Fertile Ground Festival
Portland's annual festival of proudly uncurated new theater, Fertile Ground, is finally here, injecting our sorry-ass Pacific Northwest winter with a refreshingly unpretentious dose of culture: 10 days of brand-new plays, performance art, and dance invading both the city's major theaters and improvised venues (ever seen a play in a bar? Now's the time!). MEGAN BURBANK.
Various Locations, for a list of participants, venues, and showtimes, click here
Roxane Gay
Feminist author and essayist Roxane Gay reads from her new collection of stories, Difficult Women, the eagerly awaited follow-up to her bestselling essay collection, Bad Feminist, and her acclaimed debut novel, An Untamed State.
7:30 pm, Powell's City of Books
Ural Thomas & the Pain
It’s tragic that in this era of revitalized appreciation for deep soul heroes, Ural Thomas, Portland’s best-kept secret, hasn’t hit the national consciousness as Charles Bradley and the late, great Sharon Jones have. Thomas is the absolute definition of a genuine article—despite releasing a few criminally obscure (yet collector-coveted) gems in the late ’60s, he’s still delivering his tireless passion for music to his beloved community. Simply put, Ural Thomas is a Northwest treasure, and watching him radiate wizened positivity through the warm grooves of an excellent band is a must for music fans searching for heartwarming togetherness. CHRIS SUTTON
6 pm, LaurelThirst Public House
Louis C.K.
Louis C.K. has become an unstoppable force in comedy. When he's not writing, directing, editing, and starring in his own FX show, Louie, he's working with his writing partner Pamela Adlon on her own terrific show, Better Things. I haven't even had a chance to check out his other two shows, Horace and Pete and Baskets, and now he's coming to town with new stand-up! Best get your tickets now or feel the pain of dealing with scalpers later!
8 pm, Theater of the Clouds, $25-30
Pop & Puppetry 4
As the brilliant Jim Henson taught us time and time again, puppets and music go together like felt and googly eyes. The folks at puppet production company Beady Little Eyes and a fine cadre of local bands—Minden, Reptaliens, and Vexations—take this lesson to the stage with the fourth annual Pop + Puppetry night of creatures and innovative pop music. COURTNEY FERGUSON
8 pm, Holocene, $8-10
Anti-Betsy DeVos Walkout
Portland students make their voices heard as they come together to speak out against Donald Trump's appointment of Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education.
2:30 pm, Pioneer Courthouse Square
Brownout presents Brown Sabbath
An evening with the Austin-hailing Latin funk and breakbeat ensemble, who will be playing in their Black Sabbath tribute form in support of their second cover song compilation, Brown Sabbath Vol. II.
7:30 pm, Wonder Ballroom, $15-18
Brewmaster Series
The Growler Guys hosts award-winning brewers Ben Edmunds of Breakside and Mat Van Wyk of Alesong to share their beers with attendees and talk about how they made them.
6:30 pm, The Growler Guys, $30
Dorothy, The Georgia Flood
The up-and-coming LA-based quartet fronted by vocalist Dorothy Martin bring their stomping rock sounds to the Doug Fir Lounge.
9 pm, Doug Fir, $12.50-15
Don't forget to check out our Things To Do calendar for even more things to do!