Although Oregon’s statewide mask mandate has been lifted, venues may have their own health guidelines in place. We advise directly checking the specific protocols for an event before heading out.

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MONDAY

READINGS & TALKS

Henry Rollins: Good to See You 2022 Past Event Like List
Any attempt to accurately describe Henry Rollins would be futile, but The Washington Post once described him as "enthusiastic and engaging chatter," which seems as good a label as any. For this tour, the legendary provocateur will dish on the details of his life lately with characteristic intensity.
(Aladdin Theater, Brooklyn)

TUESDAY

BIPOC

Black Podcast Festival Past Event Like List
The Numberz, Portland's Black-owned and operated radio station, will present this podcast fest from Pioneer Square's new Welcome Dome. Each week, live podcast sessions will feature a different show—The Bruce Poinsette Show, hosted by the local community organizer, will kick off the festival, followed by sessions of Chloe Said It, Klyph Notes, and more.
(Pioneer Courthouse Square, Downtown)

MUSIC

Bauhaus Past Event Like List
Despite having disbanded after only five years, English goth-rock prophets Bauhaus are widely recognized as pioneering the genre with their moody potion of post-punk, glam rock, and experimental electronic. The four-piece will reunite once again after a fourteen-year hiatus, just after the release of their new single "Drink the New Wine," which they recorded separately during lockdown.
(Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, South Park Blocks)

Kurt Vile and The Violators with Chastity Belt
Past Event Like List Beloved Philadelphia-based indie rocker Kurt Vile (and his luscious locks) will stop by on tour supporting the chilled-out new album, (watch my moves), his first full-length release on historic jazz label Verve Records. Uber-popular Seattle-based post-pop quartet Chastity Belt will get things started.
(Crystal Ballroom, West End)

PEACHES: Teaches of Peaches 20th Anniversary Tour
Past Event Like List Noted feminist musician and performance artist Peaches will celebrate the 20th anniversary of her groundbreaking debut album, Teaches of Peaches, which includes endlessly quotable and dark humor-filled songs like “Fuck the Pain Away,” “Cum Undon,” and “Diddle My Skittle.”
(Wonder Ballroom, Eliot)

WEDNESDAY

FILM

Church of Film: Femmes Femmes Past Event Like List
Paul Vecchiali's fantasy-ridden, champagne-drenched film Femmes Femmes sees two Parisian actresses revisit their passion for theater while reckoning with the aging process. The roommates fluctuate between bouts of whimsy and despair, with a few musical numbers thrown in, too.
(Clinton Street Theater, Hosford-Abernethy)

MUSIC

Cut Copy with Suzanne Kraft Past Event Like List
Synth-pop project Cut/Copy bloomed out of frontman Dan Whitford's Melbourne bedroom and into a four-piece band that has spent the last decade playing sold-out shows and flushing out critically acclaimed albums. Anticipate hearing songs off of their 2020 release, Freeze, Melt, which explores the impacts of climate change.
(Roseland Theater, Old Town-Chinatown)

Durand Jones & The Indications Past Event Like List
I’ll try not to get too gushy, but as I’m a bit of a soulie, I gotta holler about how Durand Jones & the Indications are one of a handful of contemporary soul groups that deserve all the respect and nods they’ve been getting. The band, which has two vocalists, stretch out the sweetest and deepest of soul. It’s the kind of soul y’all might know better as “smooth,” the early 1970s Philly/Chicago/Memphis sound, like, romantic, slow-dance soul that strode into the era via the Stylistics, the Impressions, and Al Green. Oooh-weee, DJ&I are just perfect. MIKE NIPPER
(Crystal Ballroom, West End)

READINGS & TALKS

Dr. Andrew Huberman: The Brain Body Contract
Past Event Like List Smart dude incoming! Neuroscientist and Stanford neurobiology professor Andrew Huberman, Ph.D. is an expert on brain development and neural plasticity. Published in top journals and featured in TIME, Scientific American, Discover, and more, Huberman is also the host of the top-ranked Huberman Lab Podcast, which grapples with all things neuroscience.
(Newmark Theatre, South Park Blocks)

