RESCHEDULED FROM 1/19/23!
DJ Klyph Productions brings a Portland Music Month special, in partnership with XRAY & Music Portland.
Pigeon John
is an underground MC with a genre-fusing style and positive lyrics. He is sometimes labeled a Christian rapper because of his hopeful messages and references to God, but with easily relatable subject matter and musical influences drawing from across the spectrum of rock and pop music, he aims to reach as wide an audience as possible. Active since the early 1990s, he made an impact on the hip-hop world as a member of the L.A. Symphony collective, as well as acclaimed solo efforts like 2003's Pigeon John Is Dating Your Sister. Subsequent albums like 2010's Dragon Slayer incorporated more live instrumentation and sung vocal hooks, and he received mainstream exposure as several of his songs were featured in advertisements, including the 2011 single "The Bomb" and 2019's "They Don't Make Em Like Me." He continued delivering uplifting vibes with 2020's Gotta Good Feelin', drawing influence from Motown, reggae, alternative rock, and dance music.
VURSATYL
is an MC and Singer/Songwriter who came to international attention as a member of the Portland, Oregon based Hip Hop group Lifesavas. With the group and as a solo artist, Vursatyl has toured extensively with De La Soul, Talib Kweli, Slum Village and Little Brother to name just a few. As well as collaborating and recording music with George Clinton, Smif-N-Wessun, Digable Planets’ lead MC Ishmael, Camp Lo, Dead Prez and most recently Run The Jewels. After honing his craft for over 25 years in the music business VURSATYL is a seasoned veteran in his own right.
Donte Thomas
is known for his pristine penmanship, charismatic voice and unique take on life growing up in his hometown Portland, Oregon. Born May 17th, 1994, Thomas spent years embracing the culture of Hip-Hop. While in high school, he released 3 projects under the name "Don" which gave him a name and made him a familiar face amongst his peers and the local music scene. He is also the CEO of the independent music organization Success That's Recognized At Youth (STRAY).
Soop Dread
Having amassed a prolific catalogue of underground music dating back to 2008, the term ‘Humbled into Obscurity’ captures Soop Dreads DIY/ punk rock approach to making music left for listeners to discover on their own. The earliest recordings scattered about the internet have the lo-fi production quality of early reggae yet the charisma of DOOM and Jay Electronica. Originally from South Central LA, Soop has spent the last decade in Portland Oregon. While nomadically wandering on psychedelics and binge reading science fiction, his early roots in Rastafarianism and Hiduism have manifested into a perspective unlike any rapper of his caliber. On top of being self taught multi-instrumentalist, it’s his tongue in cheek approach that will resonate with listeners the most.
FREE // All Ages // Open to the Public
Come join us and hear more about the candidates running for Portland City Council in District 2! The forum will be hosted by Tim and Kip from Progress Portland and MC’d by DJ Ambush and Morgan Jones of XRAY's News with My Fiancé.
Attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions and participate in the conversation, ensuring a comprehensive discussion that reflects the diverse interests of District 2 residents.
All Ages // Doors 1pm, Show 2pm
$35 // TICKETS
BALLROOM STAGE
ALO
Shook Twins
Glitterfox
Greg Holden
Fox and Bones w/ The Quick & Easy Boys
Christopher Worth w/ Greaterkind + The AM
Wil Kinky
LOLA's ROOM STAGE
Stephanie Anne Johnson
Jeremy James Meyer
TBA
Caliko
Chris Couch
Alaina Fidanzo
PFF Songwriting Contest Winners
WARM CLOTHES DRIVE
Winter can be a tough time for both housed and unhoused communities all over Portland. We are asking our PFF attendees to donate gently used or new warm winter clothing and supplies, especially gloves, socks and packaged handwarmers at our 2024 festival at the Crystal Ballroom. Our partners at All Good Northwest serve individuals experiencing houselessness in the Portland metro area and will make sure your donations are reaching the communities who are most in need.
