SIZZLIN' SUMMER SOUNDS
It's summer outdoor concert season. Free concerts abound and tickets remain for big events at the Oregon Zoo, McMenamins Edgefield and Sunlight Supply Amphitheater, among other venues.
Of course, one of the big ones is happening July 4-7 — the Waterfront Blues Festival at Waterfront Park.
Please check out our "Live Music" listings each week for indoor concerts, which could be fun to attend even on sunny days.
Here are some outdoor concerts worth checking out:
Concerts in the Park
Portland Parks and Recreation's "Summer Free For All" includes free nightly concerts in city parks, starting at 6:30 p.m.; see www.portlandoregon.gov for complete info.
July 6: Floyd Light Park, Georgina Band (classic Iraqi rhythmic)
July 7: Kenilworth Park, Yankee Gaucho (world folk rock)
July 8: Sellwood Park, Moody Little Sister (new folk/American West)
July 10: Dawson Park, Mel Brown B-3 Organ Group (jazz/blues/soul)
July 11: Khunamokwst Park, Ache Son (Cuban)
July 12: Fernhill Park, The Sirens of Blues (blues); Colonel Summers Park, Tara Velarde (folk)
July 13: Pendleton Park, Hula Halau 'Ohana Holo'oko'a Band (traditional/contemporary Hawaiian)
July 14: Warner Pacific University, Quadraphonnes (jazzy funk)
July 15: Sellwood Park, Rae Gordon Band (blues/soul)
July 18: Lovejoy Fountain Park, Wamba (Afrobeat); Harrison Park, POPgoji (Brazilian/American soul)
July 19: Fernhill Park, Tony Starlight (Sinatra/1980s); Brentwood Park, Soul Progression (pop/rock/blues)
July 20: North Park Blocks, Choro da Alegria (Brazilian)
July 22: Sellwood Park, Grupo Masato (tropical/Andean Chicha)
July 25: Lovejoy Fountain Park, Outer Orbit (funk/soul); McCoy Park, Rhythm Culture (blues/jazz/reggae)
July 26: Fernhill Park, Bloco Alegria (Brazilian); Denorval Unthank Park, Geno Michaels & Soulcity (joyous)
July 27: Cathedral Park, Portland Festival Symphony (brass); Cully Park, Turquoise Park, Native American drumming
July 28: Grant Park, Portland Festival Symphony (brass); Wellington Park, Big Bad Beat (1970s-90s)
July 29: Sellwood Park, Miller & Sasser (country)
Aug. 1-4: Washington Park Summer Festival (music/dance)
Aug. 2: Village Square parking lot, Friends of Noise Youth Showcase (all ages)
Aug. 3: Spring Garden Park, The Libertine Belles (vintage jazz)
Aug. 6: McCoy Park, Farnell Newton and The Othership Connection (funk/soul)
Aug. 8: Wellington Park, Chervona (European party); Woodlawn Park, Saeeda Wright (soul/jazz/gospel)
Aug. 9: Ventura Park, FunkTown PDX (funk)
Aug. 10: Laurelhurst Park, Portland Festival Symphony; Cully Park, Festival Latino/Orquestra Pacifico Tropical (South American cumbias)
Aug. 11: Peninsula Park, Portland Festival Symphony; Wilshire Park, 5 Grand (danceable R&B/funk/soul)
Aug. 15: Wellington Park, JT Trawick's Big Ozark Swing Orchestra (swing); Laurelhurst Park, DJ Prashant and Jai Ho! Dance Troupe (Bollywood/Bhangra)
Aug. 16: Dawson Park, Mz Etta's World/Arietta Ward (soul/funk/R&B)
Aug. 17: Gateway Discovery Park, Tonga Day
Aug. 18: Hamilton Park, The Sportin' Lifers (blues/R&B/soul/jazz)
Aug. 22: Wellington Park, Glass of Hearts (Blondie tribute); Elizabeth Caruthers Park, The Mars Rovers (classic rock/blues)
Aug. 23: Luuwit View Park, St. James's Gate (Celtic/Americana)
Aug. 24: April Hill Park, Rogue Bluegrass Band (bluegrass/Americana)
Aug. 25: Laurelhurst Park, Providence Stage Band (big band)
Aug. 30: Montavilla Park, Mo Phillips and the Grumpies (family dance)
Aug. 31: Overlook Park, Sakumuna (Afro-fusion/funk/reggae)
Sept. 1: Gateway Discovery Park, "Heritage"/11th annual Slavic Festival
Music on Main
Portland'5 hosts the 14th annual Music on Main at 5 p.m. on Wednesdays at Southwest Main Street, between Broadway and Park Avenue; for more, see www.portland5.com.
