busy, so it's hard to find a sliver of time to move across the country again.” 

She might not be with us in the flesh anymore, but for the second year in a row, Dying Wish’s holiday heaviness extravaganza, Dying Wishmas, will be taking over the Roseland Theater. Born of the fact that bands often skimp hometown shows when on tour (and a strong love for Christmas itself), the micro-festival promises a nine-band bill, stacked with bands from all over the West Coast and beyond, for a truly reasonable $50 (before fees, naturally). 

You probably shouldn’t count on Dying Wish to play any Christmas songs during their set (though, when asked what song she’d pick, Boster was quick to choose “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch”). What you should probably expect, though, is a set jam-packed with songs from their killer new album, Flesh Stays Together. Ahead of the big day, I chatted with Boster about the embarrassment of punk riches they’ve booked for this year’s shin-dig, her holiday family traditions, and the Ghost of Dying Wishmas Future. 

Metal musicians can often seem intimidating from the outside, but like the best Portlanders, Boster’s a grade-A chatterbox who graciously answered more questions than could fit into one piece. As such, this interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Looking for an easy holiday gift? Grab some tickets! Tyler Childers transports audiences to Appalachia on his Snipe Hunt Tour. Country star Megan Moroney will tour to support her forthcoming third album Cloud 9. Plus, “West Texas degenerates” Treaty Oak Revival hit the road with rotating special guests next spring. Read on for details on those and other newly announced events.

ON SALE FRIDAY, DECEMBER 12

MUSIC

AFI: Holy Visions Tour
Roseland Theater (Apr 17, 2026)

Alison Krauss & Union Station Featuring Jerry Douglas
Hayden Homes Amphitheater (Aug 23, 2026)

Band of Skulls
Dante's (Mar 21, 2026)

Who's ready to have some fun? Well, the Mercury is here to help with FREE TICKETS to see some of Portland's best concerts and events—our way of saying thanks to our great readers and spread the word about some fantastic upcoming performances! (Psst... if you want to say thanks to the Mercury, please consider making a small monthly contribution to keep us alive and kickin'!) And oh boy, do we have some fun events coming at ya this week! CHECK IT OUT!

• Enter to WIN FREE TICKETS to see Gary Gulman on Sunday, December 21 at Aladdin Theater!

Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie, Sun December 21, 7pm, $43.73-$78.89,  All Ages

• Enter to WIN FREE TICKETS to see MAE.SUN on Sunday, December 21 at Mississippi Studios! 

Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi, Sun December 21, 7 pm, $26.05, 21+

It’s been decades since a series of construction projects transformed Portland’s historic Albina district, dismantling the thriving enclave that was once the beating heart of the city’s Black community. Now, years of planning to revitalize the inner North and Northeast Portland district are coming to fruition, bringing hope for Albina’s rebirth—even as questions linger over plans to alter the freeway that runs through the neighborhood.

The city, private businesses, and local community members have poured their efforts into a massive plan to overhaul the neighborhood, centering the people who were displaced by decades of racist zoning policies. That includes new housing and business developments, a massive freeway project, and education investments through partnerships with Portland Public Schools.

Last month, the 1803 Fund—formed in 2023 to support Albina revitalization —announced it would invest $70 million to kick off major development projects in North Portland. One project, dubbed “Albina Riverside,” is planned as a recreational and community space along the Willamette River, at the site of the former Louis Dreyfus Co. grain silos terminal just north of the Steel Bridge. The 1803 Fund is also acquiring property for mixed-use development in a neighborhood known as “The Low End,” located west of I-5 and south of the Fremont Bridge. 

HAPPY HOLIDAYS, BRAINY BUTT! It's time once again to put your brainy-brain to the test with this week's edition of POP QUIZ PDX—our weekly, local, sassy-ass trivia quiz. And this week we'll be testing your knowledge on recent, local happenings, including... "Who is this Krampus person??" "What are those little plastic Santa things called?" And "Why are ICE agents—and all their supporters—complete and total tools?" (Hopefully you'll know the answer to that last one!) 🤔

But first! How did you do on our last quiz? Holy smokes, you are so smart! And I'm VERY RELIEVED that in our weekly "subjective question" you didn't choose me to fill in for sick Santa. Frankly, I'm too busy and hate children, bah humbug. 😇

Anywaaaaaay... READY TO START? Take this week's quiz below, take our previous pop quizzes here, and come back next week for a brand spankin' new quiz! (Having a tough time answering this quiz? It's probably because you aren't getting Mercury newsletters! HINT! HINT!) Now crank up that cerebellum, because it's time to get BRAINY!

