Having such acts as AFI, Thirty Seconds to Mars and Linkin Park headlining this year’s Carnivores Tour gathered an eclectic crowd that ranged from guidos to geriatrics and everything in between. But no matter how eccentric the onlookers the focus was never taken away from these incredible acts.
Although our current weather status would disagree, Portland’s summer has finally come to an end but not before a 3-month-long music blowout with festivals ranging from coast to coast. A beloved event held so dear to the hearts of those in the City of Roses is the annual MusicFestNW held at the Tom McCall Waterfront Park downtown. This year’s waterfront-rager included acts such as Girl Talk, Phantogram, Spoon, and HAIM; only to be playing while you grab a bite to eat at some of the city’s best food carts or while perusing the poster market. Good grub, vintage-style tour posters, a luscious girl band—the dream of the 90s is alive in Portland.
One of this region’s biggest musical events is back with a lineup that is sure to make your ears sublimely happy. The beloved MusicFestNW, Portland’s largest music festival, is coming back to the City of Roses this Saturday and Sunday (August 16-17) at the Tom McCall Waterfront Park across two stages—the Moda Stage and the American Apparel Stage. It’s an all ages event that showcases some of the best acts in live music today such as Spoon, Phantogram, and my personal favorite, HAIM. Smaller acts such as the Antlers, Wild Ones, Thundercat, and Shy Girls are also to appear.
MusicFestNW will not only attract lovers of the indie/electro variety but the local “foodies” as well as the festival will be equipped with some of Portland’s most popular food carts. Great grub, drinks, and unbelievable music—all factors to lead to an amazing weekend in the Pacific Northwest.
England-bred songstress Gabrielle Aplin just wrapped up her first US tour with great success and an increasing fan base at the tender age of 21. She’s about to embark on a slew of European stops to for her English Rain tour in the midst of writing her second album. Get inside the mind of this wonderful lyricist and find out what female vocalist is her inspiration!
Enduring the standard downpour of the Pacific Northwest while trekking through the Portland City Rose Festival left me with my feet wet but my excitement at an all time high. Nothing beats kicking off the summer like a spectacular show and luckily for us Portlanders “indietronica”-deemed duo Capital Cities were to perform and you could smell the anticipation in the crowd.
Kick off your summer with KINK on the Waterfront concerts as part of this year’s Portland Rose Festival, held May 24-25. There are two massive shows lined up: Saturday, May 24 features Vintage Trouble, Marc Broussard, and Vicci Martinez; while on Sunday, May 25, the City of Roses welcomes the quickly rising duo from Los Angeles, Capital Cities as well as Valerie June and Scars on 45. Tickets are now available for $25 or $45 for both nights. Get them here before they’re gone!
England-bred songstress Gabrielle Aplin will be hitting up the Pacific Northwest this week on her current US tour while promoting her critically-acclaimed album, English Rain, which was recently released in America as an EP. Aplin will be stopping by Seattle’s own Vera Project on Wednesday (May 14) followed by a gig at Lola’s Room in Portland on Thursday. Don’t miss this angelic voice and uplifting spirit along with opening act, Mree, for a night of beautiful music and soothing ambience (you see what I did there?).
Stepping into a Showbox SoDo that was packed from wall to wall, I found myself immersed in a crowd smothered in red plaid and black fidgeting before the lights dimmed for the long-awaited American Dream Tour with co-headliners Of Mice & Men and Bring Me the Horizon. The tour, which included opening acts letlive. and Issues, successfully corralled over-eager crowd surfers and teenage boys willingly throwing themselves at the bands. One look at BMTH frontman Oliver ‘Oli’ Sykes, and the boys must have been thinking, treat yo self.
Having emerged from Seattle’s underground soul/r&b scene just a few years prior to releasing a slew of critically acclaimed tracks, Fly Moon Royalty has found the way to stand out instead of becoming just another cog in the man-made music machine. Vocalist Adra Boo and producer/keyboardist/MC Mike Illvester easily paved the way for up and coming acts, not to say that heaps of hard work wasn’t involved but a strong dose of pure talent doesn’t hurt. In 2012 Seattle Magazine named them as one of the city’s Best New Bands while simultaneously being voted by City Arts as the Best Local Band.
2014 is sure to be a big year for Fly Moon Royalty as well—with the release of their new EP,
Commonly referred to as “England’s punk-rock poet”, iTCH is currently embarking on a west coast tour with Air Dubai and K.Flay promoting his new album, The Deep End, and will be stopping by Chop Suey March 26. iTCH’s first single off the new record, due out today, is “Homeless Romantic” which features Taking Back Sunday vocalist Adam Lazarra and has already debuted at #8 on alternative radio. Steadily rising in the UK, iTCH has begun gaining notoriety in the states by playing Vans Warped Tour 2013, receiving regular airtime on Mtv and recently completing a very successful week at SXSW.
