Events

Event Runtime: 168 min.

GET TICKETS // General Admission $25

Doors 6:30 pm; Performance 7 pm; Film 8:15 pm

Click here to learn more about accessibility at the Tomorrow Theater.

ON SCREEN: The Elephant 6 Recording Co.

2022. Directed by C.B. Stockfleth. Runtime: 93 minutes. Not Rated.

The Elephant 6 Recording Co. shares the unique inside story of the collective creative evolution behind the sounds of 1990s psychedelic rock bands The Olivia Tremor Control, Neutral Milk Hotel, and The Apples in Stereo — the founding groups behind the Elephant 6 collective, as well as a host of other artists — with inspirational resonance for today’s music makers, and music lovers everywhere.

Around 1985, a group of Ruston, Louisiana area high schoolers began experimenting with whatever random instruments and gear they could lay their hands on. Moving to other small college towns including Denver, Colorado and Athens, Georgia, their musical coming of age coincided with the new consumer availability of old-school 4- and 8-track recording technology and cassette tapes. Sharing like-minded sensibilities, influenced by past sounds and psychedelia, and with little to distract them, their efforts to create whole new musical worlds became the bands The Olivia Tremor Control, Neutral Milk Hotel, The Apples In Stereo and many more. While the collective grew to a natural breaking point, its founding members overcame obstacles and remained closely bonded, reuniting for tours and still collaborating today.

The Elephant 6 Recording Co. provides insight into this revolutionary era of popular independent music in America, the defiant DIY spirit in music making, and champions the integrity of an authentic quest for artistic expressiveness over the more mainstream image of being a “successful” musician in our fame-obsessed times.

ON STAGE: Ross Beach & The Minders 

Ross Beach
Ross Beach is a songwriter, DJ, tech pro, and a co-founder and former president of the non-profit group PDX Pop Now! He hails from Louisiana where he was a DJ for KLPI-Ruston and where he played in numerous bands, including an early lineup of Neutral Milk Hotel. Hear him preview local concerts and spin strange, beautiful music on his XRAY show, Alive With Pleasure, Fridays from 2-3 p.m.

The Minders
The Minders are an Indie-Psych-Pop band based in Portland, Oregon. Formed in Denver, Colorado in 1996, the band is closely associated with The Elephant Six Collective.

FREE // All Ages // More Info + Cleanup Photos

Human Access Project is throwing a Grand Opening Party to celebrate a new $900,000 dock at Cathedral Park and the removal of 150 tons of concrete from the river's edge by the community.

Doors 6:30pm w/ Prize Giveaways, Show 7:30pm // All Ages

$15 // TICKETS

DJ Klyph is a veteran of terrestrial radio in Portland, Oregon, building a brand that has promoted the local music scene through FM broadcast [The Numberz FM & XRAY FM], podcasts [Klyph Notes], and live events [No Requests & Mic Check PDX].

As a selector, he leans heavily towards lyrical content and classic boom bap due in great part to his early years in the Northeastern corner of the US. After spending prominent years in the South, he relocated to the Northwest and has become a fixture in the local scene.

“The Rhythm” radio show on The Numberz FM allows Klyph to continue the mission of bringing great content to listeners, highlighting music you won’t hear anywhere else in the city. “Welcome to the Neighborhood” on XRAY FM provides a platform for artists from within the region and national artists as well. The “Klyph Notes” podcast brings long form interviews, diving into the stories behind the art. Klyph works to create platforms representing the underrepresented from the Northwest and worldwide.

Being a collector of music since the age of 14, Ambush has always had a devout interest in making people dance. Starting out by rocking high school and basement parties, Ambush was the one showing up with the “pause tape” cassette mixes and was always amazed and excited to see audiences react to his selections. Soon thereafter, Ambush acquired his first set of turntables, and started getting booked for parties; the rest is history. Ambush’s love for music and DJ’ing has taken him all over. With over 26 years of experience in nightclubs, concerts, festivals, retail locations, and weddings coupled with a rich knowledge of music Ambush is the perfect DJ for any occasion.

