Stay safe out there, Portland! As always, get tested and stay home if you feel sick—and get your booster while it's hot. Speaking of omicron, we advise checking directly with venues for the latest updates—including health guidelines, postponements, and cancellations—before heading out.

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Jump to: Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday | Multi-Day

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MONDAY

DRAG

​Carla Rossi and Pepper Pepper are GLOOP
Past Event Like List Prepared to be gooped and gagged by experimental drag team Carla Rossi and Pepper Pepper. In this brand-new, delightfully unhinged performance, the girls get stuck leading a psychedelic wellness seminar at Portland Center Stage. Meltdowns and micro-doses ensue.
(Portland Center Stage, Pearl District)

MUSIC

Caribou Past Event Like List
Caribou's polymath producer, Dan Snaith, combines electronic and acoustic elements into a fluid sound that's as warm and inviting as it is dark and deep. Live, he performs with a four-piece band—two drummers, keyboards, guitars, and "a pile of instruments"—and his diverse but consistently quality repertoire can take audiences from the nocturnal thump of the nightclub to the sunny fields of a summer festival with the turn of a song. ERIC GRANDY
(Roseland Theater, Old Town-Chinatown)

Manchester Orchestra Past Event Like List
In the 2010s, Atlanta-based band Manchester Orchestra bridged the gap between emo and indie with their reflective alt-rock sound. Their 2021 album, The Million Masks of God, tries something grander and more cinematic with towering melodies that meditate on the highs and lows of life.
(Revolution Hall, Buckman)

TUESDAY

MUSIC

Sega Bodega Past Event Like List
London-based producer and artist Sega Bodega has turned his innovative spirit and love of cinematic soundscapes into a pioneering career in electronica and hyperpop. On his latest album, Romeo, Sega has taken his otherworldly production and songwriting to a new level, with the help of experimental icons Arca and Charlotte Gainsbourg. Pitchfork writes that Sega Bodega "summons the divine with intoxicating, emotional dance music fit for a crowded warehouse."
(Holocene, Buckman)

READINGS & TALKS

Sarah Jaffe in Conversation With Vanessa Veselka Past Event Like List
Sarah Jaffe will meet in conversation with renowned writer and National Book Award nominee Vanessa Vaselka, author of The Great Offshore Grounds. Jaffe, a writer and labor journalist, will discuss her latest book Work Won't Love You Back: How Devotion to Our Jobs Keeps Us Exploited, Exhausted, and Alone. This important analysis of contemporary work culture is told through the lenses of workers in exploitative industries.
(Virtual via Powell's Books)

WEDNESDAY

COMEDY

Stand Pup Comedy Night
Past Event Like List This family-friendly virtual event stars adoptable furry friends alongside a range of entertainers from America’s Got Talent, Comedy Central, MTV, Funny or Die, and more. Curl up with your own four-legged pal to watch the live entertainment from home. Half of all ticket proceeds will be donated to the Oregon Humane Society.
(Virtual via Oregon Humane Society)

MUSIC

Brandee Younger and Dezron Douglas
Past Event Like List Brandee Younger, a harpist, composer, and educator out of New York, follows the path blazed by her visionary idols Alice Coltrane and Dorothy Ashby. Having worked with hip-hop and R&B heavies like Lauryn Hill, Moses Sumney, and Beyoncé, Younger is single-handedly reviving the harp's role in contemporary music. After performing at Alice Coltrane's memorial service in 2007, Coltrane's son Ravi spoke of Younger saying, "no harpist thus far has been more capable of combining all of the modern harp traditions — from Salzedo, through Dorothy Ashby, through Alice Coltrane — with such strength, grace and commitment.” Younger will be accompanied by bassist and composer Dezron Douglas, known for his prolific career with jazz greats like Pharoah Sanders, George Cables, and Benny Green.
(The Old Church, Downtown)

Dolphin Midwives, Crystal Quartez, Min Jung Yoon, Hasmood, and Amulets Past Event Like List
Dolphin Midwives is a solo project of Portland-based artist Sage Fisher, who is known for combining classical instruments like the harp or zither with electronic technology that results in an ethereal explosion of experimental bliss. Don't miss out on this multi-layered performance featuring collaborations with sound/installation artist Crystal Quartez, performance artist Min Jung Yoon, and animator Hasmood, with lush soundscapes and tape loops from Amulets.
(Holocene, Buckman)

