XOXO Festival co-founders Andy Baio and Andy McMillan in their new creative co-work space, the XOXO Outpost (complete with an Airstream trailer that's being converted into a podcast studio).
April Baer / OPB
XOXO's Pulls Plug On The Festival But Powers Up A New Workspace - 1:15
Over the last four years, the XOXO festival has become a premier destination for the intersection of creativity and technology, drawing blog stars, DJ sensations and creators like the folks behind Cards Against Humanity, while regularly turning away hundreds of would-be attendees each year. Yet co-founders Andy Baio and Andy McMillan are hitting the brakes. There will not be a XOXO festival in 2017. That's not to say they will never bring it back. But the Andys say that, after four years of listening to talk about methods, markets, practice and process, they decided to dedicate themselves instead to their new, pay-what-you-can co-work space called XOXO Outpost.
Bryan Murray
Kelly Pratt to Kick Off TBA with Hundreds of Horns - 7:00
After living a nomadic life for 21 years, the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art finally has a new home in northeast Portland. And to celebrate, they're turning over the opening night event to the multi-instrumentalist Kelly Pratt, who has played and arranged for everyone from Beirut to Arcade Fire to David Byrne. Pratt is writing music for hundreds of brass instruments, amateur and professional alike, with the plan to splatter the walls with music in an event called "Fanfare: Birth>Rebirth."
Pratt is also hosting a night of on-the-spot songwriting with some of Portland's top touring songwriters and musicians. Read our full story for more info, and if you want to add your horn to the Fanfare, contact Pratt at fanfare@pica.org.
Bend's Tower Theater is a locus of arts and cultural activity, with roughly 200 days in use per year, according to Tower director Ray Solley.
April Baer / OPB
Central Oregon Loses Its Arts Central - 17:40
A 40-year tradition of arts education and advocacy has run aground in Bend. Arts Central, which brought classes, advocacy and more to thousands of Central Oregon residents, announced on Aug. 19 that it was closing all operations, including the popular classes at Art Station, leaving us to ask: is anyone steering the region's arts scene?
opbmusic
Can Ages and Ages Make Songs About Earthquakes And the End of Civilization Fun? Yes, They Can. - 21:55
The band Ages and Ages is infectious. All those hand claps and group harmonies have made songs like "No Nostalgia" and "Do the Right Thing" total NPR ear worms. But the band has changed tack on their new album, "Something to Ruin." The music is just as infectious, but the subject matter has become much more topical, dealing with issues of booming real estate, mass consumerism and, well, the impending Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake. They played an exclusive preview of the music and talked about how the end of civilization could be a good thing.
Stay tuned for videos of their performance on opbmusic on Aug. 31. And catch them live at their Sept. 3 record release show at Mississippi Studios.
Pidgin Languages in the Portland Building - 34:55
A new art installation in the Portland Building's lobby explores an immigrant's experience through the pidgin language spoken in Lagos, the Nigerian capitol. Bukola Koiki came to the United States as a teenager, did her undergrad degree in north Texas and then came to Portland for graduate school. She speaks Yoruba and English but says pidgin is a necessity in Nigeria, a country where 500 languages are spoken. Hear her full conversation on Think Out Loud.
Courtesy LAIKA
LAIKA's 'Kubo and the Two Strings" Is A Hit - 41:30
The newest film from LAIKA is out, and critics are calling it the Hillsboro-based animation house's best film to date. “Kubo and the Two Strings” is a coming-of-age epic set in fantasy Japan, where a young storyteller uses music to bring his origami paper creations to life. The film stars Art Parkinson as Kubo, as well as Charlize Theron, Ralph Fiennes, Rooney Mara, George Takei and Matthew McConaughey. LAIKA’s CEO Travis Knight is a veteran animator, but "Kubo" is his first time in the director’s chair, as he recently told Audie Cornish on "All things Considered."
