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  "path": "/mercury-music-picks/2026/03/11/48372299/mercury-music-picks-big-stone-fruit-energy-this-week-with-peaches-and-cherry-cheeks-lo-steeles-new-album-and-toody-cole-at-star-theater",
  "publishedAt": "2026-03-11T21:58:00.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.portlandmercury.com",
  "tags": [
    "Mercury Music Picks",
    "Music",
    "Calendar",
    "more info here",
    "I hope there’s condiments",
    "review of Obedient's debut album _Rastafarsi_",
    "review of La Isla Electronica's debut EP",
    "the recording is only streaming here",
    "Long Tail Games has launched a GoFundMe"
  ],
  "textContent": "Nolan Parker by Nolan Parker\n\nNot a lot to say by way of an intro this week. Everything is so heavy. Lean into yourself and your communities. Seek joy. Contribute to liberation in all the ways you're able. Music, live music especially, is one of the few places real community and joy can be found, so go find it.\n\nThursday, March 12 Lo Steele\n\n_For fans of Nubya Garcia, Yazmin Lacey, Toni Braxton_\n\nPortland soul songstress supreme Lo Steele releases her new record _Only a Drop_ March 13. The album’s first single, “Greenz,” is a potent reminder of the power of the blues, where the genre comes from, and how it can sound in 2026. The deeply Black art form can’t be manufactured, Steele rightly points out, coming from musical stock as the daughter of Portland blues and jazz icon LaRhonda Steele. But don’t get it twisted—Lo is her own artist. She's also a fixture in our city’s theatre circuit (her portrayal of Gwendolyn Fairfax in Portland Center Stage’s production of _The Importance of Being Earnest_ last year was lights-out funny) and a multitudinous force of creativity in the region. _(Music Millennium, 3 pm, FREE,more info here, all ages)_\n\nSeffarine\n\n_For fans of Rodrigo y Gabriela, Shabv, Y La Bamba_\n\nIf you’ve ever been to Morocco, you know the markets and squares of the country burst with life and voices and bodies (both human and animal) and music. The frenetic energy of the cultural and social hubs is music itself, an ancient music of gathering places that is otherworldly. Taking their name from the metalworking square in Fez, Seffarine sprang forth after singer Lamiae Naki and multi-instrumentalist Nat Hulskamp met at a coffeeshop in Fez, eventually marrying and forming the band. Now Portland-based, Seffarine is the bright femme vocals and Iberian-Arabic rhythms needed to undo the collective stress we are all feeling, fortifying us through to spring and summer. _(Alberta Rose Theatre, 7:30 pm,more info here, all ages)_\n\n__\n\nFriday, March 13 Sea Moss / Dwelling Unit / Obedient / Courtney Doorhinge\n\n _For fans of Trigger Object, Flesh Produce, Mika Miko_\n\nMoving from a house venue to Kenton Club is this unhinged lineup of some of Portland’s most ferocious noise and punk outfits. Sea Moss are here to destroy preconceived notions anyone may have concerning the sheer magnitude of harsh noise a two-piece is capable of. Punk-noise with a cabaret flair is the energy of Dwelling Unit, while Obedient rolls through with their justifiably livid poli-punk rage. (This will be Obedient’s first outing with new drummer, the wildly prolific Papi Fimbres.) First, and certainly not least, Courtney Doorhinge cuts all ties with reality as the show's opener. I hope there’s condiments! _(Kenton Club, 8 pm,more info here, 21+)_\n\n**Related: Read ourreview of Obedient's debut album _Rastafarsi_.