Portland summer music 2017 ... free outdoor music everywhere!

Here it is again ... the 2017 version of my annual post about the many, many summer outdoor music options we have in Portland! It's going to sound a lot like the previous years, as there's a lot of text recycling with refreshed links.

Something I truly love about Portland in the summer is that there's music in the parks, plazas, and other outdoor venues all over town and the surrounding communities. Does summer get any better than this?

PDX Pipeline - I'll revise this link if they once again publish an Ultimate Summer Events guide. For now they have links to different categories of events and they do update every week with things to do.

As I've said before (ad nauseum), 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 throughout the summer.

I'd like to first note some of the free music out and about in the region ... and, as nothing is really free, remember most of it is paid for by the generous sponsorship of local businesses (who you should thank and support), and in many cases your generous contributions at the shows.

I'll do a separate post on the wealth of great summer shows for which you'll actually need to purchase a ticket. But first the free ...

Portland Parks and Recreation's Summer Free for All: Concerts in the Parks:  Over a dozen city parks will have evening concerts throughout the summer. These concerts kickoff on Wednesday, July 5. I've had a ton of fun being one of the organizers of Sellwood Riverfront Park series. This summer we'll have four wonderful Monday shows with Redray Frazier, Orquestra Pacifico Tropical, Ashleigh Flynn and the Riveters, and Teresa James & the Rhythm Tramps! These are community events that are a blast. So, find your local park (or venture further!), grab a picnic dinner (or patronize the food vendor/sponsors), bring a blanket or chairs, and enjoy. Nothing better on a summer's eve! Also note that there is music before each of the scheduled Movies in the Park - another 50 nights to catch music (and a film) for free in a Portland park this summer.

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, like:

Music on Main is a great Wednesday series that begins July 5 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 at noon - July 11 to August 29.

Then there are street fairs - for instance, Mississippi Street Fair (Saturday, July 8), the Alberta Street Fair (Saturday, August 12), and the Hawthorne Street Fair (Sunday, Aug 27) ... and of course, Last Thursday on Alberta (first one on June 29 - tonight!)

There's the annual Cathedral Park Jazz Festival - three days of great music ... free in St John's - July 14-16.

The Doug Fir Lounge hosts free Pickin' On Sundays starting July 9 through August 27 at 3 pm. And I know this is only one example of the restaurants, bars, and backyards that have bands playing outside!

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 https://www.milwaukieoregon.gov/library/historic-milwaukie-concerts on Wednesdays in Scott Park, across from the Ledding Library. There will also be evening concerts in Ardenwald Park.

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

Marylhurst University in West Linn has it's free Summer on the Green series of music through July and August. This year includes Three Leg Torso, Sister Mercy, and Curtis Salgado!

West Linn also has a Thursday night series at Tanner Creek Park beginning on July 20.

Oregon City also has a Thursday night series at the End of the Oregon Trail starting on July 13.

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.

Vancouver has a Thursday evening and a Wednesday noon series downtown in Esther Short Park and a new Sunday series at the Columbia Tech Center.

I'm sure there's even more free outdoor music out there for you to discover.
Go for it and have a great summer!