Audion – w/ Sappho & Leeonn – 21+
Matthew Dear is a shapeshifter, oscillating seamlessly between DJ, dance-music producer, and experimental pop auteur. He is a founding artist on both Ghostly International and its dancefloor offshoot, Spectral Sound. He writes, produces, and mixes all of his work. He’s had remixes commissioned by The XX, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Spoon, Hot Chip, The Postal Service, and Chemical Brothers; he’s made mixes for DJ Kicks, Get Physical’s Body Language, and Fabric mix series. He maintains four aliases (Audion, False, Jabberjaw, and Matthew Dear), each with its own style and distinct visual identity. He straddles multiple musical worlds and belongs to none, now nearly 20 years into his kaleidoscopic career, with five albums and two dozen EPs plus millions of miles in the rearview of his biography. Dear’s 2003 full-length debut, Leave Luck to Heaven, is a suite of sparse, wickedly funky house laced with Dear’s deep, distinctive vocals, and includes the much-loved single “Dog Days” (voted one of Pitchfork’s Top 100 Songs of the Decade). The record was met with rapturous acclaim from both the dance-music establishment and the critical press, including a four-star review in Rolling Stone. The 2007 follow-up, Asa Breed, is a considerable departure from Heaven’s dancefloor excursions, incorporating the polyrhythms of Afrobeat, the irreverent pop sensibilities of Brian Eno, and the austere beauty of Krautrock. More four-stars reviews followed, and Dear subsequently began touring with a live three-piece band, Matthew Dear’s Big Hands, in which Dear acted as frontman, commanding the stage with a Bryan Ferry-like swagger and a gentleman’s grace. 2010 saw the release of Dear’s watershed third album, Black City, a darkly playful sound-world that envelops the listener like the arms of a malevolent lover. Black City was met with near-unanimous critical praise, earning top marks from Mojo, Uncut, Q, URB, and the Village Voice, ending up on countless year-end lists, and earning Pitchfork’s coveted Best New Music nod. A worldwide tour followed, in which Dear and a newly expanded band continued to hone their live chops with vicious focus, as well as a remix EP in 2011 and a run of live dates with Interpol. In 2012, Dear released Beams, a collection of weird and wild rhythm-driven pop songs. Equal parts optimistic and uneasy, it was both a drastic departure from and a worthy successor to Black City’s gothic masterwork. “A forward-looking moment that also serves as the closing on the latest chapter in Dear’s evolution,” said Resident Advisor in their 4.0/5 review. Over the next five years, Dear would tour internationally with Depeche Mode and Hot Chip, DJ and release music under his Audion alias, and embrace a life of studio tinkering and family time back home. He also accepted a lecturing position at the University of Michigan School of Music. In the summer of 2017, he shared two slyly different singles under his own name: the moody, urgent “Modafinil Blues” and the buoyant, blithe, Tegan and Sara-featuring “Bad Ones.” Next came a tour with MGMT and the announcement of Bunny — his fifth full-length released October 2018 — which follows both modes, among others, parading down a rabbit hole of unhinged phrasings, dreams, and interludes. A dual vision of avant-pop; an artistic reckoning from a 21st-century polymath; persona splintered, paradox paraphrased, a riddle rendered. Bunny further confirms that Dear occupies a rarified corner of the musical universe: no longer tethered to any one genre, respected by his peers, and blessed with a bottomless well of creative energy.with local support from Sappho and Leeonn
Kalia Vandever – w/ Sheers – Early show! – 21+
On Mar. 31, 2023, AKP Recordings released We Fell In Turn, the solo debut from Brooklyn-based trombonist, composer, and quartet leader Kalia Vandever. Vandever, who plays with Harry Styles and Japanese Breakfast, “sculpts her trombone’s golden tones into dazzling compositions” (Pitchfork), writing music that tends to “dip you into a feeling or a pattern or a breathing speed, and keep you there” (The New York Times). In 2022, Vandever released Regrowth, an albumthat “features the ecstatic, brilliant melodies that have become Vandever’s signature sound” (Bandcamp). This spring, Vandever brings contemplative reflection to We Fell in Turn, a brave and understated work from an ascending voice in American jazz. Recorded over three days in upstate