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FRIDAY, JULY 21
PDX Pop Now
Anyone who thinks Portland's music scene is nothing but sad indie dudes and warbling ukulele players needs to spend some time at PDX Pop Now, which brings together a broad sample platter of the best local sounds—from punk to jazz, folk to hip-hop, metal to EDM—all under one bridge. Read our list of potential breakout acts here. AudioCinema, 226 SE Madison St., pdxpopnow.com. Through July 23. Free. All ages. See preview, page 24.
Chuck Israels Orchestra
If you're a fan of jazz's much-lauded post-bop era—including the brilliant work of John Coltrane, Bill Evans and Herbie Hancock—you're probably already an unknowing listener of legendary bass player Chuck Israels. A longtime legend of the upright, Israels made Portland his home after finishing up a lengthy stint as the head of jazz at Western Washington University, putting together a group of local all-stars he calls the Chuck Israels Orchestra to perform gorgeous arrangements of jazz classics. A midsize ensemble with brass and woodwind layers, the band fits each moving part together perfectly, with Israels' warm bass tone and perfect time acting as the thickest of musical glues. Fremont Theater, 2393 NE Fremont Street, 503-946-1962. 8 pm Friday, July 21. $15. All ages.
Green Velvet, Roni Size
When Curtis Jones created his Green Velvet alias, he'd already put his stamp on Chicago's house scene. As Cajmere, Jones helped bring the city's deep dance music culture back to life in the '90s. Dying his mohawk the color of a Chia Pet, he developed the Green Velvet guise as an outlet for the more flamboyant—and humorous—side of his personality, while the productions maintain his signature streamlined and vintage club stylings. He's joined tonight by Roni Size, who spent the '90s and early 2000s doing more than probably anyone to help drum'n'bass cross over with audiences not necessarily predisposed to digging rhythmically complex electronic music. 45 East, 315 SE 3rd Ave. 10 pm. $15 advance, $20 day of show. 21+
SATURDAY, JULY 22
Portland Zine Symposium
Since 2001, the Portland Zine Symposium has been bringing together hordes of independent publishers to host free workshops, panels and discussions. Plus, you can leave with an armful of the coolest coffee-table magazines of anyone you know. Jade/APANO Multicultural Space, 8114 SE Division St., portlandzinesymposium.org. Noon. Free. All ages.
Night of 1000 Tepaches
Eleven breweries, 23 blends of beer and tepache. Great Notion, Cascade, Gigantic and others offer up their take on the fermented pineapple beverage blended with beer. Reverend Nat's Hard Cider, 813 NE 2nd Ave., 503-567-2221, reverendnatshardcider.com. 4-11 pm, $25 for a glass and 7 drinking tokens.
Hands Up
After several performances throughout last year, the August Wilson Red Door Project is bringing back its production of Hands Up for 2017. Commissioned by the New Black Fest after the death of Michael Brown, Hands Up is seven monologues by black playwrights about their experiences with institutionalized racial profiling. It's an intense collection of monologues that all seven actors in Red Door's production deliver with deeply visceral performances. Wieden + Kennedy, 224 NW 13th Ave., reddoorproject.org. 7:30 pm Saturday, July 22 and 2 pm Sunday, July 23. Free, donations accepted.
Roselit Bone, the Verner Pantons, Fronjentress
What began as a duo in 2013 has swelled into the nine-piece act known as Roselit Bone, purveyors of twisted twilight country. The band's sophomore record, Blister Steel, falls somewhere between the spaghetti Western sounds of Daughn Gibson, big-band balladry and Neil Young's shadowy score for Jim Jarmusch's Dead Man. Roselit Bone's strength-in-numbers approach allows for a diversity of textures, from the nightmarish alt-Americana of "Leech Child" to the shuffling Tex-Mex of "Riders on The Wall." The result is decidedly filmic; you can see the saloon and the brawl that's about to break out playing behind your eyelids. Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi Ave., 503-288-3895. 9 pm. $10 advance, $12 day of show. 21+.
SUNDAY, JULY 23
Bruno Mars
About the only two people America agrees on these days are the Rock and Bruno Mars—and Bruno isn't threatening to run for president. He's content supplying wedding DJs with all the funk and R&B jams they'll need for the next 20 years, and God bless him for it. Moda Center, 1 N Center Court St., 503-235-8771, rosequarter.com. $49.50-$125. All ages.
King Leroy Pop-Up at Chalino
Chef Cameron Addy—of Ava Gene's and La Moule fame—is bringing a Southern pop-up named after his childhood cow. Expect six homestyle courses, including a relish tray with "Sunday eggs," a "he-crab soup," rack of pork and Georgia cobbler, plus a take-home treat that's not your own budding potbelly. Chalino, 25 N Fremont St., 503-206-6421, kingleroy.com. 6:30 pm. $45.
The Last Season
For two months every year, Chemult, an unincorporated town in Klamath County, transforms from near-ghost town to a thriving community of immigrants. Hundreds of pickers flock from Southeast Asia to gather matsutake mushrooms. It's a lucrative venture, especially since they sell in Japan for around $200 a pound. Sara Dosa's 2014 documentary follows Kouy Loch, a Cambodian war veteran who works the mushroom circuit throughout the Northwest in order to provide for his daughter Janette, and Roger Higgins, a Vietnam War veteran and 40-year Chemult native. The Last Season documents their relationship and the ways in which war continue to haunt them. Read our full review of The Last Season here. NW Documentary, 6 NE Tillamook St. 7 pm. Free.
Offa Rex, Courtney Marie Andrews
Singer Olivia Chaney might specialize in traditional British folk music, but she isn't too keen on being labeled a "traditionalist." It's much too stodgy a term for someone with a background in jazz and improvisational music, and who has taken part in, as she puts it, "many weird and wacky collaborations." So when Colin Meloy asked her to help realize his dream project—a straight-up English folk-rock record, done in the stately, psychedelic style of bands like Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span—Chaney made it clear that she had little interest in simply doing '60s cosplay. Read our full profile on Offa Rex here. Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie Ave., aladdin-theater.com. 9 pm. $30. All ages.