LIVE SHOWS


Bruce Campbell, Hari Kondabolu, Blitzen Trapper, Danez Smith, and Sara Schaefer
Dec
12

Bruce Campbell, Hari Kondabolu, Blitzen Trapper, Danez Smith, and Sara Schaefer

Show starts at 7:30pm • Doors Open at 6:30pm
LIVE WIRE MEMBERS RECEIVE 15% OFF
COVID-19 and General Ticket Information is available HERE.

 

BRUCE CAMPBELL

Bruce Campbell is a prolific actor, producer, writer, director, and cult icon. Appearing in over 100 movies and television shows, he is particularly well known for his iconic portrayal of Ash Williams in the Evil Dead franchise. Some of his other notable roles include Sam Axe on the USA Network series "Burn Notice," and appearances in the "Spider-Man," "Ash vs Evil Dead," and "Xena: Warrior Princess" franchises. His latest role sees him starring in the new Peacock series "Hysteria!," where he plays a small-town Michigan chief of police.

HARI KONDABOLU

Hari Kondabolu is a critically acclaimed comedian, writer and podcaster whom The New York Times calls "one of the most exciting political comics in stand-up today." His groundbreaking 2017 truTV documentary, "The Problem With Apu," sparked a worldwide conversation about representation, with The Nation hailing it as "a devastating critique of the ultimate comedic sacred cow: 'The Simpsons.'" His latest special "Vacation Baby" marks his most personal work, documenting his journey into parenthood during the global pandemic. Beyond his acclaimed stand-up work, Kondabolu co-hosts Netflix's "Snack vs. Chef" and previously co-hosted the popular podcast "Politically Reactive" with W. Kamau Bell.

BLITZEN TRAPPER

Led by singer/songwriter Eric Earley, Blitzen Trapper blend country, folk, Southern rock and progressive Americana. Launched roughly two decades ago in Portland, they garnered early attention with a series of self-released albums before breaking out internationally with a pair of critically acclaimed LPs (2007’s Wild Mountain Nation and 2008’s Furr) that would cement their status at the forefront of the modern indie folk revival. Their radiant new album 100's of 1000's, Millions of Billions is inspired by Earley's Buddhist studies, offering a captivating take on rebirth and transcendence. Bandcamp featured the album on their Spring 2024 Hotlist, marveling "somehow, after nearly 25 years, Blitzen still remains un-trapped.”

DANEZ SMITH

Danez Smith is the author of three previous poetry collections, including Homie, a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, and Don’t Call Us Dead, winner of the Forward Prize for Best Collection and a finalist for the National Book Award. Danez's poetry and prose has been featured in Vanity Fair, The New York Times, The New Yorker, GQ, Best American Poetry, and on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Their latest collection, Bluff, was written after two years of artistic silence (during which the world came to a halt due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Minneapolis became the epicenter of protest following the murder of George Floyd) and reckons with their role and responsibility as a poet and with their hometown of the Twin Cities. 

SARA SCHAEFER

Sara Schaefer is a critically acclaimed stand up comedian, writer, and artist. Her Comedy Central Stand Up Presents half hour special debuted in November 2019 and she was the co-host of MTV’s late night show Nikki & Sara Live. Sara published her first book, Grand, in 2020 and has written for numerous television programs including Who Wants To Be a Millionaire, The Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, Would I Lie To You, and The History of Swear Words. She won two Emmy awards for her work at Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. In recent years, Sara’s satirical sketches have been viral hits, including Comedy Ad, Quarantine Barbie, How To Sell a TV Show in 3 Easy Steps, and MeResearch. The New York Times called her new solo show Going Up “ambitious and nimble” and “a feat of comedy.”