This venue is a proud partner of Portland Music Month. A portion of your ticket price
will be donated to the Echo Fund to support local music creators. Find out more here
8pm to Midnight
2025 N Kilpatrick St, Portland, OR 97217
You can pay cash or Venmo
21+ // Doors 7pm, Show 8pm
$12 General Admission // TICKETS
Nasalrod
Described by The Deli Magazine contributor Tracy Mamoun as “surprising, experimental, and fun like rock n’ roll should be,” Portland's Nasalrod is a collaborative vision. The intensity of drummer Spit Stix (a founding member of the seminal L.A. punk band FEAR) is a major driving force behind the spazz-rock and roll quartet. The band is currently performing its frenetic act in support of their upcoming split 12" record with Bay Area legends Victims Family.
Named after the bone in Screamin’ Jay’s nose, Nasalrod has found that originality and insanity can go hand in hand. Lead singer Chairman’s sneering, kooky yet soulful vocals soar over a sound that is simultaneously melodic, violent and convulsive. Spit Stix, guitarist Mustin Douch, and bassist Mandy Morgan provide a sonic backdrop that is the twisted and theatrical heart of Nasalrod. Their full-length album Building Machines is a fun and furious blast of genre-busting punk derangement, full of on-a-dime rhythm changes, heavy riffs and shape shifting melodies that capture the madness that the band is known for.
Armed with their notoriously frantic live show, Nasalrod has shared stages with various acts such as Mudhoney, Melt-Banana, Mike Watt, D.O.A., Big Business, The Avengers, Torche, and Fear.
“The genre police will never close the case on Nasalrod. You can’t call them punk because you’d be selling them short. They don’t play noise rock because their songs have structure, even a dance-ability at times. You could almost call them a pop band, but they’re way too heavy and aggressive. They’re a band of musical masterminds that can’t be caught.” – Aris Wales, The Portland Mercury
Tacos!
Seattle metal band Tacos! functioned for nearly a decade as a two-piece band whose sonic MO is driving, in your face, heaviness. Well-known for their boisterous live shows, played regularly all over town, members Lupe Flores (also of Wild Powwers) and Donovan Stewart were often approached after shows by friends and audience members asking to join the band as their third member.
Their answer was always the same: "Nah. We're good."
During Covid isolation, however, is when Hozoji Matheson-Margullis (of SeaTac heavyweights Helms Alee) asked to join. This time, the answer was a no-brainer: it was a logical, organic fit— They’d been good friends for many years, and their chemistry was already there.
When Hozoji joined Tacos!, the tectonic shift that followed was massive: fuller and heavier, yet maintaining sincerity and a thundering sound. The band members all share in the lyric writing and vocal duties, blending their voices in an evocative aural tapestry. “It's like Thin Lizzy, Heart, and the Melvins all together,” says Flores. Their new album "3", sees them grasping at - and seizing - big sounds, big meaning, and big feelings.
18+ // Doors 6:30pm, Show 8pm
TICKETS // $25 Adv., $30 Day of Show, $35 21+ Reserved Balcony
All tickets for the previously scheduled April 29, 2023 show will be honored at this new date.
Lotus is a five-piece instrumental band formed while members were in college and has evolved and grown over 20 plus years. They were early adopters of fusing electronic beats and sounds from dance music with jam music, but also draw on psych-rock, post-rock, disco, funk and jazz. Their dance-inducing, high energy shows have made them festival favorites.
The band cut its teeth on the road building up a loyal fanbase by word of mouth. They also have released a steady stream of studio albums that showcase the band's diverse musical tastes and production styles. In 2021 Lotus welcomed new lead guitarist Tim Palmieri to the group. Tim has been a pillar of the scene for two decades known for his virtuosic playing and melodic improvisation. He has brought a new energy to the stage and will was also featured on the band's most recent album Bloom & Recede (2022).
The first incarnation of Lotus came together for a music showcase in 1998 at Goshen College in Indiana. Albums such as their debut studio release, Nomad (2006) have become a touchstone for how to organically fuse elements of electronica with jam music. Over the last two decades, Lotus has toured actively throughout the US working their way up from dingy basement clubs to world-class venues such as Red Rocks. They've become festival favorites, playing everything from Bonnaroo, Camp Bisco and Outside Lands to Ultra Music Festival and Electric Forest, building a hyper-loyal following along the way. The band also hosts their own annual Summerdance Festival in Garrettsville, Ohio. A Lotus live show is an experience, a uniquely crafted and improvised set taking everyone, the crowd and band, on a journey.