New York, We Fell In Turn is improvisational — a stark palate of solo trombone, voice, effects, and little more. “My solo process has always been heavily rooted in improvisation,” says Vandever. “I wanted the process to feel similar to the way I perform. Lee Meadvin, who engineered and produced the album, had a heavy hand in the creative process as well. He would dictate prompts before I started improvising and those pieces ended up shaping a lot of the imagery that comes up throughout the record.” Connecting the dots between Jeff Parker’s Forfolks, and early releases from Grouper, We Fell In Turn is a study of space and patience, embracing vulnerability in its sparse adornment. At times, the album is reminiscent of Patrick Shiroishi’sHidemi, both in its familial inspiration and solo instrument study, while sharing the ineffable feel of William Basinski’sThe Disintegration Loops — the traces of her trombone folding in on themselves in an organic loop. Emotionally generous throughout, Vandever acts as a torchbearer for jazz’s historical yearning for connection. On We Fell in Turn, Vandever draws inspiration from childhood memories — events that shaped her approach to love, community, and partnership, and her maternal homeland of Hawaii. “We were exploring childhood memories, earliest experiences with disappointment and pain, and my Hawaiian culture,” says Vandever. “We Fell In Turn came after I titled the track ‘We Wept In Turn’. Both come from the intangible feeling of waking up from vivid dreams, particularly the experience of falling right before waking up or waking up in tears.” Through this exploration into her heritage, Vandever also found guidance. “In Hawaiian mythology, ‘aumākua are known as ancestral spiritual guides that manifest in different forms, whether physical or intangible,” says Vandever. “My ‘aumākua visits me in my dreams, usually with a reassuring hug or a reminder of my past. Memories and early experiences seem to escape me, but find their way back in dreams.” And now they’ve found their way into We Fell in Turn, Kalia Vandever’s stunning solo debut.with local support from Sheers:“Sheers’ music cuts in ways where expressive & ambitious pop vignettes become expansive songs.” (Impose Magazine) Sheers is the project of harpist, pianist, and singer Lily Breshears, who draws inspiration from the likes of Claude Debussy, Olivier Messiaen, and Rihanna. The result is “exceedingly strange but beautiful, like something you’d find in a futuristic speakeasy.” (Portland Mercury). While Sheers’ sound nears art pop, the Willamette Week writes, “it’s a real treat to hear a band that’s almost a genre unto themselves.”
ON A NIGHT LIKE THIS: A Kylie Minogue Dance Party & Drag Tribute Night – 21+
💖Calling all LOVERS!💖 🪩Your DISCO needs you so start 2024 off with leaving behind all the stress in your mind. This PARTY is for you! 🪩 On A Night Like: A Kylie Minogue Dance Party and Drag Show Tribute Night will feature songs from every Kylie era and also include collaborators + artists she has influenced, and those who have influenced her throughout her decades-long career. ✩ ♬ ₊.🎧⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ Dance Party DJ’ed by Sappho Presented by Opal Underground ★⌒ヽ(´ ❥ `) 10pm & Midnight Kylie Tribute Drag Performance by Atlas, Blossom Drearie and Violet Hex 🎆Come out to be shining like a supernova, brightest of the stars!🎆
AREA ’24: A New Year’s Eve Space Disco presented by Ibiza Boys, Møthership, and Holocene – 21+
ADVANCE TICKETS FOR THIS EVENT ARE NOW SOLD OUT! THERE WILL BE A LIMITED NUMBER OF SPOTS AVAILABLE AT THE DOOR FOR $50 WHEN WE OPEN AT 8PM NIGHT OF SHOW. EARLY ARRIVAL IS RECOMMENDED TO GRAB ONE OF THOSE DOOR SPOTS (THE EARLIER THE BETTER) - Please note: These spots at the door are just hand stamps, not physical tickets – so it’s not possible to buy for others. - For all attendees: Re-entry is subject to venue capacity, so once you’ve entered the venue, we do NOT recommend leaving and then coming back – you won’t have to pay again when you return, but if we’re at capacity, you will have to wait in our re-entry line. (Tip: no one leaves the venue between 10pm and midnight). – After midnight, for you party-hoppers, we will drop cover to $25! And after 1am, for you even more ambitious party-hoppers, we will drop cover to $15! 🚀 Embark on an interstellar odyssey this New Year’s Eve as Holocene unveils AREA 24—a transcendent sci-fi discotheque, seamlessly blending 70s retro futurism with the pulse of alien discoveries and the ascent of artificial intelligence. 