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Live Wire x Portland Book Festival with Morgan Parker, Rachel Khong, and Danielia Cotton
Nov
3

Live Wire x Portland Book Festival with Morgan Parker, Rachel Khong, and Danielia Cotton

MORGAN PARKER

Morgan Parker is the author of young adult novel Who Put This Song On?; and the poetry collections Other People’s Comfort Keeps Me Up At Night, There Are More Beautiful Things Than Beyoncé, and Magical Negro, which won the 2019 National Book Critics Circle Award. Parker is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellowship, winner of a Pushcart Prize, and a Cave Canem graduate fellow. Her debut book of essays, You Get What You Pay For, traces the difficulty and beauty of existing as a Black woman through American history, from the foundational trauma of the slave trade all the way up to Serena Williams and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

RACHEL KHONG

Rachel Khong is the author of Goodbye, Vitamin, winner of the California Book Award for First Fiction, and named a Best Book of the Year by NPR; O, The Oprah Magazine; Vogue; and Esquire. Her work has appeared in The New York Times Book Review, The Cut, The Guardian, The Paris Review, and Tin House. In 2018, she founded The Ruby, a work and event space for women and nonbinary writers and artists in San Francisco’s Mission District.

DANIELIA COTTON

Danielia Cotton is no stranger to reinventing herself. Growing up in Hopewell, NJ, Danielia was raised on a steady diet of classic rock behemoths like AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, and the Rolling Stones. With a powerful first album that launched her career, Small White Town, Danielia was selected as “Artist to Watch'' by WXPN out of Philadelphia. Danielia's latest project, Charley's Pride: A Tribute to Black Country Music, pays homage to trailblazer Charley Pride - the first Black American voted into the Country Music Hall of Fame - while infusing the songs with a fresh, modern approach that is all her own. 

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Live Wire x Portland Book Festival with Danzy Senna, Stephen Graham Jones, Alex Falcone, and Johnny Franco & His Real Brother Dom
Nov
2

Live Wire x Portland Book Festival with Danzy Senna, Stephen Graham Jones, Alex Falcone, and Johnny Franco & His Real Brother Dom

DANZY SENNA

Danzy Senna is the author of four previous works of fiction, including the bestselling Caucasia and, most recently, New People, as well as a memoirThe recipient of numerous awards and honors, she teaches writing at the University of Southern California.

STEPHEN GRAHAM JONES

Stephen Graham Jones is the New York Times bestselling author of The Only Good Indians. He has been an NEA fellowship recipient and a recipient of several awards including the Ray Bradbury Award from the Los Angeles Times, the Bram Stoker Award, the Shirley Jackson Award, the Jesse Jones Award for Best Work of Fiction from the Texas Institute of Letters, the Independent Publishers Award for Multicultural Fiction, and the Alex Award from American Library Association. He is the Ivena Baldwin Professor of English at the University of Colorado Boulder.

ALEX FALCONE

Alex Falcone started comedy in Portland, OR where he eventually won Portland’s Funniest Person, was twice named an Undisputable Genius of Portland Comedy, and got an ice cream flavor named after him by Salt & Straw—which is one of many things he has in common with The Rock. He’s appeared in several episodes of Portlandia as one of Fred’s nerdy friends and was asked to do standup on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. He's also the author of a best-selling romance novel about a mummy, and his videos have been viewed more than 250 million times. And one time he bowled a 268.

JOHNNY FRANCO & HIS REAL BROTHER DOM

São Paulo natives Johnny Franco and his Real Brother Dom are shaking up the Portland, Oregon music scene with their charm and charisma. Serving up 5-day weekends every week, no stage is too big or too small for their iconic and hilarious brand of entertainment. The duo was signed by producer Sterling Fox on his label Blanket Fort in 2020. Johnny's debut EP "Experience Report #1" combines sophisticated lyricism and original vocal stylings with a unique jangly Brazilian beat. Past performances include Treefort 2022, Jam in the Van 2022, and Pickathon 2024, along with numerous sold-out shows in Portland. Their humorous delivery of crowd-favorite originals and unique interpretations of classics produce an irresistible urge to move, laugh, cry, and applaud.

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Carvell Wallace, Jamie Loftus, Danielle Durack, and Joy Sullivan!
Oct
10

Carvell Wallace, Jamie Loftus, Danielle Durack, and Joy Sullivan!

Show starts at 7:30pm • Doors Open at 6:30pm
LIVE WIRE MEMBERS RECEIVE 15% OFF
COVID-19 and General Ticket Information is available HERE.