Wildflowers & Weeds + Hello Cruel World present a Portland Music Month special, in partnership with XRAY & Music Portland.
Laith & The Texas Birds
Laith is a Texas songbird. And songbirds don’t fly south for the winter, but they do fly low for the blues. Laith knows that to fly low is to feel high and to feel high is to get struck by lightning. And lightning is the heart of this record. Texas lightning.
On Laith’s debut record, ‘Lightning’, he carries us across state lines from LA to Arizona, Colorado to Espanola, Houston to New Orleans, Utah on to the Great Northwest, where he currently lays his head, dreaming of running these roads until the wheels don’t touch the ground. And his writing does just that. It burns along the asphalt until there’s none left. And that’s when Laith takes us beyond, on phantom track lines through the abstract geography of his mind. He flows seamlessly between railway signs and lost trains of thought. Like a true American surrealist.
‘Lightning’ was recorded in two pieces over about 6 months in Portland, Oregon. [sic] The result is a 12-track traveling companion for the wild-eyed western mystic drifting along the winding highway, pulling off for all the old haunts - love, money, and hysteria. It’s outsider country rooted in the Texas songwriting tradition; buzzing with the subtle hum of northwestern psychedelia. And with a voice that literally sounds like smokestacks and lightning, Laith takes the listener from bar room to bedroom and back again, cruising along the vibrant soundscapes of The Texas Birds. It’s a timeless sound laden with thundering pianos and padded with Rhodes and organ; dusty acoustic guitars and ghostly harmonies fade in and out of the ether; the spirited twang of the electric guitar and the raw wah thump of the clavinet squabble in the dark while the pedal steel takes to the sky; all held within the deep pocket of a dynamic rhythm section.
-Taylor Kingman
Silver Triplets of the Rio Hondo
The trio features the dreamy & toothsome embellishments of Haven Multz Matthews on skins and Christopher Cook wielding guitar leads that alternate between Bakersfield country & avant-noise in quick succession, & the samples dancing in and out of the periphery may leave an audience wondering how a sound at times so massive & strange can still feel somehow intimate.
(via Giant Rock Meeting Room)
Susannah Mars has been working as a performing artist since she was ten. She is a Resident Artist at Artists Repertory Theatre and is on the board at Portland Center Stage. Over the past thirty-five years, she’s appeared onstage worldwide. Locally, she’s played iconic roles like Mrs. Lovett in Sweeny Todd, Mother in Ragtime, and Mama Rose in Gypsy. She’s performed her holiday show Mars On Life and played Diana in Next To Normal, among others. Most recently, she was Miss Trunchbull at Portland Playhouse and played Mistress Hibbins in Scarlet and Margaret in The Light in the Piazza. She was on NBC’s Grimm as Drew Wu’s psychiatrist, Dr. Richet. Ms. Mars is the proud recipient of six Portland Drama Critics awards. She’s also sung with The Oregon and Seattle Symphonies, among others. Lately, she finds herself in a lovely sound booth at home voicing audiobooks, audio-description, and commercials. Please find out more, including updates on her short documentary film about art and grief, Symphony of Grief, by subscribing to her newsletter at susannahmars.com
Jessica Wallenfels creates new work that is music and movement-driven with her company, Many Hats Collaboration. Recent works include Great Wide Open, Matter, and The Undertaking. Wallenfels also works as a freelance director/choreographer. Her work has been seen at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Portland Center Stage, Portland Playhouse, Artists Repertory Theatre, Broadway Rose, Oregon Children’s Theater and other venues. Wallenfels currently teaches at Portland State University and Clackamas Community College. She holds a BFA from California Institute of the Arts and an MFA in directing from the University of Portland.
Julia Francis is a Seattle-based sound healing practitioner, singer-songwriter and workshop facilitator. With her voice and crystal alchemy bowls, she offers sound baths, private vocal attunement sessions and retreats that create space for relaxation, inspiration and deep healing. A life-long disciple of the vocal arts, Julia draws on her Celtic heritage, as well as her intensive study with shamanic practitioners and sound healers across the globe to help others understand and perceive the power of the unseen sonic world that surrounds us. Discover her offerings at www.juliafrancis.com.
RESCHEDULED FROM 1/19/23!