**\n\nFriday, March 13 - Sunday, March 15 _Dies Irae, Desirée_\n\n_For fans of Kronos Quartet,_ 1000 Airplanes on the Roof _, Meredith Monk_\n\nIf the words \"classical music\" don't tend to grab your attention, consider that Third Angle New Music's curatorial flavor trends toward experimental takes on the form. So far, their 40th anniversary concert series has explored the works of minimalist pioneer Steve Reich from inside Hopscotch’s interactive art exhibits, and brought a string quartet and clarinet ensemble to the World Forestry Center. Maria Finkelmeier and Brady Evan Walker’s UFO-laden chamber opera _Dies Irae, Desirée_ is next on the docket, in which a YouTube streamer-turned-cult leader claims to communicate with aliens. Cast members Sarah Tiedemann and William Pyle also play flute and saxophone among other live instrumentalists. _(Vault Theater, various times,more info here, all ages)_ **LINDSAY COSTELLO**\n\nSaturday, March 14 Cherry Cheeks / La Isla Electronica / Love In Hell / Xin\n\n_For fans of Lumpy & The Dumpers, Gravy Train, (punk) Tender Forever_\n\nThough I still don’t know if Portland’s Cherry Cheeks are chain punk or egg punk (or if people still use those designations), I do know that the pit fruit party punks hit it hard every show and hate cops—very cool. Spanish-language post-punks La Isla Electronica, AKA L.I.E., play tunes that either incite dance floor euphoria or the mosh pit mayhem, your call. Word on the street is they’ve got their debut LP in the works right now! Happy punks Love in Hell and acousti-punk Xin roll deep opening this North Portland punk hootenanny. _(Turn Turn Turn, 8 pm,more info here, 21+)_\n\n**Related: Read ourreview of La Isla Electronica's debut EP.**\n\nSunday, March 15 Peaches / Pixel Grip\n\n_For fans of Le Tigre, Bijoux Cone, Vaginal Cream Davis_\n\nAfter chatting with Peaches ahead of her new album _No Lube So Rude_ a few weeks ago, it was made abundantly clear that Peach is the real fucking deal. We talked about her transcendence into the realm of queer elders, the state of the world at the moment, and her first new album in 11 years. On _No Lube So Rude_ Peaches doesn't shift focus away from the body and sex, but reframes thinking around time. As one hopes and expects of anything new from Peaches, the new album is filled with party-rocker anthems and so much rhyming. A personal favorite appears on \"Fuck How You Wanna Fuck\" when she rhymes progesterone with calzone. Sometimes you do want to meet your heroes. Pro tip: Tomorrow Theater is screening  _Peaches Goes Bananas_ the night before the show. _(Crystal Ballroom, 8 pm,more info here, all ages)_\n\nTuesday, March 17 Toody Cole / Forty Feet Tall / Chatter Box\n\n_For fans of Thee Headcoatees, Iguana Death Cult, The Traditional Fools_\n\nA long-lived life of rock 'n' roll, true love, and doing it herself is Portland legend Toody Cole. Founding member of our city’s greatest rock 'n' roll punishers Dead Moon, there’s no praise that can be showered on Toody that’s undeserved. Toody’s got lifetimes—plural—worth of stories, so buy her a whiskey and see if you can get a few out of her. Towing the line between angelic post-punk and hard-hitting post-hardcore is where you’ll find the Forty Feet Tall bad boys. I popped my knee so hard in their homecoming show pit at Mississippi Studios last month I thought I was going to pass out—that's what's up with FFT. The Chatterbox garage-punks round out this perfect Portland bill.  _(Star Theater, 8 pm,more info here, 21+)_\n\n__\n\n**_Also very worth it…_**\n\n**Figure Eight / Spiderling / Yudai** at Swan Dive - _March 11,more info here_\n\n**East Forest** at Aladdin Theater - _March 13,more info here_\n\n**Nudity / The Intima / Vague Fugue** at Wyrd Hut - _March 13,more info here_\n\n**Ogre single release** at Trouble Bar - _March 13,more info here_\n\n**Snuffed on Sight / Forced to Suffer / Manos De Fierro / Mescaline Maniacs / Slime** at High Limit Room - _March 13,more info here_\n\n**Stella Zekri / Batom / Mr. Drew** at Process - _March 13,more info here_\n\n**Gabriel Kahane** at Strum - _March 14,more info here_\n\n_**Peaches Goes Bananas**_ at Tomorrow Theater - _March 14,more info here_\n\n**Songs For Snow Plow Drivers / Smiling Strange / Lovable Wholes** at Turn Turn Turn -  _March 14,more info here_\n\n**Tiffadelic / Yana Uba / Graveyard Gossip / DJ Glitter Ghoul** at The Coffin - _March 14,more info here_\n\n**Barna Howard / William Surly & The Barroom Gospel Band** at Mississippi Studios - _March 15,more info here_\n\n**Spiritual Cramp / Bass Drum of Death / Fentanyl / Amusement** at Polaris Hall - _March 16,more info here_\n\nNew Music Portland:\n\nHaving trouble working five days a week and deciding what to eat for dinner? No worries; **Big Top** has you covered. Elyse Schrock and Richard Alex Olsen—the public access variety show geniuses behind Playland Studios and The Big Box Set—dropped a sweet little single with the songs “**Dinner Ideas** ” and “**3 Days A Week**.” They’ve never steered me wrong, and they won’t do you dirty either.