With the whirlwind of amazing shows and festivals that have swept over Portland in the past couple weeks, we've got a buttload of photos to share from some of the great sets we've caught recently. Check out photos of: AAN and Illmaculate at the St Johns Bizarre; Grandparents and Spookies at Rontoms, and Summer Cannibals, Sad Horse and Charts at the Firkin Tavern for the release parties of New Moss Records compilation tape HITS Vol. 1. Photos by Todd Walberg and Linneas Boland-Godbey. 

AAN at St. John's Bizzare

Illmaculate at the St. Johns Bizarre. 

Grandparents and Spookies at Rontoms

Summer Cannibals, Sad Horse and Charts at the Firkin Tavern

- Travis Leipzig

Portland's infamous New Moss Records are rolling out a new compilation cassette series titled "HITS." Featuring songs the label's favorite bands from Portland and beyond, the first installment of the series, "HITS Volume 1," features thirteen tracks including six unreleased tracks by Grandparents, Wimps, Old Light, Spookies, Summer Cannibals and Natural Blonde. Also featured on the compilation are tracks by Charts, The We Shared Milk, XDS, Wooden Indian Burial Ground, Still Caves, And And And, and Sad Horse. The cassettes are priced at $6, but only 300 copies will be made so don't be a slow-poke in picking one up. You can pre-order HITS Vol. 1 here, or, if you're the smart type you can go to one, two or all three of New Moss Records' masterfully curated compilation release parties this weekend to pick up a cassette in person. 

Release Parties:

Friday, May 9th at the Firkin Tavern (no cover): Summer Canniblas, Sad Horse, Charts

Saturday, May 10th at the Know ($5 cover): And And And, Old Light, XDS

Sunday, May 11th at Rontoms (no cover): Grandparents, Spookies

Official Todd Walberg photos from the release parties to come! 

- Travis Leipzig

If you’re planning on heading to Idaho next week for Treefort Music Festival you’ll be in good company. This year’s festival will be featuring over a dozen Portland bands including Radiation City, Wooden Indian Burial Ground, Genders and Grandparents. The long weekend is going to be ripe with talent and will show all who attend exactly why Boise deserves attention on a regional and national level for its emerging arts and music scene. The festival is running from Thursday, March 21st through Sunday, March 24th, for more information go to treefortmusicfest.com. – Benjamin Toledo

As they experiment with different ways of articulating their taste for shoegaze and psychedelia, Grandparents's sound seems to get deeper and catchier by the record. Developing this blend since 2009, they revealed last month what is probably their sharpest effort to date. And they know it! Teasing the crowds with 'Bitches', $100 single offered to those who bought their poster at Mississippi Studios on June 27th, the band is as we speak working on an EP to be released by the end of summer. Slow, repetitive track coming in warm monotonous waves, 'Bitches' is a powerful introduction to the record to come. We'll let you know more as the time approaches, but for now, you can catch them at PDX Pop Now! Festival 2012!- Tracy Mamoun