Our March issue hit the stands over the weekend, and with it, our Spring Arts Guide. Seriously, I couldn’t be more excited with how it turned out. PoMo turns 10 this year, and so does MarchFourth Marching Band (in fact, it turns 10 on Monday), so it seemed only natural to ask the band to be our guides to the season’s 25 most promising events.

If you thought you knew MarchFourth as that crazy rag-tag band that plays street fairs around town, you’re behind the times. They’re now on the road 180-plus days a year, performing around the country and, for the most part, supporting a polished, driven band of two dozen people, which kind of defies reason. They’re poster children for the Portland dream: find something you love, do it your way, and werk it in our livable city (and beyond) until it turns into sustainable work.

But really the reason I’m so excited is the incredible poster-worthy photo shoot executed by photographer Andy Batt and PoMo art director Kate Madden. If the band’s business acumen defies reason, this shoot defies gravity. Dancers and musicians fly through the air and balance on the tips of each other’s instruments, with no Photoshop allowed. Although we give you a glimpse of how it worked in the behind-the-scenes time-lapse video below.

But first, did I mention that the guide includes chances to win tickets to several of the leading shows? We’re giving away tickets to MarchFourth on the blog because the issue just came out, but pick up a physical copy and download the Digimarc app for a chance to win tickets to:

• Portland Art Museum’s Cyclopedia
• Portland Center Stage’s Clybourne Park
• Portland Opera’s Rinaldo
• Oregon Ballet Theatre’s American Music Festival

This contest is now over.

M4 will perform all-ages shows on Sunday, March 3 at 4pm and 8:30pm and a 21+ show on March 4 at 9pm. M4 show and ticket details are here.