Arts & Culture

music preview

The Biggest Portland Concerts of Spring 2026

Yungblud, FKA Twigs, Peaches, Springsteen, the Black Keys, and Florence and the Machine make for a heavy-hitting musical season.

03/05/2026 By Matthew Trueherz

seeing things

Punk Progenitor Richard Hell’s Book Tour Comes to Powell’s

A St. Vincent show at the Schnitz, and other things to do.

03/05/2026 By Matthew Trueherz

Local Legends

A Big Whoop-Whoop for the Portlandia Statue

Who? How the belle of 1985 fell out of favor.

03/02/2026 By Matthew Trueherz

seeing things

The Best Shows and Events in Portland This Week, February 2026

A word from Sister Corita Kent, a Spanish-language play, and a breakdancing benefit.

02/26/2026 By Matthew Trueherz

IRL

22 Free Ways to Connect with Your Fellow Portlanders

Dance lessons, movie clubs, sea shanty sing-alongs, and more no-cost ways to be where the people are.

02/24/2026 By Rebecca Jacobson

Get Lucky

The Best First Dates, According to Portlanders in the Business of Love and Sex

Streetcar loops, emo karaoke, mini golf, and more ways to spark romance.

02/23/2026 By Rebecca Jacobson

Words with Friends

How to Make Book-Loving Friends IRL in Portland

Recite poems from memory. Share a work in progress. Read to Clive the dog. Nerd out on graphic novels.

02/20/2026 By Matthew Trueherz

festival season

The Waterfront Blues Festival Drops Its 2026 Lineup

Tank and the Bangas headline. But plenty of Portland bangers fill out the Fourth of July weekend fest’s lineup.

02/19/2026 By Matthew Trueherz

seeing things

A Salon for Peter Hujar’s Day at the Tomorrow Theater

Cardi B is at the Moda Center, and other events in town.

02/19/2026 By Matthew Trueherz

Arias & Librettos

What Does Portland Want from Opera?

To bring the ancient art form into the present, local companies are queering the canon and moving offstage, while others hold to tradition.

02/18/2026 By Isabel Lemus Kristensen Illustrations by Klaus Kremmerz

Level Up

The Rise of Public Tabletop Role-Playing Games

A once-niche hobby exits the basement and enters the bar.

02/17/2026 By Alex Frane Illustrations by Stephen Dybus

from the archive

Making a Scene

Gallery gal Elizabeth Leach has spent 25 years getting Portland’s art crowd up to speed.

02/13/2026 By Elizabeth Armstrong Moore

seeing things

Imani Perry and Keisha N. Blain Celebrate Black History at the Schnitz

The Sleeping Beauty, and other events in town.

02/12/2026 By Matthew Trueherz

The Big Screen

The Movies We’re Actually Going To

Inventive and personal one-off screenings are bringing Portland back to the theater.

02/09/2026 By Matthew Trueherz

“America’s Game”

Chuck Klosterman’s Football Journeys into America’s Media-Addled Soul

The Portland author’s latest book unpacks football’s unique perch atop the flaming pyre of a dying monoculture.

02/06/2026 By Jordan Michelman

seeing things

An Exhibition Rehumanizing Portland’s Unhoused Population

Dance company Urban Bush Women, and other events in town.

02/05/2026 By Matthew Trueherz

seeing things

Things to Do in Portland This Week, January 2026

Author Sara Jaffe chases guitar noise at PICA, and other events in town.

01/29/2026 By Matthew Trueherz

gimme five

5 Oregon-Made Comics to Know

Northwest Museum of Cartoon Arts’ Michael Rosen shares his essential list of superheroes, war journalism, and redrawn American classics.

01/26/2026 By Alex Frane

seeing things

45 Years of Elizabeth Leach Gallery

Also: 20 years of Typhoon, and other events in town this week.

01/22/2026 By Matthew Trueherz

Words with Friends

The Open Mic That Counts Amateurs and Award-Winning Authors as Regulars

One-Page Wednesdays, hosted by Portland novelist Emme Lund, feels like a public writers’ group.

01/22/2026 By Matthew Trueherz Illustrations by Stephan Dybus