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.
Greg Sage is an American songwriter, guitarist, and vocalist, regarded as an important influence on many punk rock and post-punk artists. Sage is best known as the principal songwriter and vocalist/guitarist of the influential Portland, Oregon-based band Wipers.
Floater is an American rock band currently based in Portland, Oregon. The band was started in 1993 by Robert Wynia, along with Peter Cornett and David Amador. They are known for their progressive concept albums, stylized storytelling, intense live performances, and devoted fanbase. Floater routinely sells out local venues in Oregon and periodically plays shows in the neighboring states of Washington, California, Nevada, and Idaho. Floater has played a variety of venues, including CBGB in New York and the Roxy Theatre in Los Angeles. The band was also a musical guest for Live Wire Radio on OPB radio. The band was voted the "Best Band" in the Willamette Week "Best of Portland" reader's poll for 2009 and 2010.
Rozz Rezabek-Wright, usually Rozz Rezabek, is an American musician based in Portland, Oregon, formerly of San Francisco.
Napalm Beach is an American rock band formed in Portland, Oregon. They are considered early innovators of the grunge sound. Nicholas Pell, writing for the Portland Mercury said "a huge influence on the grunge and alternative rock of the 1990s, Napalm Beach never had the name recognition of other Portland bands like Poison Idea or the Wipers." Napalm Beach shared the stage with bands such as X, Public Image Ltd., Joan Jett, Johnny Thunders, Gun Club, Bad Brains, Soundgarden, Screaming Trees, Mudhoney, Dead Moon, and Poison Idea. They also toured Germany five times between 1989 and 1992. During their long musical career they have released more than 30 studio and live recordings in various formats on a number of small independent labels in the U.S. and Germany.
Dead Moon was an American rock band formed in 1987 in Portland, Oregon. The band consisted of singer/guitarist Fred Cole, singer/bassist Toody Cole and drummer Andrew Loomis. Dead Moon initially disbanded in 2006, before reuniting in 2014 and disbanding again in 2017 following the deaths of Loomis and Fred Cole. The band released ten studio albums, six live albums and three compilation albums.
Stumptown Coffee Roasters is a coffee roaster and retailer based in Portland, Oregon, United States. The chain's flagship café and roastery opened in 1999. Three other cafes, a roastery and a tasting annex have since opened in Portland, as well as locations in Seattle, New York, and Los Angeles,. Stumptown is owned by Peet's Coffee, which in turn is owned by JAB Holding Company. The company was an early innovator with cold brew coffee in nitro cans and have continued to develop other cold brew product innovations.
Crazy 8s is an American rock and ska band from Oregon.
Talkdemonic is an avant-instrumental duo based in Portland, Oregon. The band consists of Kevin O'Connor and Lisa Molinaro. Talkdemonic signed with Isaac Brock's Glacial Pace Records to release their fourth record in Fall 2011.
Creeper Lagoon is a San Francisco indie-rock band originally started by Sharky Laguana as a solo project in 1991. They are currently on Laguana's digital record label, Neglektra.
Sarah Dougher is an American singer-songwriter, author, and teacher. Dougher began her musical career playing the Farfisa organ in the Portland, Oregon based band The Crabs, and later joined Cadallaca with Sleater-Kinney frontwoman Corin Tucker. She has also released multiple solo albums.
The Shaky Hands were a Portland, Oregon-based rock group, formed in 2003 by musician Paul Culp, and Colin Anderson. Nicholas Delffs joined soon after on vocals and guitar. They spent the next three years gradually building a following in the Portland area and self-releasing two CDs, one informally called The Skidmore Days, which is a lo-fi full-length album recorded in future guitarist Jeff Lehman's North Portland basement and mixed by Alex Arrowsmith. They also released a self-titled EP informally referred to as the Bonnie Doon EP, in reference to the location it was recorded. The Shaky Hands were signed to Holocene Music in late 2006. By this time, the lineup had changed considerably, with Mayhaw Hoons replacing Culp on bass and the addition of second guitarist Jeff Lehman. Nathan Delffs joined shortly thereafter on percussion and lap steel. Their sound is a fusion of 1960s style British Invasion bands such as The Kinks, The Who and The Zombies and American folk-rock in the vein of Neil Young. The result is what many have described as a loose, jangly, rootsy style of indie rock. The Delffs brothers also perform Shaky Hands songs under the Death Songs moniker, a more experimental and folk-oriented side project.
Tim/Kerr was an American independent record label in Portland, Oregon, United States, run by Thor Lindsay and Thomas "Tim" Kerr IV from 1985 until 1999. Between 1978 and 1984 Lindsay and Kerr were also co-owners of an independent record store in Portland called Singles Going Steady.
La Luna was a rock-'n'-roll nightclub in Portland, Oregon, United States from 1992 to 1999. It played a central role in the city's music scene and prominence during the emergence of grunge in addition to other genres throughout the decade and was once dubbed "the center of gravity for the Portland music scene."
Logan Dennis Lynn is an American musician, writer, producer, filmmaker, television personality, mental health advocate, and LGBT activist.
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.
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.
Radiation City was an American indie rock band that began in Portland, Oregon, in 2010. The band consisted of Cameron Spies, Elisabeth Ellison, Randy Bemrose, Matt Rafferty, and Patti King. There were two couples in the band. The band released four albums: Cool Nightmare, The Hands That Take You, Animals in the Median, and Synesthetica. The band was signed to the Polyvinyl Record Co. label.
Mary's Club is the oldest strip club in Portland, Oregon, and among the oldest in the United States. In 1954, Roy Keller bought the business from Mary Duerst Hemming, who owned and operated Mary's as a piano bar beginning in the 1930s. Keller initially hired go-go dancers as entertainment during the piano player's breaks, later hiring them full-time because of their popularity. Topless dancers wearing pasties were introduced in 1955. The club also featured comics, musicians, singers and other acts. All-nude dancing began in 1985, after a judicial ruling against City of Portland ordinances banning it in venues which served alcohol.
Berbati's Pan was a Greek restaurant, bar and music nightclub in Portland, Oregon, United States. It was located at 231 Southwest Ankeny Street and operated from 1985 to 2010.
