Where to See Free Concerts in Portland
The totally free Curbside Serenade concert series moves between Mt. Tabor Park on Mondays and, starting in July, Laurelhurst Park on Thursdays.
Nothing steals the joy from a concert—and life—like money. We fight bots over tickets, rack up mysterious fees, and plan months ahead only to stress over selling or gifting those same tickets when something comes up at the last minute. None of this applies to free concerts. They often pop up in fun, convenient places, too, like at parks, little bars, and quite literally in the middle of the street. Especially during summer, Portland is full of gratis shows, formal and informal, big and tiny. Ticketmaster be damned, all you have to do is show up…
Portland Opera’s cart doesn’t sell sushi burritos or tacos. It doesn’t sell anything, actually, but instead brings serias, buffas, bel cantos, and operettas to parks and street corners throughout the summer.
…On the streets downtown
If “In Concert on Downtown’s Transit Mall” sounds like a Dylan song, it’s for good reason. The lunchtime series (noon–1pm, Tuesdays and Thursdays) pops up at Pioneer Place, Portland State, Less and More Coffee, and other spots along the transit mall, just slightly formalizing routines of the city’s brightest, busking troubadours. Also on the streets, Portland Opera’s mobile stage, Opera a la Cart, travels widely but has a handful of sets booked at Pioneer Courthouse Square and Director Park in July and August.
The Laurelthirst hosts up to three free shows each day, which is why it’s the city’s favorite free concert venue, especially for those into folk and blues.
…At the LaurelThirst Public House
In addition to hosting its own cribbage league, this Kerns watering hole is undoubtedly Portland’s most beloved free concert venue, especially for those with an ear for folk and blues. (Occasionally, some of the up to three daily shows carry a $5–15 cover.) Dearly departed freak folk champion Michael Hurley held a monthly gig until his passing this spring, and other local stars regularly pop in. One of them, legendary multi-instrumentalist and frequent Hurley collaborator Lewi Longmire, helped save the bar from redevelopment in the 2010s. 2958 NE Glisan St
…At Portland parks
Between official city events and private organizers looking for outdoor venues, it’s likely that a park close to you will have something going on every weekend the sun’s out. Some highlights: the Cathedral Park Jazz Festival, in its 45th year (July 18–20); the Washington Park Summer Festival (August 9 & 10) on the amphitheater steps next to the International Rose Test Garden; the fourth annual Kidz Outside hip-hop festival (August 23) at George Park; and the Curbside Serenade series, which moves between Mt. Tabor Park on Mondays and, starting in July, Laurelhurst Park on Thursdays.
…At an open mic
Open mics are always a gamble, but they’re also usually free. And you’ll remember decades later that one time you happened upon, say, Haley Heynderickx at the LaurelThirst, which hosts one on Sunday nights. Elsewhere, the Alberta Abbey (126 NE Alberta St) has a slightly more formal, all-ages affair that moves between the first and second Thursday of each month. The local video producer Easyfolk organizes a weekly mic Thursdays at bourbon bar Haymaker (1233 N Killingsworth St). And the PDX Songwriters Guild gathers every third Monday at Show Bar (1300 SE Stark St).
…Outside the Schnitz
Portland’5, the organization that runs five theaters downtown, including the Schnitz and the Keller, takes to the streets for Music on Main. Wednesday evenings through July and August, a stage, bar, and set of café tables sit under a big sunshade and fill a closed-off block on SW Main next to the Schnitz to host free concerts. Last year’s lineup included a tribute to the Police (the band with Sting, not the cops) and local favorites the LaRhonda Steele Family Band and DJ Anjali and the Incredible Kid. Main St between SW Broadway and Park Ave
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