MadeinTYO + UnoTheActivist: The Yokohama Tour Past Event Like List
Rappers MadeinTYO and UnoTheActivist will take the stage in support of their 2021 album collaborative album, Yokohama, which takes inspiration from its namesake, one of the busiest train stations in the world and a regular stop for MadeinTYO as a child. The night will start off with an opening set from rapper BIGBABYGUCCI.
(Hawthorne Theatre, Hawthorne District)

Pop Fever: Date Night Past Event Like List
Was your Valentine's Day a bust? Redeem the day of love with a "date night" with some of Portland's top voices in pop music. Alana Rich will get you on your feet with her lyrically profound danceable grooves beside R&B-influenced singer-songwriter Rain Ezra, charismatic rapper Roulette Delgato, genre-blending pop artist Kanide-Is, nostalgic hit-machine Lo Lytes, and beatmaker DJ Tac0.
(McMenamins White Eagle Saloon, Eliot)

The War on Drugs Past Event Like List
There’s a paradox at the heart of the War on Drugs. For a band so baldly influenced by the freewheeling Americana of Springsteen, Petty, and Dylan, their music can sound strangely tense and stultifying. The most obvious cause is WoD mastermind Adam Granduciel’s reputation as a fastidious studio obsessive. Most War on Drugs songs are rich with detail: layers upon layers of guitar and synth, carefully calibrated vintage effects. But the music, though frequently gorgeous, rarely has room to breathe. Instead, it bellows—Granduciel’s work has increasingly taken on an anthemic, shouting-toward-the-cheap-seats quality. ANDREW GOSPE
(Theater of the Clouds at the Moda Center, Lloyd District)

THURSDAY

DAY OF REMEMBRANCE

Kishi Bashi with the Oregon Symphony Past Event Like List
Danish conductor Thomas Dausgaard will be joined by Seattle-based composer/multi-instrumentalist Kishi Bashi (Jupiter One, of Montreal) for a performance to honor and explore the stories of Japanese internment survivors on the 80th anniversary of Executive Order 9066.
(Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, South Park Blocks)

MUSIC

John Carroll Kirby Past Event Like List
LA-based pianist and producer John Carroll Kirby is known for his work with superstars like Solange, Frank Ocean, and Miley Cyrus. As a solo artist, his work ranges from electronic to jazz, always maintaining soulful grooves and a sense of humor, which proves to be especially true on his latest album, Septet.
(Holocene, Buckman)

JoJo Past Event Like List
Those born in the mid-late '90s will remember the first time they heard 14-year old JoJo sing her 2004 chart-topping hit "Leave (Get Out)," the quintessential tween break-up song that made you want to recklessly get your ears pierced at Claire's. Her R&B-inspired production, emotional lyrics, and sassy side ponytail stood out against the upbeat bubblegum pop that commanded the charts at the time. After appearing in a handful of movies and being featured in a memorable episode of MTV Cribs, JoJo seemed to disappear from the limelight. Now, the singer is back on the road just after her recent appearance on The Masked Singer.
(Wonder Ballroom, Eliot)

FRIDAY

MUSIC

Angel Bat Dawid with Brown Calculus Past Event Like List
Chicago-based composer, multi-instrumentalist, and spiritual jazz soothsayer Angel Bat Dawid has drawn in a wide variety of listeners in the last few years with her cosmic improvisational jazz. Her debut album, The Oracle, is a personal ode to her upbringing which she performed, mixed, and recorded on her own using just a cell phone. Both her debut and sophomore album, LIVE, gained national acclaim, receiving 8.0+ scores on Pitchfork as well as making NPR's best of 2020 list. Dawid has secured herself as a radiant light in modern jazz, with forward-thinking ideas reminiscent of spiritual jazz pioneer Sun Ra.
(Alberta Abbey, King)

The Cactus Blossoms + Kacy & Clayton Past Event Like List
Get your fix of harmony-driven folk-rock with a doubleheader, starting with Minneapolis-based brother band The Cactus Blossoms. The pair's timeless melodies beam with their unmatched harmonies and haunting production, which fittingly made an appearance in the Twin Peaks reboot back in 2017. Canadian roots duo Kacy & Clayton will follow with their weightless alt-country tunes fit for a cross-country road trip.
(Mississippi Studios, Boise)