\n\n**The Cosmic Tones Research Trio** continue their outpouring of heavenly spiritual jazz with the release of **_Live at Public Records_**. Recorded live at NYC's Public Records in September last year, the album allows those who haven’t seen the Trio live to experience some of the magnificence of a Cosmic Tones performance, giving more personality to the individual members. For those who have seen the Trio, the recording reminds of the exuberant joy of the band’s music. As far as I can tell, the recording is only streaming here.\n\nHalf Portland, half Fort Lauderdale, FL, all hardcore. Today, the **Gouge Away** menaces share their new 7\" single \"**Figurine**.\" Lead singer Christina Michelle whiplashes back and forth between her singular screaming and a feigned innocence. Let them make art! Catch Gouge Away at Revolution Hall, opening for Wednesday on April 21 and 22.\n\n_Mercury_ writer and Sun Ra scholar Jesse Carsten has released a new EP under their **Half Shadow** moniker. **_Wind Inside_** is a four-song dalliance through the mind of an artist thinking on the coming and goings of the universe: the seasons, nothingness, life, love, gnosis, and death. All this ponderance comes full circle back to Carsten themself through desire, parenthood, the body, lovers, and flowers.\n\n**Idiot Vehicle** just shared their new **_Dear Jacqueline_** EP. Self-described soft-grunge, might we add the distinction of California garage rock?\n\nThe irresponsibly heavy **Machine Country** are back with **_Inbred Bastard Killer_**. If you’re rightfully mad about the state of… everything right now, IBK makes the perfect sonic companion to burning down ICE facilities. See you there!\n\n**The MerKaBa Brotherhood** consists of Roman Norfleet and Andre Raiah (AKA Brown Calvin), two members of Be Present Art Group. Their self-titled debut album is slated for a May 15 release on the venerable Mississippi Records. If the release’s first single is anything to go by, we’re in for the ecstatic Blackness that is the duo’s other groups (Brown Calculus and The Cosmic Tones Research Trio among them) shifting to a possibly more beat-driven sound. Head down to Mississippi—they might have what you seek.\n\nYesterday, **Modest Mouse** released a new single and added dates to their already massive spring/summer North American tour. One of the dates is in Alaska, very cool. Another is with My Chemical Romance, very interesting. Is the single heralding a new MM record? Perhaps. Is the new single good? Perhaps.\n\nHot damn, it’s always good getting new music from **Papi Frimbres** and the **Orquestra Pacífico Tropical** crew! Yesterday the cumbia heavyweights announced the June 19 arrival of their third album **_El Poder_**. In the same announcement breath, the band dropped _El Poder_ ’s first single “**Fantasma**.” OPT brings the Brown sound from way down, shaking hips from Mexico to Portland.\n\n**Trigger Object** has unleashed upon this mortal realm her latest album **_Choking On a Crunchwrap Supreme as the World Burns_**. Affectionately known as _COACSATWB_ , the artist’s latest force majeure is a punishing pollination of field recordings, synth work, and hardware electronics. Enjoy that last gooey bite—the end is nigh.\n\nPortland Music News:\n\n****Longtime darlings of Portland’s neo-folk scene,**The Builders and The Butchers** , are getting the full nerd treatment. Long Tail Games has launched a GoFundMe in support of a new tabletop board game called **Devil Town**. Taking place in Anywhere, USA, Devil Town is a storytelling game based on the lyrics of the band. Will it crack you up like Cards Against Humanity or infuriate like Monopoly? Only one way to find out…",
  "title": "Mercury Music Picks: Big Stone Fruit Energy This Week With Peaches and Cherry Cheeks, Lo Steele's New Album, and Toody Cole at Star Theater"
}