Northern Exposure at the Lobero

Although retail shops on State Street may not agree, it’s no exaggeration to say the pandemic is squarely behind us, at least in terms of the Lobero Theatre, where a big percentage of pop concerts have drawn capacity audiences this year. Now, as we head into the holiday season, the trend is continuing, with three more shows that are either sold out or well on their way, including the first two powerhouse performances provided by Portlandians, and the other who hails from Eugene, Oregon. 

John Craigie is a Los Angeles native who has been recording and touring almost endlessly since starting out in the mid-2000s. The folk troubadour, who relocated to Oregon about a decade ago, favors a rustic and soulful Americana angle, adding lots of humor, especially in his live shows. His new album, Pagan Church, is about emerging from solitude to again engage in the world, although he’ll draw from the full catalog for the November 15 concert, for which a handful of tickets remain. 

The next night brings fellow Portland indie artists Blind Pilot to town at the Lobero, with the folk-meets-indie-pop band also touting a new album, its first in eight years. In the Shadow of the Holy Mountain follows frontman Israel Nebeker’s years of being plagued by writer’s block. The project emerged from his decision to commit to writing the entire album in a month, which led to a more collective experience as the band explored their creative chemistry. Opening act for the November 16, Molly Sarlé, is a member of the folk group Mountain Man who also released a well-received solo album, Karaoke Angel, back in 2019. Two dozen tickets are still on sale at this writing. 

Originally from Oregon, Mat Kearney now lives in Nashville, his base for regularly releasing a new album every two or three years since 2004. Kearney has a knack for engagingly combining pop with elements of hip-hop, which has made him something of an Adult Contemporary star. His “Headlights Home” tour, named after a single from his eponymous 2024 album, stops at the Lobero on November 18, for which there are only half a dozen VIP tickets still available. Opener Darren Kiely, hailing from County Cork in Ireland, collected a number of national awards in the Irish traditional music genre before heading to Nashville via New York City to develop his own music and sound, which can be heard on his debut EP, Lost.

Visit www.lobero.org to see if you can still get into any of the shows.