 
 

CARVELL WALLACE

Carvell Wallace is a writer and podcaster covering race, arts, culture, film, and music for a wide variety of news outlets, including writing profiles for GQ, Esquire, Glamour, The New Yorker, and The New York Times. He has also hosted multiple podcasts, including Closer Than They Appear, which explores race and identity in America, and Finding Fred, which focuses on Fred Rogers's teachings and their use within systems of oppression. In 2019, Wallace co-authored The Sixth Man with Golden State Warriors forward Andre Iguodala. After building his career on writing unforgettable profiles, he has now turned the focus on himself in his memoir Another Word for Love, examining his own life and the circumstances that frame it—to make sense of seeking refuge from homelessness with a young single mother, living in a ghostly white Pennsylvania town, becoming a partner and parent, and raising two teenagers in what feels like a collapsing world. Kirkus calls the book "an intricate and exhilarating memoir—heartbreaking, humbling, and hopeful. An exquisite, soulful must-read."

JAMIE LOFTUS

Jamie Loftus is a comedian, Emmy-nominated TV writer, New York Times bestselling author, and podcaster. She writes and hosts popular limited-run podcasts—"My Year in Mensa" (2019), "Lolita Podcast" (2020), "Aack Cast" (2021), and "Ghost Church" (2022)—and co-hosts, with screenwriter Caitlin Durante, "The Bechdel Cast." Her first book, "Raw Dog: The Naked Truth About Hot Dogs," was called "a wonderfully weird and wild mashup of history, social commentary, personal revelation and food journalism" by BookPage and "laugh-a-minute" by Kirkus. Her latest project, "Sixteenth Minute (of Fame)," is a weekly podcast that takes a closer look at the internet's main characters – one part reported, one part interviews, and one part Jamie collapsing her permanently internet-damaged brain – and was named one of "The Best Podcasts of 2024 (So Far)" by Vulture.

DANIELLE DURACK

A rising star in the indie-rock world, Danielle Durack emerged from the Phoenix music scene boasting pop hooks and dramatic flair. Her 2019 album Bashful, led by the hit "Sunshine," was a breakthrough, landing her on Spotify's "New Music Friday" and touring with Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. 2021's No Place was a towering breakup record achievement, with standouts like "Broken Wings" and "Eggshells" drawing attention from Pitchfork, NPR and more. On her third album, 2023's Escape Artist, Durack showcases growth from heartbreak through diaristic, emotionally deep songwriting. Written during lockdown, it explores themes like escapism, trauma and tumultuous relationships across tracks like the melancholic "Jackson" and "Good Dog." An atmospheric journey of healing, the cathartic Escape Artist cements Durack as an incisive, sensitive voice in indie-rock's next generation.

JOY SULLIVAN

Joy Sullivan is a poet, teacher, and author of the national bestseller, Instructions for Traveling West. She received a Masters in poetry from Miami University and has served as the poet-in-residence for the Wexner Center for the Arts. Her work has appeared in places like Goop, Oprah Daily, and The Sunday Paper. In addition to leading international writing retreats, Joy has guest-lectured in classrooms from Stanford University to Florida International University and is the founder of “Sustenance,” a community designed to help writers revitalize and nourish their craft.

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Shalom Auslander, Penny Lane, Simon Shieh, and Tropa Magica!
Sep
26

Shalom Auslander, Penny Lane, Simon Shieh, and Tropa Magica!

Show starts at 7:30pm • Doors Open at 6:30pm
LIVE WIRE MEMBERS RECEIVE 15% OFF
COVID-19 and General Ticket Information is available HERE.

SHALOM AUSLANDER

Shalom Auslander was raised in Monsey, New York. Nominated for the Koret Award for writers under thirty-five, he has published articles in Esquire, The New York Times Magazine, Tablet magazine, The New Yorker, and has had stories aired on NPR’s “This American Life.” Auslander is the author of the short story collection Beware of God, the memoir Foreskin’s Lament, and the novels Hope: A Tragedy and Mother for Dinner. He is the creator of Showtime’s “Happyish.”

