Skip to main contentLive music is gradually returning to venues big and small—and in some cases, smaller than small.
Singer-shredder Doug Martsch of jammy indie guitar gods Built to Spill is crossing the Idaho border to play a few solo intimate shows in Portland next month at clubs that rarely book artists of his profile.
The first two, on June 5 and 8, are at the folk-focused Alberta Street Pub, which has been hosting socially distanced shows out on its back patio for a few months now. The space is small enough already, and given that it’s operating at a reduced capacity due to Multnomah County’s ongoing COVID-19 restrictions, both gigs are unexpectedly already sold out.
The next one up, though, just got announced today: Martsch will play the World Famous Kenton Club on June 9, with Quasi’s Sam Coomes opening. That venue has also been having bands play on a makeshift stage in its parking lot.
Concert calendars have started filling up at clubs and theaters around town: My Morning Jacket and Rodrigo y Gabriela, among others, were recently announced for Edgefield’s fall schedule, while psychedelic African guitarist Mdou Moctar is doing two nights at Mississippi Studios in September.
Related: The Return of Live Music Is on the Horizon. Is It Too Soon?