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We Polled 200 People in the Portland Music Scene. Here Are the 11 Local Acts They Say You’ve Got to Hear.

Portland is starting to make noise again. Granted, from our point of view, it probably seems like we never stopped. Music has always been one of the city’s chief exports, and WW’s annual Best New Band poll proves the sheer number of musicians worth hearing in this town has hardly fallen off.

Here Is Every Ballot Submitted for the 2018 Best New Band Poll

Every year, in the spirit of transparency—and to make it perfectly clear that Best New Band is a poll, not an arbitrary list—we publish the ballots of every Best New Band voter.

The Members of Sávila Explore Their Mexican Heritage, and Their Place Within American Society, Through the Rhythms of Cumbia

In truth, Savilá is a band that can’t be neatly packaged into a brand or traced to a curated set of influences. But rather than feeling like some inaccessible, abstract mass, their music feels like a warm embrace—the communal equivalent of self-care.

Black Belt Eagle Scout Combines Grunge and Dream-Pop to Heal Wounds Both Personal and Ancestral

Katherine Paul has always had music to comfort her. She’s needed it often.

Pop Singer Frankie Simone Fights Homophobia With Songs That Might Soon Be Rattling Your Radio

If loving oneself is an act of political warfare, then Frankie Simone is leading the way into battle.

Amenta Abioto Blends Jazz, R&B and African Music in a Way That Can Only Be Called Magical

Amenta Abioto personifies “#blackgirlmagic.” And she wants to make one thing perfectly clear: She got it from her mama.

Maarquii Balances Take-No-Shit Swagger With Unguarded Vulnerability

Maarquii doesn’t suffer fuckboys gladly, and neither does Marquise Dickerson.

The Spacey Soul of Brown Calculus Should Be Sold In Health-and-Wellness Stores

It’s almost as if Vaughn Kimmons and Andre Burgos were fated to make music together.

With Sunbathe, Maggie May Morris Makes Ennui Sound Like a Summer Breeze

When “California” is used as an adjective, it’s meant to imply a feeling of carefree breeziness. That is certainly an accurate way to describe the music of Sunbathe on its surface.

Blackwater Holylight Is Heavy and Psychedelic in Equal Measure

For Allison Faris, the definition of “heavy” has always been fluid. Though her group, Blackwater Holylight, is undeniably heavy, it wasn’t until the project came to fruition that her former notions of the concept were reconciled with those of the present.

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