Music Makers

If you make music in any capacity, your first stop should be Music Portland, an advocacy group for musicians and the ecosystem (venues, instrument vendors, etc.) that supports them. They organize Portland Music Month, run regular meetings on music topics like studio engineering, and touring, and work to keep our vital music scene humming.

• Songwriter Soirée is a long running open mic for performers of all genres. It tilts mostly toward folk, acoustic, and a little jazz, but they welcome all kinds of music. Sign up and use your 5 minutes to play any original song, no covers. They're very welcoming to newbies.
• If you compose music (just about any genre), check out the Marston Composition Collective, weekly classes exploring all kinds of creative methods of composition.
• Songwriters, consider Portland Songwriters Association. They have regular meetings, open mics, and periodic seminars with music pros.
• Portland Synth Library is just that - a library that lets you check out synthesizers! My 15-year-old self is extremely jealous. But then, he hasn't discovered Nine Inch Nails yet, either.
• Portland Synth Improvisers Collective arranges regular synthesizer jams.
• Portland Open Mic Jams and PDX Portland Jams and Open Mics, both Facebook groups.