Cautious Clay Past Event Like List
Have we graduated from the PBR&B subgenre, which is a very specific, sort of boring stripped-back style I could never quite get behind? I guess Josh Karpeh, aka Cautious Clay, from Brooklyn, belongs in that class, although his music feels so much more compelling. He draws on hip-hop production qualities and experimentation, his sound hinting at elements of gospel, island, pop, and soul. He has a creamy caressing vocal timbre that can hit falsetto notes (so I forgive his use of Auto-Tune), he mixes digital programming with organic instrumentation, and his sonic arsenal includes the sax and flute. The motherfucking flute. Neither is overused in his music. LEILANI POLK
(Roseland Theater, Old Town-Chinatown)

SATURDAY

FOOD & DRINK

Oregon Craft Spirits Festival Past Event Like List
Taste over 120 varieties of whiskey, gin, vodka, rum, aquavit, and other spirits from over 30 Oregon craft distillers, complemented by food from chef Johanna Ware of Smallwares, Pink Rabbit, Shine Distillery & Grill, and Botto’s BBQ.
(The Redd on Salmon, Buckman)

Zwickelmania® 2022
Past Event Like List Prime your liver for Zwickelmania, the annual event where more than 120 breweries open their doors for your drinking pleasure, with free samples, tastings, meet-the-brewer events, pairings, tours, and beer releases. The first weekend is open throughout the Portland area, while the second is held all over the state.
(Various locations)

DAY OF REMEMBRANCE

Day of Remembrance 2022
Past Event Like List The Portland chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League and the Japanese American Museum of Oregon will mark the 80th Day of Remembrance by exploring "the present-day struggle for reparations for Black Americans and the critical role that solidarity between communities has in addressing systemic racism." Portland Taiko will perform, followed by a screening of Jon Osaki's film, Reparations, and a panel discussion including the director, State Senator Lew Frederick, and Nikkei Progressives member traci kato-kiriyama.
(McMenamins Kennedy School, Concordia)

PARTIES & NIGHTLIFE

Blowpony w/Scarlet Envy Past Event Like List
Ride out to Blowpony's new location for fierce performances by Drag Race season 11 contestant Scarlet Envy, Kharisma, Kwanzaa Shade, and Angelica D'Vil, plus DJ sets and go-go dancers.
(Epicenter, Cully)

This Party Is Killing You: 10th Anniversary Tour of The Robyn Party Past Event Like List
This Party Is Killing You is the longest-running dance night paying tribute to Sweden’s favorite daughter, Robyn. For the 10th anniversary, they're taking the party on a world tour so that no one has to dance on their own. Get ready to hear her hits, b-sides, remixes, and rarities along with some additional party bangers to cry to by the likes of Lady Gaga and Carly Rae Jepsen.
(Holocene, Buckman)

VMAC 7 Year Anniversary Party!
Past Event Like List Throw on your best purple and silver garb because Vitalidad is celebrating its seven-year anniversary. This extravaganza will feature multiple rooms for dancing depending on your vibe, with dedicated rooms for world beats, hip-hop, and club jams. Enter the dance battle for your chance to win $100. 
(Vitalidad Movement Arts Center, Buckman)

COMMUNITY

2022 Polar Plunge Past Event Like List
Make like a polar bear and dunk your body into the frigid waters of the Willamette River to raise money for Special Olympics Oregon athletes.
(Willamette Park, Johns Landing)

VISUAL ART

Alex Proba Past Event Like List
Alex Proba is the founder of Portland- and Brooklyn-based design house studioPROBA, creating everything from Google's basketball court to a large-scale mural for Dropbox's headquarters. The artist/designer's upcoming exhibition centers color, pattern, and sensory delight.
(Stephanie Chefas Projects, Buckman; opening)

SUNDAY

MUSIC

serpentwithfeet: DEACON’S TOUR Past Event Like List
Fresh off a collaboration with Björk for her Cornucopia tour, serpentwithfeet will bring his otherworldly tenderness to the stage in support of his 2021 album, Deacon. The album is a passionate study in love, particularly Black queer love, which flourishes with his soaring vocals, '90s influenced melodies, romantic lyricism, and experimental production.
(Revolution Hall, Buckman)