DJ Klyph Productions brings a Portland Music Month special, in partnership with XRAY & Music Portland.
Pigeon John
is an underground MC with a genre-fusing style and positive lyrics. He is sometimes labeled a Christian rapper because of his hopeful messages and references to God, but with easily relatable subject matter and musical influences drawing from across the spectrum of rock and pop music, he aims to reach as wide an audience as possible. Active since the early 1990s, he made an impact on the hip-hop world as a member of the L.A. Symphony collective, as well as acclaimed solo efforts like 2003's Pigeon John Is Dating Your Sister. Subsequent albums like 2010's Dragon Slayer incorporated more live instrumentation and sung vocal hooks, and he received mainstream exposure as several of his songs were featured in advertisements, including the 2011 single "The Bomb" and 2019's "They Don't Make Em Like Me." He continued delivering uplifting vibes with 2020's Gotta Good Feelin', drawing influence from Motown, reggae, alternative rock, and dance music.
VURSATYL
is an MC and Singer/Songwriter who came to international attention as a member of the Portland, Oregon based Hip Hop group Lifesavas. With the group and as a solo artist, Vursatyl has toured extensively with De La Soul, Talib Kweli, Slum Village and Little Brother to name just a few. As well as collaborating and recording music with George Clinton, Smif-N-Wessun, Digable Planets’ lead MC Ishmael, Camp Lo, Dead Prez and most recently Run The Jewels. After honing his craft for over 25 years in the music business VURSATYL is a seasoned veteran in his own right.
Donte Thomas
is known for his pristine penmanship, charismatic voice and unique take on life growing up in his hometown Portland, Oregon. Born May 17th, 1994, Thomas spent years embracing the culture of Hip-Hop. While in high school, he released 3 projects under the name "Don" which gave him a name and made him a familiar face amongst his peers and the local music scene. He is also the CEO of the independent music organization Success That's Recognized At Youth (STRAY).
Soop Dread
Having amassed a prolific catalogue of underground music dating back to 2008, the term ‘Humbled into Obscurity’ captures Soop Dreads DIY/ punk rock approach to making music left for listeners to discover on their own. The earliest recordings scattered about the internet have the lo-fi production quality of early reggae yet the charisma of DOOM and Jay Electronica. Originally from South Central LA, Soop has spent the last decade in Portland Oregon. While nomadically wandering on psychedelics and binge reading science fiction, his early roots in Rastafarianism and Hiduism have manifested into a perspective unlike any rapper of his caliber. On top of being self taught multi-instrumentalist, it’s his tongue in cheek approach that will resonate with listeners the most.
(Rescheduled from January 15th due to snow & ice conditions)
In-Person Event: 12-4pm, XRAY On-Air Broadcast 12-2pm.
All Ages // Suggested donation of $5 or 5 cans of non-perishable food items
XRAY will continue our annual live broadcast from the event--more details to come!
World Arts Foundation’s presents the 39th annual tribute to Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This family-friendly event celebrates Oregon’s African-American community, on stage and through community-building in the event’s Victory Village marketplace. Here’s a link to a historical film documenting the program’s legacy.
This year’s program features:
Speakers Dr. James Mason (Care Oregon), George Hocker (Community Activist), and Lifetime Achievement awardee Ken Boddie (KOIN News)
Performances by the MLK All-Star Band directed by Charlie Brown III ft. Andy Stokes, Tahirah Memory, Danielle Barker, and Eli Hardy; KairosPDX Learning Academy
Portland's Folk Festival began in 2018 at McMenamin's White Eagle as a way for Portland musicians to come together to celebrate the burgeoning local scene and enjoy each other's craft. It was a 12-hour love fest that started at noon and continued until early in the morning with 24 local and regional artists performing. Since then, the festival has moved to one of Portland's most legendary venues, the Crystal Ballroom. Energy exudes from the stage that has been marinated in decades of iconic artists creating an atmosphere that feels oddly transcendent. The festival continues to bring the Portland music community together to recognize and praise each other; to build community and to shower each other with appreciation.
More information, festival schedule and event tickets at
www.crystalballroompdx.com
Festival begins Friday January 12th at noon and runs through the Sunday evening.