Create your own user feedback survey

If you appreciate the Mercury's interesting and useful news & culture reporting, consider making a small monthly contribution to support our editorial team. Your donation is tax-deductible. You can also subscribe and have our papers delivered!

Good Morning, Portland: I write to you from Lake Smith, in my apartment building's basement, which I have claimed and which smells terrible. The good news! The skies are laying off rain for a couple days... it's a cool down, not abstinence... until Saturday night when RAIN IS BACK ON THE MENU. Now, let's get to the news!

IN LOCAL NEWS:
• If you are a local-online, you've seen everybody and their brother loudly announcing that THEY WOULD IN FACT LOVE TO USE the $21 million in unspent rental services funds that city administration reportedly hid from City Council for months, according to the housing bureau's ousted director's memo sent last week. Welp, on Tuesday, three East Portland city councilors brought a resolution urging Mayor Keith Wilson to get the dollars into rent stabilization. Mercury reporter Jeremiah Hayden unpacks the back n' forth.

• Portland confirmed its first long-term city administrator on Wednesday, marking a new chapter for the city's bureaucracy. Until now the position was held by interim city administrator Michael Jordan—who was tapped  by former-Mayor Ted Wheeler to help with the city charter transition—but Mayor Keith Wilson picked Lee, who brings experience as city manager in Greeley, Colorado to the role. While Greeley is one sixth the size of Portland, Lee has also held leadership roles in Dallas, and Amarillo, Texas. Once again, Jeremiah Hayden has your window into City Hall happenings.

• This morning, Multnomah County announced plans to offer more than 7,400 Preschool for All seats to early education providers for the 2026-27 school year. If the offer is accepted, it will nearly double the program's current enrollment capacity. This would go a long way to fulfill the program's goal of... well... preschool for all by 2030. This announcement comes on the heels of new analysis from a demographer who advises the program, showing that the area may have significantly fewer preschoolers by the goal's projected due date. Taylor Griggs sums it all up.

• In Eugene, a federal judge has temporarily blocked enforcement of a new regulation that criminalizes “creating a loud or unusual noise” near a federal building in Oregon. If they haven't been blasting Creed at 9 am, I don't want to hear the complaining, honestly.

Multnomah County expects its universal preschool program to see a significant boost in enrollment, starting next fall. On Thursday morning, the county announced plans to offer more than 7,400 Preschool for All seats to early education providers for the 2026-27 school year. If providers take the county up on the offer, it will nearly double Preschool for All’s current enrollment capacity of roughly 3,800 seats, placing the program in a strong position to meet its goal of universal preschool access by 2030. 

The county’s announcement should come as much-needed good news for Preschool for All, which has faced heightened scrutiny in recent months. The program, which was approved by nearly two-thirds of county voters in 2020, is funded through a tax on high-earning residents. The tax has raked in more than initial projections predicted, but the county has been slow to get money out the door, despite significant demand for preschool seats. 

Preschool for All has also been targeted amid a larger backlash to local taxes, which some Portland business leaders complain are driving high earners and businesses out of town. Earlier this year, Governor Tina Kotek joined the chorus of Preschool for All critics, expressing concern that the tax was contributing to an exodus of wealthy Portlanders, making the city less competitive. Around the same time, Democrats in the Oregon Legislature threatened to push policy to gut the program, though their plans petered out in the last week of the legislative session. 

Portland City Council has confirmed the city’s first long-term city administrator under its new form of government. The confirmation of Mayor Keith Wilson’s pick, Raymond Lee, marks a new chapter for the city’s government and the end of an era overseen by former Mayor Ted Wheeler’s choice for the city’s top bureaucrat.