SPORTS & RECREATION

Trail Blazers Celebration of Black History
Past Event Like List Rip City's Black History Month events will be capped off with this game against the Nuggets, which they've dubbed HBCU Night in celebration of local HBCU and Divine Nine alumni.
(Moda Center, Lloyd District)

MULTI-DAY

FOOD & DRINK

Hillsbrew Fest Past Event Like List
Taste pilsners, stouts, porters, IPAs, sour beers, ciders, and more, including plenty of new releases and exclusive brews, from 30 of Oregon's top breweries. Plus, nosh on food from Ochoa’s Mexican Food, Coyote’s Bar & Grill, and Flying Barracuda BBQ, and listen to live music from The Denominators.
(Wingspan Event Center, Hillsboro, Friday-Sunday)

Tamales Festival "To-Go"
Past Event Like List Try different styles of tamales from Portland Mercado vendors, which either originate from places throughout Latin America or are inspired by traditional recipes. Diners are encouraged to take their order ahead and take their tamales to go, but dine-in will available as well.
(Portland Mercado, Mount Scott-Arleta, Friday-Sunday)

BLACK HISTORY MONTH

In My Shoes: Walking Tour Storytelling Project
Past Event Like List In honor of Black History Month, Word Is Bond (an organization whose goal is "creating positive relationships between young Black men and law enforcement") presents a storytelling campaign featuring nine walking tours in neighborhoods across Portland designed to highlight the "voices, dreams, and experiences of rising Black men" and the neighborhoods they call home.
(Various locations, Monday & Saturday)

FILM

32nd Annual Cascade Festival of African Films
Past Event Like List This local film festival, which shows African films made by African filmmakers and encourages Western viewers to engage authentically with African cultures, will offer a mix of in-person and virtual screenings this year. The program, which lasts for over a month, includes acclaimed films like Ephraim Asili’s The Inheritance, Sundance favorites like Suzannah Mirghani Al-Sit, and many others. 
(Virtual, Monday-Sunday)

2022 HUMP! Film Festival Past Event Like List
Keep it in your pants during this delightfully dirty program curated by prolific sex columnist Dan Savage. The HUMP! Film Festival features an indie showcase of sex-positive short films running the gamut of body sizes, shapes, ages, sexualities, genders, kinks, and fetishes.
(Revolution Hall, Buckman, Thursday-Saturday)

Not Content To Be Contained: Work by the Cinema Unbound Awardees 2022 Past Event Like List
This weekend matinee programming marks the reopening of Whitsell Auditorium and includes films by the nonconformist, boundary-breaking directors nominated for Cinema Unbound awards. These awards are presented by the Northwest Film Center to diverse directors whose work expands viewer perspectives and embraces exploration.
(Whitsell Auditorium, South Park Blocks, Saturday-Sunday)

Oscar Shorts 2022 Past Event Like List
See this year's Oscar-nominated short films in three different categories—animation, documentary, and live action—so you can impress your family or housemates with educated predictions on Hollywood's biggest night (Sun Mar 27).
(Living Room Theaters, West End, Friday-Sunday)

TAG! Queer Shorts Festival 2022 Past Event Like List
This international festival spotlights queer and trans filmmakers, with a particular focus on the intersectional experiences of QTBIPOC creators. Tune in for documentaries, experimental works, music videos, and more; the 2022 festival's streaming program will feature a whopping 60 short films from 20 countries. Six intriguing blocks of programming allow viewers to watch films within specific themes.
(Virtual via Hollywood Theatre, Monday-Sunday)

FUN

Oregon Zoo Community Appreciation Days Past Event Like List
Visit polar bear sisters Nora and Amelia Gray at their new Polar Passage digs, branch managers Filbert and Maple, and the impossibly floofy red panda Moshu during the zoo's half-price community appreciation days. Tickets must be purchased online in advance.
(Oregon Zoo, Washington Park, Monday-Friday)