FREE // All Ages

Join us for another edition of the XRAY Record Fair, this time at Wayfinder Beer!

From Noon to 5pm on June 2nd XRAY will be hosting a record swap, with music provided by XRAY, cold ones from Wayfinder, and vinyl treasures galore. 

Featured Vendors include: 

• Super-Electric Records (Bob Ham of On the Corner) 
• Produce Records (DNA of Beautiful Music) 
• Sublime Frequencies
• Pleuracanthas Records (DDDJJJ666 of Hipsters Suck) 
• PHP_Sevens (Paul Potter) 
• Morning Remorse (Meaningful Connections with DJ Morning Remorse)

We are looking to fill a few remaining vendor spaces. 8’ spaces are available for $45, if you are an XRAY DJ or Member you are eligible for a discounted fee of $35. To register or for any questions please contact Chase Spross at chase.spross@xray.fm.

GET TICKETS!

21+ // Doors 7pm, Show 8pm 

General Admission $20 // Member Pre-Sale March 13th at 10am, Public Onsale March 15th at 10am 

Members: Check your email for your pre-sale code!

Celebrate 10 YEARS of XRAY with us in an all-out Birthday Bash with some certified rock stars, a whole lot of the XRAY DJs you know and love, and an exciting announcement you'll just have to be there to see. 

We haven't held an official birthday event since Year 5 (2019) for...perhaps obvious reasons. In the past, these have usually sold out so get your tickets early! 

Your hosts for the night will be the incomparable Arthur Bradford AND B. Frayn Masters!!!

The Minus 5

...is a rock/folk/pop collective captained by Scott McCaughey (see: “Scott McCaughey” c/o “The Internet”, for further reliable information), with Peter Buck often aboard as navigation officer. By design from its inception, the line-up for recordings and live appearances is completely fluid, dependent on musician availability, whim, and wind direction. Collaborators regularly feature friends from R.E.M. (as it once were), Wilco, Decemberists, Posies, and literally hundreds and hundreds of other recalcitrant comrade combos.  Everyone gives their all, and no one need be counted on.

Abronia

A lot of bands who fly the psych banner these days have a minimalist view of the music, and choose a sort of post-shoegaze lassitude to present their “vision.” This can be astoundingly great, of course, but it also fails to address the central gobble-crazed nature of true psychedelia. Many of history’s greatest psych outfits were hewn from bizarre hybrids of disparate parts. Frankenstein monsters in search of sacred ecstasy. One gets the same vibe off of Abronia. Totally unexpected bits pop up amidst their rhapsodic jamming, conjuring shards of memory as disparate as Relf-era Renaissance, Joseph Byrd’s United States of America, and even (at least in spots) real early Siouxsie. These are just a few examples of how wide Abronia cast their net. Their instrumental brunt moves from neo-prog to folk rock to thunderheads cast in the same mold as the Sensational Alex Harvey Band’s (I shit you not!).

Arthur Bradford (Co-MC)

Arthur Bradford is best known, at XRAY and only at XRAY, for hosting Sex, Drugs, & Basketball on Thursday nights. But he's best known everywhere else as a prolific and award-winning author and documentary filmmaker (bet you weren't expecting an Emmy nominee to be the same person that hosts a show where only topics about sex, drugs, or basketball are allowed!). His stories have been heard on The Moth Radio Hour, This American Life, and BackfencePDX. You may have seen some of his films--they're pretty popular--like How's Your News? or 6 Days to Air: The Making of South Park. 

B. Frayn Masters (Co-MC)

Frayn is prolific when it comes to telling stories of all kinds, and XRAY has been proud to call her a friend of the station in several capacities throughout our time on the air. Currently, her biggest project is leading the charge at BackfencePDX. Since 2008, series creator, artistic director, and host Frayn Masters along with Backfence story producers Mindy Nettifee, Brian S. Ellis, and Chris Williams have been curating powerful and engaging story shows for the Pacific Northwest and beyond. The most exciting part of a storytelling show is we get to mix things up and put wildly different kinds of people together on the same night in a way that will never happen again. A funeral director on stage with author of Wild Cheryl Strayed, a high school science teacher with Parenthood's Joy Bryant, a poker player taking wild chances with Bridesmaid's Wendi McLendon-Covey, a pet psychic with Superstore's Colton Dunn, and a blood spatter expert with Shrill author Lindy West.