🔊 Be entranced by the beat of the future, with live performances by Orkis and DJ sets by Andy Warren, Tourmaline, Ibiza Boys, Visitr, and Katwalk. Witness a phenomenon of mind-bending visuals from Hasmood and Ryne, and take part in the conspiracy with live reporting by our host, Erik Hoofnagle. Capture the moment in our Area 24 crash landing polaroid photo booth masterfully curated by Kelsey Jean. 👽 Dress to impress in your best Space Disco attire—melding 70s nostalgia with avant-garde futurism. Whether you embody a time-traveling disco diva or a cyberpunk sensation, let your fashion transcend the ordinary. 🎟️ Doors open at 8 PM, and the cosmic celebration lasts until 2 AM. Secure your spot with tiered presale tickets starting at $25 (grab your tickets now to secure the best price), or join the intergalactic party at the door for $50 (subject to capacity – buying advance is your safest bet!). Prepare to dance, captivate, and defy the laws of gravity as we catapult into 2024 in true AREA 24 fashion. The countdown to a new era commences now! 🌠✨
mehro – w/ King Isis – All Ages
Pronounced “marrow,” the name mehro encapsulates their goal of seeping into the literal DNA of listeners. “The concept was born from bone marrow: It’s essential for us to live, but we never see it,” recalls mehro. “I hope my music can be the marrow of someone’s soul.” By sharing so much of themself—and, in turn, making others feel seen—on their latest releases, mehro comes a step closer to their quixotic goal. “I’m chasing a dragon that can never be caught.” Whether they’re scouring the darkest reaches of the psyche or basking in the bright rays of enlightenment, mehro’s rich, multi-layered music revels in the duality of the human experience. Their fascination with the dichotomy between pleasure and pain is particularly evident on their newest single, “dopamine” – the track has an airy, dreamlike sound that lures the listener in before giving way to the bleak emotions bubbling just below the surface. This concept is explored further on mehro’s March 2023 album, Dark Corners and Alchemy, a staggeringly vulnerable 12-song journey into the heart of a singular artist that treats despair and self-destruction with as much reverence as hope and healing. Originating as a pair of projects, mehro combined Dark Corners and Alchemy to provide the framework for an album. “Sonically, we had two very separate worlds and I wanted to bring them together,” explains mehro. The young singer-songwriter wanted to show all the facets of their artistry, from half-whispered lullabies to raucous rock anthems, while exploring a common theme: pain. Each half of the record expresses the subject matter differently against the backdrop of love, lust, and matters of the shattered heart. “Dark Corners wallows in the pain and really feels those feelings,” mehro says, referencing cuts like “howling” and “pirate song,” “while Alchemy is about taking pain and turning it into something positive in your life.” Viral hit “whore” is a perfect example of their ability to find beauty in the darkness. The L.A. native released their debut single “Perfume” in 2020 and immediately caused ripples. The stripped-back love song has since garnered more than 65 million streams on Spotify alone and heralded mehro as one of the year’s breakout artists, which included a performance on NPR Music’s prestigious Tiny Desk Concert series. Their music has also garnered praise from the likes of NPR’s All Songs Considered, FLOOD Magazine, The Line Of Best Fit, FLAUNT Magazine, Under The Radar and more; Wonderland Magazine proclaimed, “This singer-songwriter has an unreal voice that will leave you captivated from the first note” while Ones To Watch furthered, “mehro very much embodies the spirit of a well-worn journeyman, a wounded poet, a proxy for life’s living proverbs, much as Johnny [Cash] and Jeff [Buckley] did before them.” To date, mehro has amassed over 2 million monthly listeners on Spotify and over 400 million streams across all DSP’s. They have also established a loyal fanbase on social media platforms such as TikTok where they have garnered 33 million views, nearly 5 million likes and over 800 thousand followers. In addition, mehro’s latest single “dopamine” was the fastest song to reach 1 million streams on Spotify while their previously released song “exploding” has been trending atop Shazam’s charts in Mexico for over 3 months.
