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.
Heatmiser was an American rock band, formed in Portland, Oregon in October 1991. Consisting of Elliott Smith, Neil Gust, Brandt Peterson and Tony Lash (drums), they were known for their well-crafted lyrics and songs often featuring the juxtaposition of melancholic and cheery words and melodies. The pop-oriented songs of Elliott Smith were a contrast to the darker songs of Neil Gust, while both Smith's and Gust's songs touched on subjects such as anger, alienation, loneliness and despair.
Poison Idea was an American punk rock band formed in Portland, Oregon, in 1980.
The Cherry Poppin' Daddies are an American swing and ska band established in Eugene, Oregon, in 1989. Formed by singer-songwriter Steve Perry and bassist Dan Schmid, the band has experienced numerous personnel changes over the course of its 30-year history, with only Perry, Schmid and trumpeter Dana Heitman currently remaining from the original founding lineup.
Static Prevails is the second studio album by American rock band Jimmy Eat World, released on July 23, 1996, through Capitol Records. Following the release of the band's self-titled debut album (1994), they signed to Capitol in mid-1995 for further releases. Carrier member Rick Burch replaced bassist Mitch Porter, who left to become a Mormon missionary. Recorded at Sound City in Los Angeles, California, and at Big Fish, in Encinitas, California, Wes Kidd, Mark Trombino, and Jimmy Eat World acted as producers for the album.
The Epoxies were an American new wave band from Portland, Oregon, formed in 2000. Heavily influenced by new wave, the band jokingly described themselves as robot garage rock. Members included FM Static on synthesizers, guitarist Viz Spectrum, lead singer Roxy Epoxy, bass guitarist Shock Diode, and drummer Ray Cathode. They grew in popularity due in large part to extensive touring in both the United States and Europe where they showcased frantically paced, highly energetic on-stage productions. They were known for using special effects for their live act and sporting home-made costumes, sometimes made mostly of duct tape.
Freakwater is an American alternative country band from Louisville, Kentucky, with one co-founding member living in Chicago. Freakwater is known for the lead vocals of Janet Bean and Catherine Irwin, who mix harmony and melody in idiosyncratic dissonant country-folk that is reminiscent of the Carter Family.
Mike Coykendall is a musician, audio engineer, and record producer.
Pete Krebs is an American musician from Portland, Oregon, best known as a member of the punk-pop band Hazel, and for No Confidence Man, a split record with Elliott Smith.
Kaddisfly is an American rock band based in Portland, Oregon, formed in 2001. The band was signed to Hopeless Records\Sub City Records from 2005 to 2008 and issued three releases on the label family. The group took a hiatus from 2008 to 2013, and after reuniting released music under the label intheclouds Records.
Frenching the Bully is the debut studio album by Seattle punk rock band The Gits. It was originally released as a 12-track album on C/Z Records in 1992 but was later reissued in 2003 with bonus tracks and different cover art on the Broken Rekids label. "A stunning document of the talent ... [of] singer Mia Zapata ... She sings with such conviction, ferocity, and expressiveness that the lyrics become irrelevant. The band becomes irrelevant." –River Cities' Reader
Luther Russell is an American musician who has been recording since 1991. He is the grandson of songwriter Bob Russell and the grandnephew of songwriter Bud Green.
Anna Song Canzano is an American broadcast journalist who hosts That Expert Show in partnership with the Portland, Oregon-based newspaper The Oregonian. She previously worked at KOIN television in Portland, and at Portland's KATU and Los Angeles' ABC NewsOne and held an internship at KABC-TV in Los Angeles.
The Mekons are a British band formed in the late 1970s as an art collective. They are one of the longest-running and most prolific of the first-wave British punk rock bands.
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 seven studio albums.
Samuel William Henry was an American drummer, best known for his work with the punk rock group The Wipers. He was inducted into the Oregon Music Hall of Fame in 2011.
Anna Tivel is an American singer-songwriter from Portland, Oregon. She has released four studio albums on Portland-based Fluff & Gravy Records. Her 2017 album Small Believer received positive reviews and was named a "Top 10 underheard album of 2017" by Ann Powers of NPR. In 2019, NPR called her album The Question "one of the most ambitious folk records of 2019"; it was also listed by Paste as one of "10 essential folk albums from 2019".
Tin Shed Garden Cafe, or simply Tin Shed, is a restaurant in Portland, Oregon's King neighborhood, in the United States.
Genie's Cafe, or Genies Cafe, is a restaurant in Portland, Oregon.
More Gravy! is the second studio album, by Australian blues band, Collard Greens & Gravy. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2001, the album won Best Blues and Roots Album. The group's line-up was James Bridges on guitar and fiddle, Ian Collard on lead vocals, harmonica and guitar, and Anthony Shortte on drums. It was recorded live-in-the-studio at Soundhouse Studios with production by John Dorr and the group.