Save the date for XRAY's Spring Fund Drive! 

Fund Drives are very special times at XRAY, because, above all, we believe they should be fun! Rather than spending all that airtime only talking about giving money, we enhance our programming--by covering topics we don't normally, bringing on special guests, putting on live broadcasts, and much more. They're also a great time to get a peek under the hood, hearing from folks that may otherwise not spend much time on air and getting a firsthand look at what's coming next for the station. 

Plus, while listeners can become members at any time of year, we bring out the perks during drives. That means limited edition merchandise designed by different local artists, major giveaways every day of the week, new thank you gifts for those becoming members, and the elusive matching gifts that let you double your impact (which our Board of Directors and Staff work extra hard to make happen in the weeks and months leading up to a drive). 

Join us in having a blast this drive! Or don't, we're not the boss of you, but we'll keep at it anyway. 

18+ (18-20 must be accompanied by a guardian) // Doors 7pm, Show 8pm

GET TICKETS! // $22 General Admission, $28 Reserved Seating, $17 Party Pack Group Rate (5+ people)

Hosted by FRAYN MASTERS & MINDY NETTIFEE

Music by: CHAACH

___________________

BACKFENCE: ROULETTE SHOW DESCRIPTION

Each show begins with a giant game show size wheel packed with juicy story prompts. One of our five seasoned storytellers is randomly drawn. To determine the random prompt for their story, they spin that giant wheel! They can play or pass their prompt (once). If they pass, another teller can steal their prompt. Then the risky part… each storyteller has only 5 minutes to come up with a true 5-minute story based on their prompt! It’s like we invented a new game called truth AND dare. The audience votes on a winner at the end of the night – both the storyteller winner and one lucky audience member win a veritable bevy of prizes!

Catch the event livestreamed on XRAY's Youtube & our homepage! 

• Rose Haven
• Sisters of the Road
• AfroVillage
• GroundScore Association
• Hygiene4All
• Milk Crate Kitchen
• Street Roots 

(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

FULL LINEUP 

Friday, February 16th - Saturday, March 2nd, 2024 

Tickets available Friday, November 17th

GRAMMY® Award Winners Jon Batiste, Dianne Reeves, Nicholas Payton, Bob James, Lee Ritenour, John Patitucci, and Sullivan Fortner take the stage at the 2024 Biamp Portland Jazz Festival

The 2024 Biamp Portland Jazz Festival – Friday, February 16 through Saturday, March 2, includes artists spanning the full breadth of jazz. Artists who are driving the evolution of jazz figure prominently alongside NEA Jazz Masters and GRAMMY® Award-Winners.

The Festival, which takes place across Portland, Oregon for a two-week music extravaganza, features performances by Jon Batiste, Dianne Reeves, Nicholas Payton, Sudan Archives, Bob James, Lee Ritenour, Louis Cole, Shabaka, John Patitucci, Julian Lage, Kamaal Williams, Bassekou Kouyate, Vieux Farka Touré, Theo Croker, Kassa Overall, Melanie Charles, Keyon Harrold, Sullivan Fortner, Mary Halvorson, Yotam Silberstein with Billy Hart, Genevieve Artadi, Corey Harris, Cedric Watson, Carrtoons, Nicole Glover, Nicole McCabe, Hailey Niswanger, Eldon T Jones, and Dan Balmer.

PDX Jazz Executive Director, Chris Doss states "pushing the boundaries and exploring the entire realm of jazz is a key element of the Portland Jazz Festival. Towards this aim, jazz inspired dance makes its Festival debut at the 2024 Portland Jazz Festival with the world premiere of a PDX Jazz commissioned piece, A History of Demise, featuring Shaun Keylock Company with music by Methods Body".

More headline shows and free community events will be announced soon!

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.

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)

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