Essential Labor Book Tour Past Event Like List
Filipino American food writer and former Stranger staff writer Angela Garbes has penned a book that reframes care work and mothering as a radical and essential form of social justice. In Essential Labor, Garbes pulls from her own upbringing as a first-generation immigrant in the United States to consider how mothering has been an economic demand, particularly for women of color. Further, Garbes wonders how the emotionally draining act of mothering might be a channel through which to find a deeper sense of self.
(Powell's City of Books, Pearl District)

Neil deGrasse Tyson
Past Event Like List Esteemed astrophysicist and Hayden Planetarium director Neil deGrasse Tyson will expand your mind with accessible explanations of star formation, dwarf galaxies, and more. Basically, space for dummies!
(Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, South Park Blocks)

Reel Science: The Beaver Believers
Past Event Like List The Beaver Believers, an intrepid crew of scientists (and one cheeky hairdresser), are chewing on climate change one stick at a time by helping restore the humble North American beaver to western watersheds. The Believers stress the importance of beavers as a species that enriches and complexifies watersheds. Seeking to work as a partner with the natural world rather than trying to conquer and dominate it, the Believers share their ways of thinking about climate change in this documentary, offering glimpses of hope and inspiration.
(OMSI, Central Eastside)

THURSDAY

ACTIVISM & SOCIAL JUSTICE

Pants On Fire: Planned Parenthood Fundraiser Party
Past Event Like List Activism can be funny, too. Planned Parenthood's Pants on Fire! event invites attendees to hear a range of storytellers, comics, and other creatives swap tales, with one secret liar among the bunch. If you sniff out the truth, you might win a stay at Edgefield Hotel or other chill prizes. After that, shimmy around to live tunes from Megan Diana. It's all for a good cause, of course—all proceeds for this show will go to Planned Parenthood Advocates of Oregon, and it's a crucial moment to show them some support.
(McMenamins White Eagle Saloon, Eliot)

FILM

Foreign Affairs: Tampopo Past Event Like List
Juzo Itami's "ramen western" follows a band of milk-truck drivers whose pit stop at a roadside noodle shop blossoms into a quest for the perfect noodle recipe. The genre-bending 1985 film is segmented by stirring stories that don't relate to the main plot, but speak to the emotional power of food.
(Hollywood Theatre, Hollywood District)

MUSIC

Anika with EMA
Past Event Like List The Berlin-based artist known mononymously as Anika will bring her haunting Nico-esque voice and sparse electronic beats to town in support of her album, Change, which happens to be her first solo full-length in over a decade.  Portland-based singer-songwriter EMA will start the night with her electro-folk tunes.
(Mississippi Studios, Boise)

Bob Moses
Past Event Like List Vancouver duo Bob Moses reaches rock music fans and DJs alike with their melding of guitar licks, poetic lyricism, and irresistible dance-floor-ready beats. The pair will support the new album, The Silence in Between, after an opening set from London-based DJ/producer TSHA.
(Wonder Ballroom, Eliot)

Strand of Oaks with Pat Finnerty
Past Event Like List Back in 2019, Mercury senior editor Ned Lannamann wrote: "Tim Showalter’s art has always been one of complete, transparent, terrifying honesty. Under the name Strand of Oaks, he’s released six albums of painfully soul-searching songs that confront traumatic events like his house burning down, his wife’s infidelity, and a nearly fatal car accident. The music varies from whisper-quiet funeral folk to headspace synth poems to metal-tinged shred rock, although his best work blends these disparate elements into a throaty, fist-pumping brand of heartland rock." Now supporting his seventh album, In Heaven, he will play after an opening set from Philadelphia-based rocker Pat Finnerty.
(Aladdin Theater, Brooklyn)

PARTIES & NIGHTLIFE

Britney Party
Past Event Like List It's Britney, bitch! Let loose and belt out your favorite jams from every era of pop icon Britney Spears' prolific career at this very special Brit-centric dance party.
(Holocene, Buckman)

