The music of Oregon reflects the diverse array of styles present in the music of the United States, from Native American music to the contemporary genres of rock and roll, country, rhythm and blues, jazz, pop, electronic music, and hip hop. However, throughout most of its history, the state has been relatively isolated from the cultural forces shaping American music. Much of modern popular music traces its roots to the emergence in the late 19th century of African American blues and the growth of gospel music in the 1920s. African American musicians borrowed elements of European and Indigenous musics to create new American forms. As Oregon's population was more homogeneous and more white than the United States as a whole, the state did not play a significant role in this history.
The Thermals were an American indie rock band based in Portland, Oregon, United States. The group was formed in 2002. With influences heavily rooted in both lofi, as well as standard rock, the band's songs were also known for their political and religious imagery.
Heartless Bastards are an American rock band formed in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 2003. The band has released six albums.
Storm Large is an American singer, songwriter, actress and author. She attracted national attention as a contestant on the CBS reality television show Rock Star: Supernova. A resident of Portland, Oregon, Large performs nationally with her own band, and tours internationally with the Portland-based band Pink Martini.
Sexton Blake is a rock band based in Portland, Oregon. They are signed to the independent record label, Expunged Records and their name derives from the British television series Sexton Blake.
Knitting Factory Records is an independent American music label that is notable for promoting a variety of artists, including the music of deceased Nigerian political activist Fela Kuti. The label promotes a variety of music artists including Ages and Ages, Ash Black Bufflo, Cuong Vu, Graham Haynes, Femi Kuti, Gary Lucas, Lumerians, Thomas Chapin, Patrolled By Radar, Joe Morris, Rachid Taha, Seun Kuti, and Shilpa Ray and her Happy Hookers.
Dolorean is an American rock band based in Portland, Oregon. Their current line-up is Al James, guitar/vocals, Jay Clarke, organ/piano, Ben Nugent, drums/percussion/vocals, James Adair, bass, and Jon Neufeld, guitar. They have released four studio albums. Their most recent, The Unfazed, reached No. 41 on the Top Heatseekers chart. The group has worked with Portland area musicians such as Jay Clarke who records with Knitting Factory Records under the moniker Ash Black Bufflo, and Emil Amos who records on Partisan Records under the moniker Holy Sons.
Bark Hide and Horn were an indie/folk-rock band from Portland, Oregon.
The Builders and The Butchers are a folk rock band based in Portland, Oregon, United States. It is fronted by singer/guitar player Ryan Sollee. The other members of the band are Willy Kunkle, Justin Baier, Ray Rude, and Harvey Tumbleson.
Michael William Byrne is an American drummer who was a member of the band The Smashing Pumpkins. When Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan called for rehearsals to replace Jimmy Chamberlin, Byrne auditioned and was chosen out of thousands of applicants. He played drums in Sky Saxon tribute band Spirits in the Sky for six shows in August 2009, along with Corgan, Kerry Brown, Kevin Dippold, Mark Tulin, Linda Strawberry, Ysanne Spevack, Mark Weitz, and Dave Navarro, and also performs drums on the Pumpkins project, Teargarden by Kaleidyscope. As a part of Teargarden, Byrne contributed drumming duties on Oceania, the Pumpkins' eighth full-length album. On April 17, 2010, Byrne played his first show under the Smashing Pumpkins moniker in celebration of Record Store Day.
Yacht is an American dance-pop band from Portland, Oregon, currently based in Los Angeles, California. The core group consists of Jona Bechtolt and Claire L. Evans, and when touring expands to include Bobby Birdman.
The Hugs are an American indie pop and psychedelic garage rock band from Portland, Oregon, formed in 2007 by lead singer-songwriter Danny Delegato, while attending Cleveland High School. A self-described "pop" band, their music is primarily influenced by the 1960s British Invasion movement and post-punk. The Hugs have self-released eight studio albums.
Holy Sons is a one-man solo band built around American songwriter and drummer Emil Amos. Amos is notable for releasing "genre-bending" albums, according to LA Weekly music reviewer Chris Martins, and for being a prolific songwriter; one account in Spike Magazine suggests he has written over a thousand songs. Amos is also a multi-instrumentalist for groups such as Grails and Om and Lilacs & Champagne. Amos was born of the lo-fi home recording movement of the '80s and early '90s.
Ash Black Bufflo, sometimes spelled Buffalo, is the professional name of Portland-based music composer and experimental musician Jay Clarke. He composes music for feature-length films, short films, documentaries, and dance and theater projects. He is notable for scoring the music for the documentary Marwencol which won the Jury Prize at the South by Southwest film festival and received positive critical attention. He created soundscapes for theatrical productions such as My Mind Is Like an Open Meadow, which received positive reviews in Willamette Week. He performs and records with numerous Portland-area bands including Dolorean, Holy Sons, Grails, and others. Clarke landed a record deal with Knitting Factory Records, and there are plans to release his debut CD entitled Andasol using the name Ash Black Bufflo in 2011.
Typhoon is an American indie rock band based in Portland, Oregon. Led by singer-songwriter Kyle Morton since its founding in 2005, the band is anchored by bassist Toby Tanabe, guitarist Dave Hall, drummer Alex Fitch, and violinist/vocalist Shannon Steele and has been noted for its large size, boasting up to fourteen members in its past. They have released five albums and two EPs, also contributing to a number of compilations. Their most recent album, Underground Complex No. 1 was released on April 15, 2022.
The Ice on Fire Tour was a worldwide concert tour held by English musician and composer Elton John, in support of his 19th studio album Ice on Fire. The tour included three legs and a total of 122 shows.
Witch Mountain is an American doom metal band from Portland, Oregon.
Mother Falcon is a symphonic rock band from Austin, Texas, known for their wide-ranging instrumentation and collaborative songwriting. Formed by bandleader Nick Gregg in 2008, the group grew to include a collective of more than twenty musicians playing strings, horns, guitars, and percussion. The group was most active between 2010 and 2016, after which they scaled back and began new projects including theatrical scores and an annual music education camp. Since the release of their final album Good Luck Have Fun, released in 2015 by Universal, the band has continued to perform in the Austin area.
Johanna Warren is an American musician and actor. To date she has released six solo albums. Rolling Stone Magazine has called her a "Singer-Songwriter You Need to Know."
Y La Bamba is an American indie alternative/experimental band led by singer-songwriter and guitarist Luz Elena Mendoza. She is a first generation Mexican American, and sings in both English and Spanish. The current ensemble includes Mendoza: vocals, guitar; Julia Mendiolea: guitar, bass; Antonio Montanez: drums; Gordon Walters: bass; and Isabeau Waia'u Walker: vocals, percussion.
