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Bridge City Fest 4
Bridge City Fest is an offshoot of the ever-wonderful Bridge City Sessions, the media company that spotlights the always-rich punk rock community via live in-studio performances filmed and uploaded to its YouTube channel. Held at three venues over three nights, the event features 30 bands from across the country. Highlights include Dayton, Ohio, pop-punkers the Raging Nathans; Venomous Pinks, a punchy all-girl trio from Arizona; Seattle’s hardcore brutalists BitchFlexx; and a bevy of locals like Gasp, Wild Jumps and NIGHT//COURT. Dante’s, 350 W Burnside St., 5 pm Friday, Sept. 13; Star Theater, 13 NW 6th Ave., 5 pm Saturday, Sept 14; Twilight Cafe, 832 SE Grand Ave., 3 pm Sunday, Sept 15; bridgecitysessions.com. Single-show tickets $30, three-day passes $75. 21+.
Portland Zine Symposium
Zines, a form of small-run self-published works exploring everything from poetry to fan fiction, are a very unique medium of creation. These cheaply made but often powerful and boundary-pushing works can tell utterly unique stories, explore unspoken social problems, and present art readers may have never seen otherwise. Portland Zine Symposium will offer an opportunity to immerse yourself in this world with over 200 artists distributing their work across the two-day event. Portland State University Smith Ballroom, 1825 SW Broadway, portlandzinesymposium.org. 11 am–5 pm Saturday–Sunday, Sept. 21–22. Free.
Ron Funches and Mohanad Elshieky
Portland remains a great proving ground for comedians with standups setting off for bigger and better stages and opportunities after learning their craft locally. This fall, two such local heroes, Ron Funches and Mohanad Elshieky, return home for headlining gigs. Funches, known for his dry delivery and childlike enthusiasm for weed and wrestling, left for LA around 2012, landing impressive acting roles (Loot, Inside Out 2) and gigs writing for Kroll Show. Elshieky landed in New York in 2019. Since then, he’s applied his understated, deeply political voice to Full Frontal with Samantha Bee and Lovett or Leave It. Ron Funches: Helium Comedy Club, 1510 SE 9th Ave., 503-583-8464, portland.heliumcomedy.com. 8 pm Thursday, 7:30 and 10 pm Friday–Saturday, Sept. 26–28. $27–$44. Mohanad Elshieky: Siren Theater, 3913 N Mississippi Ave., sirentheater.com. 8 pm Sunday, Oct 13. $20 in advances, $25 at door. 21+.
Dakota Transit: Sonic Couture by Andrea Aranow
From her New York shop Dakota Transit, designer Andrea Aranow helped move fashion from the colorful patterns inspired by psychedelia to the grittier look of proto-punk in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, using leather, snakeskin, and suede in signature patchwork patterns. Her customers included such icons as Miles Davis and Jimi Hendrix. Textile Hive will display some of Aranow’s work as well as sketches and photos illustrating her creative process. Alongside that exhibit will be Threads of Time: Textile Legacies from Junin, Peru, which will feature textiles and garments and copious materials from Aranow’s seven years living and studying in the South American nation. Origins and Legacy Gallery, 516 NW 14th Ave., textilex.org. Opening night celebration 6–9 pm Tuesday, Oct. 1. Exhibit through Nov. 17. Free.
Portland Film Festival
With so many shorts and features being made in our fair city each year, it can be hard to keep up with Portland’s expansive and diverse film scene. Since its inception in 2013, Portland Film Festival has established itself as the go-to place to check out the latest homegrown cinematic talent with screenings of fresh work. And with guest speakers, Q&As with directors, and workshops, this established festival strives to educate as well as entertain.
Wednesday–Sunday, Oct. 16–20. For a full schedule with locations and showtimes, visit portlandfilm.org.
Psychedelic Rock Posters and Fashion of the 1960s
Music and art went through a huge sea change in the mid- to late ‘60s thanks to the introduction of psychedelic drugs into the culture. The results, as evidenced by something as simple as a poster meant to promote a live concert or event, were eye-popping and mind-blowing. Portland Art Museum will display 200 of these posters, featuring the work of celebrated graphic designers like Stanley Mouse, Bonnie MacLean, and Zap Comix founder Rick Griffin. Also on hand will be fashion from the era to further contextualize how the times were a-changin’ in colorful, daring ways. Portland Art Museum, 1219 SW Park Ave., 503-226-2811, pam.org. 10 am–5 pm Wednesday–Sunday, Oct. 19–March 30, 2025. Adults $25, seniors and students $22, children 17 and under free.
Jeffrey Martin records a live album
Portland singer-songwriter Jeffrey Martin recorded 2023′s Thank God We Left the Garden in his backyard shack using just a pair of microphones. The live-to-tape sessions were meant to be demos, but with the exception of some tasteful overdubs by producer Jon Neufeld, the heartfelt folk songs were otherwise left as is. Martin is now inviting his fans into the proverbial shack with him as he records his next local live appearance at Mississippi Studios for a forthcoming live album. Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi Ave., 503-288-3895. mississippistudios.com. 9 pm Saturday, Oct. 26. Advance tickets $22. 21+.
Buffalo Soldiers: Fighting on Two Fronts
The Reser, the much-loved arts center in Beaverton, presents a screening of Dru Holley’s Buffalo Soldiers: Fighting on Two Fronts, a 2022 documentary that uses reenactments, animation and interviews with historians to explore the complicated legacy of the six all-Black cavalry and infantry regiments, many of which included soldiers from the Pacific Northwest, who fought for the U.S. while fighting for full citizenship. Patricia Reser Center for the Arts, 12625 SW Crescent St., Beaverton, 971-501-7762, thereser.org. 7 pm Monday, Nov. 11. $6.