MUSIC

Disney and Pixar’s Coco Past Event Like List
This event pairs a screening of feature film Coco with live music by the Oregon Symphony! In this Oscar-winning family flick inspired by Día de los Muertos, 12-year-old aspiring musician Miguel journeys to the land of the dead to learn more about his family history.
(Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, South Park Blocks, Saturday-Sunday)

Hiss Golden Messenger
Past Event Like List MC Taylor’s songs have always felt weighed down by something. Through seven full-lengths under the Hiss Golden Messenger moniker, Taylor’s reedy tenor labors under the shadow of some guilt looming right above him, while his nimble alt-country ensemble—seemingly always ready to just jam, man—stays reserved, looking over their shoulders. Following his 2014 Merge Records debut, Lateness of Dancers, these 11 songs emerged as the newly day-job-less Taylor reckoned with his obligations to his family, his music, and himself. If the playing is any indication, embracing responsibility can feel like a burden lifted; the new record sees the band fortify their sound with a swagger that’s as much Memphis or Muscle Shoals as it is Nashville. NATHAN TUCKER
(Mississippi Studios, Boise, Wednesday-Thursday)

PDX Jazz Festival
Past Event Like List Biamp PDX Jazz Festival is back for its 19th annual celebration of Portland Jazz music and culture. This absolutely stacked lineup features a jaw-dropping mix of award-winning masters and the current generation of musicians who are innovating the genre. Highlights include the most-recorded jazz bassist in history Ron Carter, critically-acclaimed contemporary free-jazz master Angel Bat Dawid, performance and free beat-making workshop from psychedelic soul/jazz wizard MNDSGN, Tom Waits' Rain Dogs collaborator/guitarist Marc Ribot, and the Grammy-winning all-female Mariachi group Flor de Toloache.
(Various locations, Monday-Saturday)

Watchhouse (formerly Mandolin Orange) Past Event Like List
When they say less is more, you have to wonder if they're talking about Mandolin Orange. The understated North Carolina duo draws an awful lot of beauty out of not much sound. Music that's quiet and pretty isn't new or novel, of course—but Mandolin Orange's 2015 album, Such Jubilee, is just so quiet and pretty, it feels like a new frontier in minimalist, melodic Americana. Instrumentally, Mandolin Orange's songs usually subsist on the gentle chop of something stringed, an elegant fiddle part, the gorgeous vocal harmonies of Emily Frantz and Andrew Marlin, and that's about it. BEN SALMON
(Revolution Hall, Buckman, Tuesday-Wednesday)

THEATER

Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Past Event Like List The quintessential rock musical, Hedwig and the Angry Inch is a four-time Tony winner that's "part rock concert, part cabaret, and part stand-up comedy routine." The life story of Hedwig Robinson, a genderqueer German singer of a fictional rock and roll band who's "one of the most unique characters to ever hit the stage," will unfold as she searches for love and stardom.
(Portland Center Stage, Pearl District, Wednesday-Sunday)

Thurgood Past Event Like List
Actor Lester Purry and director Lou Bellamy, founder of Penumbra Theatre (the largest African-American theater in the country), return to the Portland Playhouse to tell the story of Thurgood Marshall, the first Black justice to serve on the Supreme Court. The one-man show spans Marshall's 58-year career, from his beginnings as a civil rights lawyer arguing Brown v. Board of Education to his SCOTUS appointment.
(Portland Playhouse, King, Wednesday-Sunday)

VISUAL ART

Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, and Mexican Modernism Past Event Like List
This traveling exhibit showcases Mexican postwar identity from the early 20th century through the eyes of artists such as Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. While Frida Kahlo's surrealist art is an exploration of her personal Mexican identity through painting and fashion, Diego Rivera's political murals chartered conversations of national identity. On view are several works by both artists, as well as a collection of artworks featuring Frida Kahlo, and other Mexican modernist artists.
(Portland Art Museum, South Park Blocks, Wednesday-Sunday)

DANCE

Dracula
Past Event Like List Oregon Ballet Theatre's Dracula is one spooky approach to the month of love. Based on Bram Stoker’s 1897 gothic novel, the story tells of Count Dracula's obsession with the young Svetlana. This bone-chilling, immersive performance is accompanied by Franz Liszt's live score as interpreted by the OBT Orchestra.
(Keller Auditorium, Downtown, Friday-Sunday)