SNAP! Y2K: UGLY SWEATER XMAS PARTY – ’90s vs ’00s Dance party! – 21+
🎄Friday. December 22nd at Holocene join us for the SNAP! Y2K (90s vs 00s) Ugly Sweater Xmas Party. Break out your ugliest holiday sweater for a chance to win prizes! We have something for everyone! EXPECT TO HEAR Hip Hop, Rock, West Coast Rap, R&B, Rave, Pop and everything in between from the early 90s to the early 00s. And don’t forget to step into our gaming area to play all your favorite Nintendo games. Join the SNAP! Y2K crew every LAST FRIDAY at Holocene for a nostalgic trip back to all your favorite music from the early 90s to the early 00s. Spanning genres from Hip Hop to House to Alt Rock to Modern re-edits you will feel like you are back in Middle school. Resident DJ’sColin JonesMaxx Bass “Like” and Follow us!Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SNAP90s/Instagram: @snapdanceparty
Icebreaker: A music festival benefiting Friends of Noise! – All Ages!
Join Friends of Noise for their annual winter break concert & fundraiser, ICEBREAKER!This year’s show is extra special because they’re raising money to open up an always all ages venue of their own in 2024! This is an all ages and dry event (no bar). Don’t miss the hottest All Ages show of the holiday season! FEATURING: PetrichorCharliehorseLana SheaYungincedGnatGus Jeffers
LAFFY TAFFY: Twerk / Hip-Hop / R&B / Reggaeton / Dancehall party w/ DJs BNick, Jack and Mello Cee – 21+
Alpha Pack Presents: Laffy Taffy – Twerk In all Ass-sorted Flavors Twerk | Hip-Hop | R&B | Dancehall | ReggaetonPortland’s Hottest Twerking Monthly!Vibez inspired by: Megan Thee Stallion, Doja Cat, City Girls, Bad Bunny, Cardi B, Beyonce, Lil Uzi, Nicki Minaj, Rae Sremmurd, Saweetie, Drake, Rihanna, 21 Savage, Tyga, Travis Scott, Daddy Yankee, J. Balvin and many more! Nonstop sounds that are guaranteed to keep you sweating on the dancefloor. Laffy Taffy features resident DJ BNick (Blow the Whistle/Solid Gold/The Get Down/AirPlane Mode); featuring monthly rotating guests. Music will have NO boundaries, but it will be ALL fuego!!!! Heavy hitting Twerk 808s, ratchet Trap anthems, pulsating Dancehall favs, and GROUNDBREAKING Reggaeton bangers!!! This party will not disappoint. FREE BEFORE 10PM WITH RSVP (subject to venue capacity, early arrival is recommended)$10 advance and before 11pm at the door $15 after 11pm at the door Resident DJ: BNickGuest DJs: DJ Jack Mello Cee
Portland Music Month Kick-Off Show! ft.: J. Graves, Bridal Veil, Sit Pretty – 21+
This venue is a proud partner of Portland Music Month. A portion of your ticket price will be donated to the Echo Fund to support local music creators. Find out more here.J. Graves J. Graves is setting out to pioneer something different, with bandleader Jessa Graves squeezing together a tightly packed ball of anger, grief, and acceptance in her latest album Fortress of Fun – an outpouring of wild fury and plaintive sadness with a dark, angular sound. Big new ideas abound, not just musically, but conceptually, too. COVID’s onset in March 2020 forced musicians worldwide to adapt creatively to the impending digital-only era, so it’s rare to see true innovation in an otherwise saturated market, but J. Graves have come up with a captivating idea: a “choose your own adventure” album. Wanting to do something with a little more depth that would engage audiences creatively while welcoming listeners into their experience, the idea was borne from finding a choose-your-own-adventure book in a sci-fi themed studio during the recording process of previous album Deathbed. Early 2020 was tough for the band; like many artists, their built-up momentum was quickly shuttered by COVID’s insurgence. So, in mid-2020, the band went on a getaway to the coast, and the house they were staying in – lit up at night next to the dark ocean – became known as their “fortress of fun,” a title that seems immediately at odds with the album’s often-dark undertones, but one that nonetheless suits Graves’s fight to stay in the light. In that sense, the album exists in two states: the first a mournful and mysterious effort that parses waves of difficult emotions; the second a lush, eclectic undertaking that puts listeners and viewers at the forefront of the band’s collective imagination. Each song from the album comes with a video, through which viewer/listeners can make choices that will lead to further interactive videos. Though the songs are, thematically and contextually, fully distinct from their choose-your-own-adventure video counterparts, the emotion remains raw and real, and J. Graves, with the help of mixer/producer Sylvia Massy, has fine-tuned their sound like never before into something simultaneously painful and buoyant. J. Graves is Aaron MacDonald (drums), Kelly Clifton (bass), and Jessa Graves (guitar, vocals).Bridal Veil Bridal Veil is an American four-piece band from Portland, Oregon inspired by the emotional pangs of the 90’s — the last era to know what life was like without a cell phone in every hand. Led by guitarist/soprano/flutist Emily Overstreet, the band weaves between ethereal dreampop similar to Cocteau Twins and heavy walls of noise akin to My Bloody Valentine. She is joined by guitarist and producer Jordan Richter, bassist Aaron Krause and Raymond Anthony Hughes on drums. Together they perform a memorable live set that delivers vulnerable songwriting paired with well-placed force. Their debut EP, Morpho, was released on November 8, 2019. Sit PrettySit Pretty’s work draws inspiration from the electric, rhythmic, atmospheric sounds of the 80s and post-rock, pop influences from the 90’s. All four members cut their teeth on the Pacific Northwest music scene in various projects for over a decade. The band has distilled their various influences into a blend of noisy sonic textures, tight beats and gentle melodies that makes them happy. They hope it makes you happy too.
