On May 1st the Alhambra Theater (formerly Mt. Tabor Theater) will be celebrating their hundredth year as a Portland venue. To commemorate the occasion they are throwing a five day music festival featuring the talent of Red Fang, Y La Bamba, Black Prairie and over a dozen more. For the second day of the festival The Deli Portland and Eleven Magazine worked together to put together a special showcase featuring 8 of the best bands our city has to offer. Social Studies, Hustle and Drone, Glassbones and Pheasant will be sharing the stage in the concert hall while Catherine Feeny, Sama Dams, Summer Cannibals and Jolliff will be gracing the lounge with their phenomenal range of sounds. Get to the Alhambra on Thursday, May 2nd at 7:30pm to take part in the best birthday party of the year for the reasonable price of completely free (seriously). I’ll see you there.  

As a soundtrack for late '90s college rock or grunge of the Pacific Northwest, Glassbones would be a wonderful hybrid of The Crow and the all-American nuance of Varsity Blues. This year’s debut EP There's Still Time Left deals with issues of detachment and personal apocalypse but with determination to hold steadfast. On the track "Sink or Swim", Colin Johnson's scruffy vocals peacefully deal with twisted wreckage and the earth cracking. They are ominous yet optimistic. The bass foreshadows dire circumstances with fat strides, the drumming is steady like heartbeats of anticipation, and the energy of the lead guitar is upbeat in the breakdown. The track "Raise The Glass" changes it up a bit, starting out as a dark minstrel style tune then warping into a carnival ride of warning about conformity and being a slave to the almighty dollar. Make your way into the crowd or onto the comfy couches of The Tonic Lounge on Saturday, December 1st for the full experience of Glassbones with Nice Shootin' Tex and Lydian Gray. - Brandy Crowe

Soft yet upbeat and bubbling, hopeful in their world of angst... all up to the very name of the band suggests a fragile balance, which is how Glassbones' soothing sound fails to ever turn into background noise. 

Formed in 2010 in Portland, the quartet fronted by Colin Johnson blend on their much critically acclaimed debut EP “There's Still Time Left”, released earlier this year, a polished ensemble underpinned with Johnson and Ricky Wilkins' clashing guitars, and Mathieu Lewis-Rolland's offbeat punk infused drums. Grunge in the depth of the vocals, as a subtle reminder of a not-so-long-lost 1990s scene, Glassbones are ready with this record in their back-pocket to reach out beyond the confines of their homeland. Let their effervescent waves of freedom tickle your ears whilst awaiting new shows to be announced! - Tracy Mamoun