Many songs have been written about the city of Portland, Oregon. [1] [2] [3] A song belongs on the list below only if the song is notably about Portland, although the song may additionally be notable for other reasons too. Therefore, this list does not include notable songs that merely mention Portland in passing.
The city song of Portland, officially adopted in 1989, is Portlandia by Marc C. Miller. [4]
Woodrow Wilson Guthrie was an American singer-songwriter and composer who was one of the most significant figures in American folk music. His work focused on themes of American socialism and anti-fascism. He inspired several generations both politically and musically with songs such as "This Land Is Your Land".
Ramblin' Jack Elliott is an American folk singer and songwriter and musician.
Corin Lisa Tucker is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist best known for her work with rock band Sleater-Kinney. Tucker is also a member of the alternative rock supergroup Filthy Friends, and previously recorded with the punk band Heavens to Betsy as well as The Corin Tucker Band.
Carrie Rachel Brownstein is an American musician, actress, writer, director, and comedian. She first came to prominence as a member of the band Excuse 17 before forming the rock trio Sleater-Kinney.
Fereydun Robert Armisen is an American comedian, actor, musician, and writer. With his comedy partner Carrie Brownstein, he co-created and co-starred in the IFC sketch comedy series Portlandia. He also co-created and starred in the mockumentary IFC series Documentary Now! and the Showtime comedy series Moonbase 8.
Janet Lee Weiss is an American rock drummer, a member of Quasi and former member of Sleater-Kinney. She was the drummer for Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, leaving after the album Mirror Traffic, and contributed to the Shins' fourth studio album, Port of Morrow (2012). She was also the drummer for the supergroup Wild Flag.
Jennifer Lynn Conlee-Drizos is an American musician, best known as the accordionist, pianist, organist, keyboardist, melodica player, and occasional backup singer and harmonicist for the indie rock quintet The Decemberists.
Hush Records is a Portland, Oregon based record label founded by Chad Crouch.
John Harrold Craigie III is an American singer-songwriter and storyteller. Hailed as a "Modern-Day Troubadour" in the style of Woody Guthrie, Craigie's comedic storytelling style has been compared to Mitch Hedberg, while his music and commitment to living on the road has drawn comparisons to Guthrie, Ramblin' Jack Elliott and Pete Seeger.
Columbia River Collection, originally released as the Columbia River Ballads, is a compilation album of songs folksinger Woody Guthrie wrote during his visit to the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington in 1941. Guthrie traveled to these states on the promise of a part narrating a documentary about the construction of public works dams and other projects in the Pacific Northwest. The documentary never came to fruition, but 17 of the 26 songs he wrote during this period were compiled and released as this collection, including some of his most famous songs, such as "Roll on Columbia", "Grand Coulee Dam", "Hard Travelin’," and "Pastures of Plenty."
Esperanza Emily Spalding is an American bassist, singer, songwriter, and composer. Her accolades include five Grammy Awards, a Boston Music Award, a Soul Train Music Award, and two honorary doctorates: one from her alma mater Berklee College of Music and one from the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts).
Kerouac's Last Dream is an album by American folk musician Ramblin' Jack Elliott, released in 1981.
Portlandia is an American sketch comedy television series starring Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein, set in and around Portland, Oregon, and spoofing the city's reputation as a haven for eccentric hipsters. The show was produced by Broadway Video Television and IFC Original Productions. It was created by Armisen and Brownstein, along with Jonathan Krisel, who directs it. It debuted on IFC on January 21, 2011.
"The Day the Earth Stood Cool" is the seventh episode of the twenty-fourth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. The episode was directed by Matthew Faughnan and written by Matt Selman. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on December 9, 2012.
Paxton Gate is a San Francisco-based company founded in 1992 by Sean Quigley that is named after famed British gardener and architect Sir Joseph Paxton. Described by Quigley as "a natural history museum merged with a home products store and quirky gardening shop." It is an operation that features a large selection of natural science curiosities, taxidermy, numerous varieties of carnivorous plants, succulents, as well as gardening tools and a curated selection of books. The store's inventory emphasizes ephemera associated with the natural sciences, both of the animal and plant kingdoms, taxidermy, mounted insects, assorted neo-Victoriana, oddities, and products associated with the steampunk movement. In 1999 the operation relocated from its original San Francisco Stevenson Street location to Valencia Street in the city's Mission District in order to accommodate its growing collections of vintage trophy mount taxidermy as well as fossils and minerals. The store freights a Victorian gentleman/inventor/botanist/biologist aesthetic that Time Out London once described as “Martha Stewart Meets David Lynch.”
Music of the Pacific Northwest encompasses many musical styles from prehistory to the modern Pacific Northwest.
Jedediah P. Aaker is a musician, performer and a theatrical producer. He is also the cofounder of the Portland Beardsmen. He has worked as bartender for a failing club featured on the fourth season of Bar Rescue and as host of Barfly Bus Tours. Alternative newspaper Willamette Week dubbed him a "beard-about-town". In a 2018 feature article titled "Twilight of the Hipsters", the French edition of Rolling Stone introduced Aaker as an "actor, concert booker, chauffeur for rock stars, and distributor of the Lucky Egg vending machines that he installs in bars."
Holocene is a music venue and nightclub in the Buckman neighborhood of Portland, Oregon, in the United States. The venue, which opened in June 2003, is a former auto-parts warehouse with an industrial, modern interior. Holocene hosts a variety of events, and was named the city's "Best Place to Dance" by Willamette Week readers in 2017.
Drag-a-thon was a drag show held during July 10–12, 2023, at the drag venue Darcelle XV Showplace in Portland, Oregon. The event was a successful attempt at setting a Guinness World Record for the longest drag stage show. Drag-a-thon was conceived and produced by Emma Mcilroy, co-founder of Wildfang, in response to the Tennessee Adult Entertainment Act and similar anti-drag legislation across the United States. Eden Dawn, the host venue Darcelle XV Showplace, and its longtime performer Poison Waters were also credited as co-organizers. Drag-a-thon was also a fundraiser, yielding approximately $290,000 for LGBT support service The Trevor Project.