3-Day pass $90
Single day pass $35
8pm to Midnight
31 days. 28 venues. 100+ shows. Discover your next favorite.
LIVE ON AIR!
Commodore Theodore will be spinning a very special heavy soul-themed show (with minimal talking) of Head East on NYE from the normal show time of 10pm extended to past midnight to help you dance your way into the new year and provide the perfect jams for your NYE party!
21+ // Doors 7 PM, Show 8 PM
TICKETS $35
Fruition’s newest album, Broken at the Break of Day, may be hard to categorize, yet it feels complete because of their dedication to honesty as well as harmony. Influenced equally by acoustic music and rock ‘n’ roll, the Portland, Oregon-based band is composed of Jay Cobb Anderson (electric guitar, vocals), Kellen Asebroek (piano, acoustic guitar vocals), Jeff Leonard (bass), Mimi Naja (mandolin, electric guitar, vocals) and Tyler Thompson (drums). Their unmistakable vocal blend first revealed itself in 2008 when Anderson tagged along with Asebroek and Naja for an afternoon of busking in Portland. Since that time, they have opened shows for the Wood Brothers, Greensky Bluegrass, and Jack Johnson, and at appeared at festivals like Telluride Bluegrass, Bonnaroo, and DelFest. Broken at the Break of Day follows the band’s exceptional 2019 album, Wild as the Night.
*Also with special guests the Rose City Horns on 12/31!
21+ // Doors 7 PM, Show 8 PM
TICKETS $35
Fruition’s newest album, Broken at the Break of Day, may be hard to categorize, yet it feels complete because of their dedication to honesty as well as harmony. Influenced equally by acoustic music and rock ‘n’ roll, the Portland, Oregon-based band is composed of Jay Cobb Anderson (electric guitar, vocals), Kellen Asebroek (piano, acoustic guitar vocals), Jeff Leonard (bass), Mimi Naja (mandolin, electric guitar, vocals) and Tyler Thompson (drums). Their unmistakable vocal blend first revealed itself in 2008 when Anderson tagged along with Asebroek and Naja for an afternoon of busking in Portland. Since that time, they have opened shows for the Wood Brothers, Greensky Bluegrass, and Jack Johnson, and at appeared at festivals like Telluride Bluegrass, Bonnaroo, and DelFest. Broken at the Break of Day follows the band’s exceptional 2019 album, Wild as the Night.
A LIVE holiday performance!
20 December 2023
Season 11, Episode 12L
Every year since 2013, Re-Imagined Radio has offered "A Radio Christmas Carol." It's become an annual community tradition, bringing joy and festivities to the seasonal holidays. This year, our 10th Anniversary, we are pleased to welcome the Willamette Radio Workshop, directed by Sam A. Mowry, and The Holly Jolly Singers, for a live performance of "A Radio Christmas Carol," in Vancouver's historic Kiggins Theatre. Yes, the holiday magic returns! Broadcast and live stream by KXRW.FM (Vancouver, WA) and KXRY.FM (XRAY.FM, Portland, OR).
All Ages until 8pm, 21+ after 8pm
Join XRAY DJs, staff and friends for a Holiday Happy Hour at Dream House on Beech Street!
Featuring a live DJ set from the Wayward Girls Soul Club (The 'IN' Crowd, Saturdays 2-3pm) from 6-9pm followed by Dream House's regularly scheduled programming with DJ Kyle Reese (VCR TV, Fridays 12-1am) from 9pm-1am.
Join us for an afternoon of music and collaboration on December 10th featuring amazing performances from youth artists showing off their musical craft from seven nonprofit organizations!
MVM has opened up the doors to their annual holiday event at their new music center at SE 89th/Stark to highlight the work of youth served by several organizations and Give!Guide partners amplifying young voices across our community.
Get to know the organizations at their tables throughout the space while enjoying dynamic performances from young artists pouring their passion into music. Your presence at this event supports the collective effort to empower and uplift young voices throughout our community.
Synth Library Portland will be tabling for hands-on synth fun before, during, and after the showcase performances for all ages and skill levels to play with modular synthesizers and other electronic music equipment.
Event Info on MVM website
https://myvoicemusic.org/events/2023youthmusicshowcase
Facebook Event
https://www.facebook.com/events/1418921845355128