Portland Music Month: Ghost Feet, Twingle, Darkswoon – 21+
This venue is a proud partner of Portland Music Month. A portion of your ticket price will be donated to the Echo Fund to support local music creators. Find out more here.Ghost Feet Tying together threads across multiple genres, Ghost Feet weaves themselves into a unique cloth cut from dark wave, psych rock, and trip hop inspirations—creating a distinctively textured shoegaze sound that wraps the listener in its sonic fabric, first tucking you in and then tearing you back out. Ghost Feet’s collaborative writing style is rooted in its first life as duo Rachel Dubuc and Nuri Erdal, guitarists and audio engineers who wrote both their initial release Wires and Cords (EP, Dropping Gems, 2011) and their first full-length album Together Alone (Dropping Gems, 2015) remotely—trading Ableton tracks back and forth while living in Olympia, WA and Portland, OR. After taking a break to focus on individual projects, they revived the band in 2019—adding new complexity in this incarnation with Jessie Branch, whose dynamic vocals add an emotional depth that pulls each song into sharper focus. This layering of individual writing into a final cohesive piece lets the three leave their own signature at each level, stacking those elements into a sound larger than the sum of its parts. Their rhythmic waves draw you out to sea and then wash over you in a tsunami of lyrical impact, as Branch’s graceful vocals flutter past your ears, packing an unexpected weight on arrival. It also allows the band to continue to write while living in both cities. Now performing as a five-piece with the addition of bassist Ryan Scott, and Benjamin Tyler on drums—Ghost Feet has put out two singles in this latest incarnation, with a third to be released on the upcoming PDX Pop Now! 2023 compilation.Twingle “Twingle, an art rock ensemble that includes songwriter Anna Sabatino (vocals, guitar, piano), Alex Radakovich (drums), Eric Sabatino (bass), Jessica Sylvia (backup vocals, percussion) and Nathan Weber (guitar, piano, synth and backup vocals), enjoys surprising listeners with their unique sound, which blends the unexpected with the familiar. “The line between traditional and untraditional is where I like to live, experiment and push in my songwriting,” Anna Sabatino says. Currently, the band is looking forward to releasing their debut album, Future Caviar.”- Willamette Week, Best New Bands 2023 Darkswoon Darkswoon is a Portland-based trio that has carved out a unique blend of styles. Recently described as one of the strongest darkwave artists in Portland (Robert Ham, Willamette Week), their music isn’t boxed into one genre, drawing from elemental post-punk roots, atmospheric guitars that croon along with ethereal vocals bordering on dream pop and shoegaze. Layers of beats, vintage synth sounds, and melodically driven bass add to the original style, while paying homage to old-school goth and electronic basics. The emotionally charged, potent sound of Darkswoon was founded by composer Jana Cushman (vocals, guitar) in 2014 as a solo project, and later completed with the addition of Rachel Ellis (beats, synths) and Norah Lynn (bass) in 2017. Their sophomore release, ‘Bloom Decay’ (2022, Icy Cold Records), represents an evolution of Darkswoon’s sound, emerging after the challenges of a global pandemic with a body of work that has been praised by some as one of the best albums of 2022 (Stereo Embers’, Last Rites’).