READINGS & TALKS

Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns in conversation with Governor Kate Brown
Past Event Like List In This Will Not Pass, New York Times reporters Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns draw on interviews and insider information to describe 18 months of utter chaos for American democracy. Detailing the strain of the two-party political system in the face of COVID-19, Trump's campaign of vengeance, the January 6 attack on the Capitol, and Biden’s first year in office, Martin and Burns wonder whether our current political system will ever truly function again. They'll be joined in conversation by Governor Kate Brown.
(Powell's City of Books, Pearl District)

FRIDAY

COMEDY

Matt Braunger Past Event Like List
Portland-raised comic Matt Braunger started out as a child actor before he found his funny bone. He's since become a headlining humorist, appearing on MADtv, Fuller House, BoJack Horseman, CONAN, The Late Show with David Letterman, and way too many others to list. Sounds like a comic to keep your eye on.
(Aladdin Theater, Brooklyn)

Niles Abston Past Event Like List
Comedian, writer, and filmmaker Niles Abston has a lot on his mind. He most recently made a short film, Notice To Quit, he's returning to the Pacific Northwest to work on material for his second stand-up comedy special, and he recently began writing for the hit FX show Dave. I spoke with the comedian a few weeks before his newest PNW trip about what we can expect, how much he liked Everything Everywhere All At Once, and the state of the stoner comedy. CHASE HUTCHINSON
(Siren Theater, Old Town-Chinatown)

MUSIC

Jay Aston's Gene Loves Jezebel with Strange Cities Past Event Like List
When famed twins Jay and Michael Aston of goth rock crew Gene Loves Jezebel began feuding over legal issues in the '90s, they decided to split up, leaving two incarnations of the band. Here, Jay Aston will celebrate 40 years since the band’s start, with a performance of their pinnacle '80s hits like "Desire" and "Motion of Love." San Francisco grunge wizards Strange Cities and local post-punks Fotoform will get the moody rock tunes flowing.
(Star Theater, Old Town-Chinatown)

Steely Dan Past Event Like List
Titans of '70s soft rock Steely Dan will make things smooth as hell with their masterful precision, sunny grooves, and jazz fusion laced jams. Unfortunately, Steve Winwood won't be able to make his scheduled appearance, but luckily funk-rock ensemble Snarky Puppy will be filling in.
(Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Lloyd District)

PERFORMANCE

I'll See Ya, Monsoon! All Stars 7 Premiere Party
Past Event Like List It’s monsoon season! Jinkx Monsoon will return home for a star-studded drag show featuring Bolivia Carmichaels, Cody James, LaLa Benet, Silhouette, and Violet Hex. What's the occasion? Jinkx is returning to the werk room for the first-ever all-winners season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars. Get ready to gag at this viewing party of the season premiere.
(Clinton Street Theater, Hosford-Abernethy)

Junior Artist Generator Spring Concert Past Event Like List
Junior Artist Generator, aka JAG, is BodyVox's elite training and performance program, helping high school-aged dancers develop some serious talent. At this showcase, you'll find the young dancers performing works by Gregg Bielemeyer, Moira Corbett, Sukie Elliott, Nick Jurica, and more.
(BodyVox Dance Center, Northwest Portland)

READINGS & TALKS

Tesla City Stories Past Event Like List
Each month, Tesla City Stories offers an ultra-unique night out featuring live "radio" drama straight from the '40s-era archives of the fictional Tesla City. May's programming includes "episodes" of Shepherd's Trail, a Western adventure. Part performance art, part pop archeology, this inventive event also includes live music and prizes.
(The Old Church, Downtown)

SATURDAY

COMEDY

Girl God Past Event Like List
Surreal and interactive, Girl God's performances are tag-teamed by comedy duo April Clark and Grace Freud. The jokesters approach the stage from trans and queer perspectives, selling out shows in New York, Chicago, and LA with truthful reflections.
(The Old Church, Downtown)

Lone Wolves
Past Event Like List Smart, sharp sketch comedy returns with the Lone Wolves, a seasoned local comedy team directed by Shelley McLendon.
(Siren Theater, Old Town-Chinatown)

