R&B Violinist Convinced Any Skeptics at Her Mesmerizing Portland Show

Sudan Archives, aka Britney Parks, gave one of the most compelling performances at last year’s Pickathon.

(Sam Gehrke)

Most artists don't expect to sell out shows the first time they hit the road. But on her first tour, Sudan Archives quickly sold out her Feb. 22 show at Doug Fir Lounge.

The crowd initially welcomed the Cincinnati-bred violinist with the kind of curiosity you'd expect for a genre-hopping debut artist. But by the end of the show, everyone seemed fully on her team.

To be fair, it wasn't exactly her first set in Oregon—Sudan Archives, aka Britney Parks, gave one of the most compelling performances at last year's Pickathon. And it certainly helped that the concert began with a mesmerizing opening set by Velvet Negroni.

(Sam Gehrke)

For Parks' set, the stage was transformed into a meditative scene of candles and red-hued lights. She sauntered onto the stage in a white fishnet dress and started with an instrumental ditty before going into "Did You Know," her voice hushed compared to her fiddle and backing track. Her vocals communicated earnestness, like on "Green Eyes" and "Goldencity," where she struck that delicate balance between sensuality and vulnerability.

Sudan Archives began to twist her expressive knife with "Stuck," but it was when she kept screaming, "Fuck that nigga!" during "Honey" that really showed her passion.

"I'm sorry, I just get a little bit emotional," she said to the crowd afterward.

The apology wasn't necessary—by that point in the show, it was clear that getting emotional is what makes Sudan Archives' music tick.

(Sam Gehrke)
(Sam Gehrke)

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