July 10: Doll Party
July 17: Conjunto Alegre
July 24: DJ Anjali and The Incredible Kid
July 31: Erotic City
Aug. 7: Gangstagrass
Aug. 14: POPgoji
Aug. 21: Gina Chavez
Aug. 28: Swatkins & The Positive Agenda
Note: The Noontime Showcase features Second Wind Jazz (Wednesday, July 10), as well as Smut City Jellyroll Society, John Dover, Orenco Station Band, Bridge City Blues Band, The Beat Goes On, Providence Hospital Stage Band, Vanport Jazz. For more: Portland5.com.
Noon Tunes
It's the 30th year of free noon Tuesday concerts at Pioneer Courthouse Square; see www.thesquarepdx.org.
July 9: Castletown
July 16: Harvey Brindell and The Tablerockers
July 23: Tara Velarde
July 30: 21 Turns
Aug. 6: The Noted
Aug. 13: Evan Egerer
Aug. 20: Red Light Challenge
Aug. 27: Soul Impression
Street fairs
Portland street fairs feature live music; a short list is below.
Mississippi Street Fair, July 13, North Mississippi/Failing, www.mississippiave.com
Division Clinton Street Fair and Parade, July 27, Southeast 25th-28th/Clinton, www.divisionclinton.com
Montavilla Street Fair, July 28, Southeast Stark/76th-82nd, www.metba.org
Fremont Fest, Aug. 3, Northeast Fremont/42nd-50th, www.beaumontvillagepdx.com
Alberta Street Fair, Aug. 10, Northeast Alberta/11th-30th, www.albertamainst.org
Lents Founders Fair, Aug. 11, Southeast 87th/Steele, www.lentsneighborhoodassociation.com
Multnomah Days Street Fair, Aug. 17, Southwest Capitol Highway/Garden Home-31st, www.multnomahvillage.org
Hawthorne Street Fair, Aug. 25, Southeast Hawthorne, www.hawthornepdx.com
Belmont Street Fair, Sept. 14, Southeast 33rd-39th, www.belmontdistrict.org
Oregon Zoo
The Oregon Zoo features concerts throughout the summer. Some are sold out (Chicago on July 21, John Prine on Aug. 2, Lord Huron and Shakey Graves on Aug. 9, and Death Cab for Cutie on Sept. 6), some have tickets remaining (listed below). See www.zooconcerts.com for info and tickets.
July 27: Broken Social Scene, The Helio Sequence
July 28: Michael McDonald, Chaka Khan, Tommy Alexander
Aug. 6: The B-52s, OMD, Berlin
Aug. 10: George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic, Fishbone, Dumpstaphunk, Miss Velvet, The Blue Wolf
Aug. 11: Steve Earle and The Dukes, Lukas Nelson and Promise of the Real
Aug. 12: Lord Huron, Shaky Graves, Madeline Kenney
Aug. 13: Feist, Rhye
Aug. 15: Thepianoguys
Aug. 16: Taj Mahal, Marc Cohn, Blind Boys of Alabama
Aug. 17: Herbie Hancock, Kamasi Washington
Aug. 25: Amos Lee, Madison Cunningham
Sept. 7: Oregon Symphony
McMenamins Edgefield
The McMenamins Edgefield Concerts on the Lawn series in Troutdale continues through the summer, with tickets remaining to many shows (see below). A lot of shows are sold out. See www.edgefieldconcerts.com for info and tickets.
July 16: Rodrigo & Gabriela
July 17: Common
Aug. 6: Young & The Giant, Fitz and The Tantrums
Aug. 16-17: Pink Martini with China Forbes and Storm Large
Aug. 22: Josh Groban
Aug. 25: Brandi Carlile
Sept. 7: Cake and Ben Folds
Sept. 13: Gary Clark Jr.
Sept. 27: Of Monsters and Men
Sunlight Supply Amphitheater
It's a short drive to the venue in Ridgefield, Wash., that usually attracts top acts, with tickets still remaining for shows (listed below). See www.sunlightsupplyamphitheater.com for info and tickets.