Confirmation of Lee comes roughly three weeks before current City Administrator Michael Jordan is set to retire. Lee was confirmed in an 11-0 vote, with one absence.

A central piece of the discussion during the confirmation hearing was how Lee views information sharing between the administrative side of the city’s government, led by the mayor, and the legislative side, led by the City Council. Multiple councilors told Lee they expected him to build trust between the two bodies, which they said has been lost in the first year of the city’s new government structure. Lee made a point of acknowledging that tension throughout his hearing.

“I see the city administrator role as a service role and ensuring that I'm serving not only our mayor but our elected body as well,” Lee said.

Lee added that he expects to have open dialogue with city councilors both in person and through committees, before they reach the full council. 

Since OpenAI launched ChatGPT in November 2022, generative artificial intelligence (AI) has taken over Google search results, transformed how we see em-dashes, run rampant on human mental health, and even led to new vocabulary with “AI slop,” a term coined to describe meaningless content byproduct. The main entities excited about AI seem to be, by far, tech companies and CEOs.  However, plenty of people are already sick of generative AI and the way it’s wormed its way into our lives. 

On Thursday, December 4, Mother Foucault’s Bookshop hosted a panel of artists, writers, workers’ rights advocates. Dubbed “Machine Nightmares,” the forum of around eight known Portland locals came prepared to discuss AI critically, but also to build up camaraderie between those who resent the machine takeover. 

Well folks, the year 2025 is almost over. I’m looking ahead to the holidays, ringing in the New Year 2026, and this week I’m highlighting two live events I’d love to cozy up with this winter: at least one promising NYE show to put on the radar, and a stacked lineup of alternative indie soul at Swan Dive in early January. 

ADDED TO THE QUEUE: 

Some upcoming music buzz to add to your radar.

New Years Eve: Dreckig, Blossom, Reyna Tropical (DJ Set), DJ Espina Letal 

This show is organized by David “Papi” Fimbres (of local bands Orquestra Pacífico Tropical, Boink, Friskies, et al.), who will headline as part of his duo Dreckig with his wife Shana "Azúcar" Lindbeck, who make a trippy, groovy blend of Latin dance music informed by cumbia, electronic, and krautrock-infused music with lyrics sung in Spanish, German, and English. Notably, this huge New Year’s Eve bash will also see a live performance from Portland-based neo-soul R&B mainstay Blossom, so you know the integrity of the evening's positive vibes are in good hands. Blossom reigns not just as a locked in local musician, but also as a well-rounded community member and leader in Portland’s arts and music scenes. Let’s hope we hear early Blossom highlights like breezy single “So Cool,” her ’90s boom-bap-driven R&B-pop single “Loves Coming,” or her infectious reggae track “Black Magic Woman.” The night includes two unmissable DJ sets from the cumbia-minded DJ Espina Letal, and Reyna Tropical, AKA guitarist and vocalist Fabi Reyna’s band that she co-founded with Afro-diasporic DJ Nectali "Sumohair" Díaz, who passed away unexpectedly in 2022. Performing as a soloist the last couple years, Reyna Tropical continues to be known for its distinct mezcla of organic and electronic sounds with tropical rhythms—all driven by the motto of “Queer Love & Afro-Mexico." (Showdown Saloon, Wed Dec 31, 9 pm, more info here, 21+)

Keeks, Cosmos Dark, YAWA

Headlined by Keeks—the rapper, singer, and dancer formerly known as Maarquii—this triple whammy of a lineup is just too good to miss. Keeks has been performing under her new moniker since 2024, dropping fierce standalone singles like experimental industrial dance track “Make You Sick,” and the galvanizing Trans-femme empowerment anthem “MOVE,” and her super solid debut EP Gwendolyn. As if Keeks’ stunning, versatile live act wasn’t reason enough, this is also a chance to catch Cosmos Dark, the solo project by Vaughn Kimmons (Brown Calculus, WRK!, Be Present Art Group) live. Opening is DIY soul artist YAWA, also known as Amenta Abioto, who makes magical, improv-rooted soundscapes influenced by the African diaspora (“Wade”) and the natural world ("Plant It"). (Swan Dive, Fri Jan 9, 8 pm, more info here, 21+)