Friday, July 19, 2013

Fests, fests and more fests

 I'm beginning to think Oregon is trying to compete with Louisiana for most music festivals ... ok, that's a bit overstated (really, check out the annual Louisiana fest list), but summer just explodes with multi-day music events here.


Ryan White of the Oregonian did a great preview of five that are happening this weekend in Portland: PDX Pop Now, the Cathedral Park Jazz Festival (both of those are free!), the Northwest String Summit, the first 8 Track Relay, and the second Sometimes a Great Notion Festival.

Plus, beginning this evening in Willamina is the Wildwood Americana and Roots Music Fest.


And, there's free music in the parks, street fairs, and more. How can anyone keep track? (tip: see my previous Summer free music post).

Hey folks, it's summer ... get outdoors to live music while you can!


Friday, July 12, 2013

Only two more James Low Laurelthirst happy hours!

James is moving later this month to join his wife in Malaysia for the next two years. It's going to be quite an adventure for them, but it means significantly fewer opportunities to experience his music live (to say the least) for a while.

This Saturday and next are the last two happy hour shows. I'm planning to be at both ... you should consider getting to one!  Music goes from 6 to 8 pm.

James and band are also doing the next Sellwood Riverfront Park concert on Monday, July 15th. It's part of the free summer music in the parks series, so come on out to that, too!  Music starts at 6:30 pm.

For a long time many folks in Portland have considered James one of the very best songwriter/performers we're lucky to have the opportunity to regularly experience. He's one of those artists I never tire of hearing and hope that one day a very deserving wider recognition will come his way. But for now, we'll give him a good send-off and look forward to his return (and occasional visits).

Monday, July 8, 2013

Tonight at Sellwood Riverfront Park

Just a quick note to say we're kicking off the summer season of live music in Portland parks, with Nikki Hill at Sellwood Riverfront Park. This is the first of five consecutive Monday night concerts. Nikki wowed the crowd at the Waterfront Blues Festival with some high energy blues, soul, and roots rock ...

Music begins at 6:30! Bring a blanket or chairs, food, drink (or by from our wonderful food vendors) ... and get ready to have a beautiful evening!

Hope to see ya there!

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Finally ... Jim's Music Notes Guide to Portland Summer Music, 2013 ... part one, the free music

Here it is ... finally ... shamelessly copying from earlier years ... but so many series are dependably consistent each year ... something I love about Portland ....

Recycle, edit, add, repeat ... here ya go  ... I have collected a bit of info about live and outdoor music you can catch in and around Portland this summer - in the parks, plazas, and other outdoor venues. It's already started and will begin to pick up a full head of steam in the next week. As I've said in the past (in fact, using some of this exact wording as in years past!), when it comes to live music outdoors in summer, we really do have an amazing number of choices, so there's no excuse for not catching some great music outdoors throughout the summer. 

There is free music and ticketed shows ... but with this post, let's cover ...

The Free (much of it paid for by generous sponsorships of local businesses who you should thank and support!):
Portland Parks and Recreation's Summer Free for All: Concerts in the Parks:  A dozen or so city parks, including Washington Park, will have evening concerts throughout the summer. These concerts kickoff on Monday, July 8th at Sellwood Riverfront Park with Nikki Hill (direct from the Waterfront Blues Festival!).  I've had a ton of fun being one of the organizers of this particular park series that we've expanded to five consecutive Mondays. These are community events that are a blast. So, find your local park, grab a picnic dinner (or patronize the food vendor/sponsors), bring a blanket or chairs, and enjoy.  Nothing better on a summer's eve!

For all of you who are downtown in Portland for your work week (or if you just like slacking downtown), there a some fine musical opportunities ...

Music on Main is a great Wednesday series that begins July 10th on Main Street between the Schnitz and the Performing Arts Center. As usual, it has a fine lineups of bands this summer.

Pioneer Square has another year of Noon Tunes - every Tuesday and Thursday, beginning July 9th with Moody Little Sister (a rockin' Naomi Hooley/Rob Stroup project). There's also a Monday series - Kink presents Portland Farmers Market at the Square - every Monday.

In its third year is the Sundown@Ecotrust Concerts (721 NW 9th) - on four consecutive Wednesdays beginning July 10th at 5:30 pm.

On the eastside for a 2nd year is Plaza Palooza in the Oregon Convention Center Plaza on Thursday evenings at 5 pm, beginning on July 12th and running through the end of August.

Then there are street fairs - for instance, Mississippi Street Fair (Saturday, July 13th), the Alberta Street Fair (Saturday, August 10th), and the Hawthorne Street Fair (Sunday, Aug 18th) ...

There's the annual Cathedral Park Jazz Festival - three days of great music ... free in St John's - July 18th - 21st.

Speaking of St John's, there also NoFest on Aug 10th.

But Portland isn't the only city in the area that has an abundance of free music ... check out these summer concert schedules:

Milwaukie has noon concerts on Wednesdays in Scott Park, across from the Ledding Library.

Lake Oswego hosts sixteen concerts spread among Millennium Plaza Park, Foothills Park, and Westlake Park through the summer - Wednesday nights and Sunday nights.

Hillsboro has music every Tuesday night at the Hillsboro Marketplace starting at 5:30 pm.

Tualatin spreads music around a number of parks on Thursdays and Saturdays.

West Linn has a Thursday night series at Tanner Creek Park beginning on July 25th.
Vancouver has a Thursday evening and a Wednesday noon series downtown in Esther Short Park.

I'll bet someone could go to live music outdoors every day this summer! No, it isn't going to be me ... but I'll do my share ... and I'm sure you'll do yours!  See ya out and about ....

 .... and be sure to add other events you know about via the Comments or email them directly to me.

Next post will cover the ticketed outdoor shows.