July 11: Beck, Cage the Elephant
July 26: Lynyrd Skynyrd
July 27: Shinedown
Aug. 14: Wiz Khalifa
Aug. 16: ZZ Top, Cheap Trick
Aug. 30: Blink-182, Lil Wayne
Sept. 3: Heart, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
Sept. 4: Dave Matthews Band
Sept. 21: Breaking Benjamin
Fair music
• The musical lineup for the Oregon State Fair in Salem, Aug. 23-Sept. 2, includes Dustin Lynch (Aug. 23), 3 Doors Down (Aug. 24), REO Speedwagon (Aug. 26), Steve Miller Band and Marty Stuart (Aug. 27), Brett Young (Aug. 28), Newsboys and Adam Agee (Aug. 29), The Commodores (Aug. 30), The Beach Boys (Aug. 31), Firefall, Pure Prairie League and Poco (Sept. 2). Most of the concerts are free with fair admission. For fair and VIP tickets are more: www.oregonstatefair.org.
• The Washington County Fair includes Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo (July 25), Chris Janson (July 26) and Old Dominion (July 27). For more: www.bigfairfun.com.
• The Clark County Fair includes Carly Pearce (Aug. 2), KC and the Sunshine Band (Aug. 3), Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (Aug. 4) and Randy Houser (Aug. 5). For more: www.clarkcofair.org.
This and that
• Many tribute bands are on the lineup at Harefest, July 12-13, in Canby. For more: www.harefest.com.
• The Northwest String Summit attracts national acts, July 18-21, at Horning's Hideout in North Plains. For more: www.stringsummit.com.
• The Cathedral Park Jazz Festival takes place in a scenic setting under the historic St. Johns Bridge, July 19-21. For more: www.jazzoregon.com.
• It's a bit of a drive, but the Northwest World Reggae Festival takes place July 26-28 at Marcola, northeast of Springfield. For more: www.nwwrf.org.
• The Washington Park Summer Festival is at the Rose Garden Amphitheater, 410 S.W. Kingston Ave., with the following acts: PDX Jazz presents Mike Phillips with Saeeda Wright, King Louie and LaRhonda Steele, Aug. 1; Painted Sky Northstar Native Dance Company with Evening Star Painted Ponies, Aug. 2; Portland Cello Project performing Radiohead, Coltrane and Bach, Aug. 3; Opera in the Park, "Viva Verdi!," Aug. 4. For more: www.portlandoregon.gov.
• The famous Pickathon takes place Aug. 2-4 at Pendarvis Farm in Happy Valley. For more: www.pickathon.com.
• The Soulful Giving Blanket Concert takes place Saturday, Aug. 3, at the Yoshida family Garden View Estate and features tribute bands — Dancehall Days (Top 40 songs), Arrival (ABBA), Stone in Love (Journey) — and Patrick Lamb and his group Hit Factory. Organizers are saying it's the final cancer fundraising concert. For more: www.soulfulgiving.org.
• Across the Columbia River, the Vancouver Wine & Jazz Festival features plenty of music with the theme "American Jazz & Blues," Aug. 23-25 at Esther Short Park in Vancouver, Wash. For more: www.vancouverwinejazz.com.
Vancouver concerts
The Six to Sunset Concerts at Esther Short Park in Vancouver, Wash., are: July 11 — Hit Machine; July 18 — Prom Date Mixtape; July 25 — Stone in Love; Aug. 1 — Hit Factory featuring Patrick Lamb; Aug. 8 — Life During Wartime; Aug. 15 — Super Diamond. For more: www.cityofvancouver.us/events.
Rose Quarter
And, although they're inside, check out the following events at the Moda Center or Veterans Memorial Coliseum through September:
Jon Bellion, July 18; 21 Savage, July 23; Backstreet Boys, July 30; Rob Zombie and Marilyn Manson, Aug. 2; Disturbed, Aug. 3; Mumford & Sons, Aug. 5; Lauren Daigle, Aug. 10; 311 & Dirty Heads, Aug. 17; JoJo Siwa, Aug. 17; Chris Brown, Aug. 20; Lionel Richie, Aug. 21; Iron Maiden, Sept. 6; Bon Iver, Sept. 10; Die Antwoord, Sept. 13; Zedd, Sept. 14; Ghost, Sept. 16; Bryan Adams, Sept. 19; Flogging Molly and Social Distortion, Sept. 20; Morrissey, Sept. 30. For more: www.rosequarter.com.
