A former intern, Conner served as Portland Monthly's arts and culture editor from 2019 until 2022.

Pop Culture Deep Dive

What We Talk About When We Talk About Hanya

The author of A Little Life has just published her third novel. It’s not very good, but that’s hardly the end of it.

01/20/2022 By Conner Reed

Music

Song of the Week: ‘Sundown, Sundown’ by Federale

A sweeping, satisfying cover of Lee Hazelwood and Nancy Sinatra

01/14/2022 By Conner Reed

Arts News

Will Omicron Set Portland’s Arts Venues Back to Spring 2020?

Canceled performances, postponed productions, ever-evolving protocols: how live events are weathering the latest COVID surge.

01/12/2022 By Conner Reed

Music

Song of the Week: ‘Night Things...’ by M A N E

Slippery weirdo-pop of the highest order

01/07/2022 By Conner Reed

Pop Culture Deep Dive

2021 Was the Year of Millennial Ambivalence

Lorde’s Solar Power and Sally Rooney's Beautiful World, Where Are You are polarizing explorations of a major 2021 theme: processing devastation by turning away from absolutes.

12/31/2021 By Conner Reed

Books

The Best Oregon Books of 2021

From crying in H Mart to folding paper stars to tracking tigers in Japan-occupied Korea, these Beaver State books took us places we were more than happy to go.

12/31/2021 By Fiona McCann, Conner Reed, and Karly Quadros

Music

Song of the Week: ‘Outside’ by Les Gold

The indie rock collective's enthralling single marries campy noir with SoCal sun.

12/24/2021 By Conner Reed

Film

The 50 Essential Oregon Films

From The Goonies to Twilight and (way) beyond, these are the flicks that define the Beaver State.

12/23/2021 Edited by Conner Reed By Conner Reed, Margaret Seiler, Cami Hughes, Karly Quadros, Gabriel Granillo, Fiona McCann, Katherine Hamilton, Julia Silverman, Jacob P., and Rich Reece

Visual Art

Inside the Portland Art Museum’s Aux/Mute Gallery

DJ Ambush of the Numberz has transformed part of PAM’s fourth floor into a platform for BIPOC artists.

12/20/2021 By Conner Reed

Music

Song of the Week: ‘It's Christmas ****!’ by Logan Lynn

The Portland musician/advocate comes for the yuletide crown with an all-time great opening lyric

12/17/2021 By Conner Reed

Film

The Portland Critics Association Announces First Annual Award Winners

Dune swept, The Green Knight took top honors, and The Power of the Dog and The French Dispatch made an impression.

12/17/2021 By Conner Reed

Music

Song of the Week: ‘Losing Sleep’ by Dakota Theim

The first single from the Portland singer-songwriter’s sophomore LP is an effortless slice of wistful ’70s pop.

12/10/2021 By Conner Reed

Year in Review

The Best Oregon-Made Movies, Books, Music & Art of 2021

From Shrill’s finale to Third Angle's Sanctuaries to Nicolas Cage's Pig, it was quite a year.

12/08/2021 By Conner Reed, Julia Silverman, and Fiona McCann

Cars

Portland Is About to Get an “Apple Store for Porsches,” I Guess

OK!

12/07/2021 By Conner Reed

Interview

Drag Race Star Ginger Minj Brings Her New Holiday Show to Portland

Ginger Minj's Winter Wonderland comes to the Aladdin on December 9.

12/07/2021 By Conner Reed

Music

Song of the Week: ‘All Me’ by Kingsley

Urgent, throbbing nu-disco from one of Portland's most promising pop talents

12/04/2021 By Conner Reed

Music

Portland Monthly’s Essential Winter 2021 Playlist

Icy tracks from Oregonians old and new to help you through the dwindling daylight

12/02/2021 By Conner Reed

Light a Fire

4 Organizations Fighting for Equity throughout Oregon

Unite Oregon, Equitable Giving Circle, Brown Hope, and Don't Shoot Portland are training leaders and providing direct aid, with racial justice at the forefront of their work.

11/30/2021 By Karly Quadros and Conner Reed

Music

Oregon Talent Scores 2022 Grammy Nominations

Japanese Breakfast, Cappella Romana, and a piece commissioned by the Oregon Bach Festival will compete for gold in January.

11/24/2021 By Conner Reed

Health News

Oregon Lifts Its Outdoor Mask Mandate

A steady decline in cases and hospitalizations moved the Oregon Health Authority to strike down the rule on November 23.

11/23/2021 By Conner Reed