FILM

Stunt Rock by Brian Trenchard-Smith Past Event Like List
Part mockumentary, part musical, this 1978 Australian flick is a testament to legendary stuntman Grant Page's wicked talents. In Stunt Rock, Page hits LA to work on a TV show while sharing some daredevil pyrotechnic skills with rock band Sorcery. While hanging around town, pulling off stunts, and lighting stuff on fire (as one does), Page meets a magazine writer and shows her how to live on the wild side. Director and satirical sci-fi whiz Brian Trenchard-Smith will be in attendance for a Q&A alongside Margaret Trenchard-Smith, one of Stunt Rock's stars. 
(Hollywood Theatre, Hollywood District)

FOOD & DRINK

4th Annual Edgefield Brewfest
Past Event Like List The imbiber’s version of a candy store, Edgefield is home to a winery, distillery, and brewery. Their fourth annual Brewfest will showcase over 50 beers and ciders, so pick your poison and bring your own blanket or chair to enjoy it out on the lawn. The High Deductibles and the Neil Young/Creedence Clearwater Revival tribute band Fortunate Gold will provide live music.
(Edgefield, Troutdale)

MUSIC

Jenny Hval with Discovery Zone Past Event Like List
On her new album, Classic Objects, Norwegian avant-garde musician Jenny Hval coos about signing a deal with the patriarchy, finding freedom, and holding conflicting beliefs. Hval moves away from the vampire-inspired dance club tunes from her previous album, The Practice of Love, and dives deeper into dreamy art-pop filled with personal narrative and her breathy vocal qualities. Catch her as she supports the new album after a set from "mystical pop" artist Discovery Zone.
(Holocene, Buckman)

Monsters of Rock '88 Tribute
Past Event Like List Travel back in time to the year 1988 with a gaggle of era-appropriate hard-rock cover bands including Van Halen/Sammy Hagar tribute 5150, Scorpions tribute Lovedrive, Dokken tribute Breaking The Chains, and Metallica tribute Motorbreath. 
(Star Theater, Old Town-Chinatown)

Wagner & Strauss: Stories Without Words Past Event Like List
The Oregon Symphony will bring Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde and Richard Strauss’ Rosenkavalier to life alongside Riprap, a mini-concerto for marimba by composer Gabriella Smith, performed by principal percussionist Michael Roberts.
(Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, South Park Blocks)

PERFORMANCE

Jayanthi Raman's Margam: The Divine Path
Past Event Like List Jayanthi Raman—award-winning performer, choreographer, artist, and Portlander—presents this showcase of Bharatha Natyam, a classical Indian dance, with a robust cast of dancers and musicians. Raman choreographed the full-length production with nods to classical, folk, and contemporary dance, all informed by Bharatha Natyam traditions. Oregon Poet Laureate Emeritus Paulann Petersen will recite poetry for a special piece performed by Raman.
(Winningstad Theatre, South Park Blocks)

VISUAL ART

It's Often a Performance and Little Star Past Event Like List
In this two-person exhibition, Brittany Connelly considers the relationship between viewer and performer in It's Often a Performance, while Leslie Vigeant's Little Star ruminates on the prolonged collective grief experienced over the last two years.
(Carnation Contemporary, Kenton)

SUNDAY

COMEDY

Clownin’
Past Event Like List The clown comes back to bite in this comedy romp featuring Sir Lance Edward, Bryan Bixby, Mx. Dahlia Belle, Adam Pasi, and Daja Monae. Produced and hosted by Portland entertainer Shrista, Clownin' also includes musical vibes from DJ/rapper 94Prynce.
(Kelly's Olympian, Downtown)

MUSIC

Destroyer Past Event Like List
To judge by Dan Bejar's singing style, the equivalent of a stranger whispering in your ear to be heard over a crowd, it's easy to picture the Vancouver musician as a cross between Joel Grey and Space Oddity-era David Bowie, except he's neither a dapper song-and-dance man nor a starry-eyed glam rocker. It's just that he italicizes every lyric like an alien struggling to emulate the human concept of sincerity—and failing spectacularly. Even as a member of power-pop collective the New Pornographers, Bejar's songs stand alone, sounding as if they drifted over from one of his 10 studio albums, such as the excellent, NYC-inspired Poison Season. If you don't get it, don't worry. Bejar is a Brechtian device disguised as a chamber-pop troubadour. KATHY FENNESSY
(Revolution Hall, Buckman)

