In the August issue of Portland Monthly, culturephiles will:

• ◊ Discover how Sara Matarazzo, Chris Funk, and a local cluster of music connoisseurs are making Portland a capital for the new music industry.

◊ Explore the incredible true story behind Mitchell S. Jackson’s debut novel, “The Residue Years,” which chronicles the drug- and violence-blighted world of 1990s Northeast Portland.

◊ Watch for the first signs of Forest For The Trees, a new urban art festival that invites international street artists to create original murals throughout Portland.

◊ Imagine the possibilities of a ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ film directed by Gus Van Sant, Portland’s gay art-house cinema legend.

◊ Read our review of Laura Veirs’ “Warp and Weft,” a folk album crackling with vitality and delicate detail.

◊ Find out which of the many admirable journalistic voices lost to the Oregonian’s sweeping layoffs deserve "Portland Pulitzers."

◊ Open up the Trophy Case and peruse August’s best handmade stuff, from sangria in a bag to Adidas’s new spring-loaded “levitating” shoe to one of our favorite local bands, Magic Mouth.

◊ Get our picks for your calendar this month, from the Adult Soapbox Derby to the Portland Zine Symposium.