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When the organization PDX Jazz announced its lineup for the 2026 Biamp Portland Jazz Festival in mid-October, it was more than just a list of venues, artists and dates. This year’s festival, headlined by indie rocker St. Vincent, signals an expanded musical vision for the festival, says Chris Doss, executive director and CEO of PDX Jazz.
“We have brought in and diversified the program from previous iterations of the fest, and that is a reflection of Portland audiences,” Doss says. “Jazz is an art form that is very subjective.”
The move has already started to pay off: PDX Jazz has seen an 11% increase in new members since the announcement Oct. 13. Doss says the response to the lineup has been “overwhelmingly enthusiastic.”
Portland Jazz Festival will be held March 5-14, including more than 50 performances across 30 venues. PDX Jazz, a nonprofit, is the largest organization presenting jazz and associated genre programming in the Pacific Northwest. This is the 23rd consecutive Portland Jazz Festival.
There are plenty of artists on the schedule that are more traditionally associated with a jazz festival. There’s a strong lineup of jazz guitarists, such as Jeff Parker, Charlie Hunter, Isaiah Sharkey and Bill Frisell, plus vocalists such as Madeleine Peyroux and Lady Blackbird. Portland’s first all-female big band, Stumptown Sirens Jazz Orchestra, will make its debut.
St. Vincent will perform March 6 at Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall.
After releasing her debut album Marry Me to wide acclaim in 2007, St. Vincent (Annie Clark) has won six Grammys, collaborated with artists such as David Byrne and Jack Antonoff, wrote Taylor Swift’s smash “Cruel Summer,” and released six more albums, including 2024’s All Born Screaming. Her music blends rock, art pop, ambient noise and improvisation. Jazz has influenced nearly every type of music in the U.S., including pop, Doss says.
“She is someone who really leads the way in the field of music and setting the pace for what might be new,” Doss says. “Evolving with the tastes of what’s happening in the field of music, particularly jazz, is something that is of key interest to us.”
GO: 2026 Biamp Portland Jazz Festival, multiple venues. pdxjazz.org. March 5-14, 2026.