Nilüfer Yanya, Tasha Support, and Ada Lea Past Event Like List
Breathing soul and jazz into laid-back pop songs with flourishes of electronica, Nilüfer Yanya has toured with the likes of Interpol, Broken Social Scene, and Mitski. This time she'll headline her own tour supporting her latest album, Painless, with opening sets from Chicago-based singer-songwriter Tasha and Canadian indie-rock artist Ada Lea.
(Wonder Ballroom, Eliot)

Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
Past Event Like List British new wave legends Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark—AKA OMD—will celebrate 40 years of synth-tinged hits on their Souvenir tour. 
(Roseland Theater, Old Town-Chinatown)

MULTI-DAY

AANHPI HERITAGE MONTH

I Am an American
Past Event Like List Hate crimes targeting Asian Americans are on the rise—if you don't know about it, you haven't been paying attention. In collaboration with Portland photographer Jim Lommasson and artist Roberta Wong, The Immigrant Story presents this exhibition of photographs, objects, and artwork to bring awareness to the current experiences of Asian Americans. The show's title, I Am An American, became a rallying cry after Japanese Americans were imprisoned in internment camps in WWII. While trends of xenophobia and discrimination continue, this exhibition speaks to the endurance of strength of Asian Americans in the face of generations of adversity.
(PLACE, Nob Hill, Monday-Friday; closing)

COMEDY

Maria Bamford
Past Event Like List You've probably seen Maria Bamford's surreal comedy, with a medley of voice impressions, deadpan jokes, vulnerable storytelling, and high-energy, rapidly changing characters. She's had specials on Comedy Central and Netflix, plus voiceover roles in BoJack Horseman, Adventure Time, and Kung Fu Panda. Fresh off the release of Judd Apatow's latest flick The Bubble, a COVID-era comedy, Bamford returns to the stage for more fun, weirdo comedy.
(Helium Comedy Club, Hosford-Abernethy, Thursday-Saturday)

FESTIVALS

Troutdale Arts Festival
Past Event Like List Brighten up your weekend with this festival of live music and dozens of local artists sharing paintings, jewelry, ceramics, and more right on the Sandy River. If I were you, I'd snag a cone from Sugarpine Drive-In Like List , too.
(Glenn Otto Park, Troutdale, Saturday-Sunday)

The 7th Vanport Mosaic Festival
Past Event Like List Vanport, the largest WWII federal housing project in the United States and once Oregon's second-largest city, celebrates its 80th anniversary this year. With performances, film screenings, exhibitions, tours, and conversations, the Vanport Mosaic Festival commemorates the city's founding through an activist, community-minded lens.
(Various locations, Friday-Sunday)

MUSIC

Lord Huron
Past Event Like List Back in 2019, Stranger managing editor Leilani Polk described LA-based folk-pop quartet Lord Huron's sound as “breezily effortless and expansive, their sweeping anthemic drive imbued with a Springsteenian/War on Drugs-like indie-rock appeal.” The band continues this trajectory on their critically acclaimed new album, Long Lost, which soars with rich vocal harmonies and vivid lyricism.
(Keller Auditorium, Downtown, Thursday-Friday)

OUTSIDE

Oregon International Air Show Past Event Like List
Returning after a four-year hiatus, this special edition of the Oregon International Air Show takes to the skies with an all-female crew of performers, announcers, and air bosses. Crane your neck for the main event, then stick around for fireworks and a beer garden.
(Hillsboro Airport, Friday-Sunday)

PERFORMANCE

Appropriate by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins Remind Like List
When three combative siblings converge on their late father's estate to settle his affairs, their own baggage gets in the way, leading to an explosive reveal. Winning the 2014–2015 Obie Award for Best New American Play, Appropriate was deemed "gut-punching" and "exceptionally brilliant" by Time Out.
(Imago Theatre, Buckman, Wednesday-Sunday)