PENNY LANE

Penny Lane has been making award-winning, innovative nonfiction films for over a decade. This includes six features – most recently Confessions of a Good Samaritan, winner of the Hope Award at SXSW 2023 – and over a dozen short films. Her previous films include Listening to Kenny G (Toronto 2021) for HBO, Hail Satan? (Sundance 2019) for Magnolia Pictures, The Pain of Others (Rotterdam 2018), Nuts! (Sundance 2016) and Our Nixon (Rotterdam 2013). A 2020 Guggenheim Fellow, Penny has been honored with mid-career retrospectives at the Museum of the Moving Image, San Francisco DocFest, Open City Documentary Festival and Cinema Moderne. And yes, Penny Lane is her real name.

SIMON SHIEH

Simon Shieh is a Taiwanese American poet and essayist and the author of Master (Sarabande, 2023), which was the winner of the Poetry Society of America's Norma Farber Award and the Kathryn A. Morton Prize in Poetry, as well as a finalist for the 2024 Los Angeles Times Book Prize. He has lived in upstate New York and Beijing, China, where he co-founded Spittoon Literary Magazine, which translates the best new Chinese writing into English. From 2008-2014 he competed as an amateur and professional Muay Thai fighter in China, Brazil, Argentina, Thailand, and the U.S. Simon's work has been awarded a National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellowship and a Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Fellowship from the Poetry Foundation.

TROPA MAGICA

Tropa Magica was formed by brothers David and Rene Pacheco in 2018. Inspired by the songs and vibes of 90’s East LA backyard quinceañeras, baptisms, family gatherings and punk shows, their signature psychedelic cumbia fusion boasts a “troop” of new “magical” sounds, blending the guitar and rhythms of 60’s Peruvian Cumbias and 90’s grunge with a neo-southern psychedelic twist. The Chicago Reader recommends their shows "if you wanna get down to music that has the spirit of laughing in the sun while food cooks outdoors, of gazing up at a starry night sky while feeling small but content, [or] of hugging the people who matter most to you."

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Emily Nussbaum, Sean Jordan, and Pink Martini
Sep
12

Emily Nussbaum, Sean Jordan, and Pink Martini

Show starts at 7:30pm • Doors Open at 6:30pm
LIVE WIRE MEMBERS RECEIVE 15% OFF
COVID-19 and General Ticket Information is available HERE.

EMILY NUSSBAUM

Emily Nussbaum is a staff writer at The New Yorker, where she’s worked since 2011, originally as the magazine’s television critic. In 2016, she won the Pulitzer Prize for criticism. Previously, she was the culture editor for New York, where she created the Approval Matrix. She is the author of I Like to Watch: Arguing My Way Through the TV Revolution, which was a finalist for the PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband, Clive Thompson, and their two children.

SEAN JORDAN

Sean Jordan is a stand up comedian and podcaster who co-hosts the wildly popular podcast All Fantasy Everything. Sean was named Portland’s Funniest Person by Willamette Week Magazine, has written for Comedy Central, and he was named one of the “Comics to Watch” by Splitsider Magazine. In 2019, Sean charted at #2 on iTunes with the release of his debut stand up album *The Buck Starts Here *on A Special Thing Records. In 2022, Sean made his national television debut on The Late Late Show with James Corden and followed that up in 2023 by appearing on the Comedy Central "Featuring!" series. Sean recently released his first full length stand up special "Girl Dad" detailing the process of becoming a father. To quote Paste Magazine "The record explores the nitty gritty aspects of childbirth and fatherhood that Jordan wasn’t expecting going in, as well as IVF and vasectomy. Jordan is both genuine *and *genuinely hilarious."

PINK MARTINI

Now in its 30th year, the "little orchestra" Pink Martini was founded by Thomas Lauderdale in Portland, Oregon in 1994. Drawing inspiration from around the globe and crossing genres like classical, jazz and vintage pop, their breakthrough 1997 hit "Sympathique" became an overnight sensation in France. Featuring a dozen multilingual musicians and songs in 25 languages, they've performed worldwide with more than 70 orchestras, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, the Boston Pops, the National Symphony at the Kennedy Center, the Sydney Symphony at the Sydney Opera House, and the BBC Concert Orchestra at Royal Albert Hall in London. Notable appearances include The Late Show with David Letterman, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. On their indie label Heinz Records, Pink Martini has released nine studio albums selling over 3 million copies globally. The genre-defying band's unique sound transcends generations and cultures, blending global musical influences with a modern, exuberant spirit.

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