Last Stop on Market Street
Past Event Like List Infused with hip-hop, Motown, and rap, this moral-infused musical is like Hamilton for kiddos. When CJ and his Nana take a bus ride, they share a sing-along experience of thankfulness and unexpected beauty.
(Newmark Theatre, South Park Blocks, Saturday-Sunday)

The Legend of Georgia McBride Past Event Like List
We're pretty sure this hip-shakin' drag jamboree would be Trixie Mattel approved. When a down-on-his-luck Elvis impersonator struggles to pay the bills and keep his landlord at bay in small-town Florida, his chance encounter with a second-rate drag show gives him a glamorous idea.
(Funhouse Lounge, Hosford-Abernethy, Thursday-Sunday)

Sex on the River Past Event Like List
It's 1880, and you're chilling on the bank of the Willamette River. A lively barge floats into view—it's Nancy Boggs's floating bordello, complete with a saloon and dance hall. Boggs, a divorced mom with few prospects, kept her finances afloat by gaming the system in more ways than one. The offbeat, inspiring true story comes back to life in this musical production, complete with can-can and nine original songs.
(Triangle Productions, Kerns, Thursday-Sunday)

The Thin Place Past Event Like List
The Thin Place, a bewitching new play by Obie Award-winner Lucas Hnath, contemplates whether we can talk with the dead. This chilling ghost story about a psychic and her client, full of illusions, twists, and turns, just might convince you that it’s possible.
(KEX, Kerns, Monday-Saturday)

Vanport the Musical Past Event Like List
When local actor, author, and playwright Shalanda Sims started researching her family's arrival on Portland soil, she discovered that they worked at the Vanport shipyard on the heels of the Great Depression. Sims's Vanport: The Musical comes to life as an ode to the city's hidden history and its important role on a national scale during World War II.
(Northwest Children's Theater & School, Northwest Portland, Friday-Saturday)

SPRING

Floratopia PDX Past Event Like List
The Portland Garden Club's snazzy flower show will blossom with bright exhibits from floral designers and horticulturists from far and wide. Over 80 judges will be on site to ribbon the most beautiful blooms; you'll find botanical jewelry, landscape and floral photography, and a biomimicry lecture, too.
(World Forestry Center & Museum, Washington Park, Saturday-Sunday)

VISUAL ART

Amanda Wojick: Small Shields and Other Shapes
Past Event Like List Amanda Wojick's playful, geometric style hits a fever pitch in Small Shields and Other Shapes, a selection of gouache paintings and multimedia sculptures. The artist explores the abstract and undefinable through vigorous use of color, origami-inspired constructions, and tactile paper fragments.
(Elizabeth Leach Gallery, Pearl District, Tuesday-Saturday)

Barbara Sternberger: Emanating
Past Event Like List Barbara Sternberger's new series of abstract paintings channels "pure expression," attempting to embody utter immersion and avoid any predetermined aesthetic decisions. Layers of accumulated mark-making give Sternberger's works a palimpsest quality; barely-visible traces of past imagery reveal the story behind each composition.
(Elizabeth Leach Gallery, Pearl District, Tuesday-Saturday)

Federico Estol: Shine Heroes Past Event Like List
Uruguayan artist Federico Estol began the project that would become Shine Heroes three years ago when connecting with shoe shiners in Bolivia. A recent influx of 3,000 shoe shiners of all ages works the streets daily, using ski masks to avoid being recognized. In this way, they avoid discrimination in their neighborhoods, schools, and even within their families. Estol's photobook project has become an ongoing fight against social stigma; proceeds from the book are now helping Bolivian shoe shiners make their living.
(Blue Sky Gallery, Northwest Portland, Wednesday-Saturday)

Making a Mark: Contemporary Drawings
Past Event Like List Gifted to the museum by art collectors Werner H. and Sally Kramarsky, this exhibition of drawings includes works by 23 process-oriented artists, including William Anastasi, Arnold Kemp, Marco Maggi, Allyson Strafella, and Joan Waltemath. Centering '60s contemporary minimalism and conceptual art, Making a Mark is both playful and technique-driven.
(Portland Art Museum, South Park Blocks, Saturday-Sunday; opening)