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Biamp Portland Jazz Festival: Lady Blackbird
Event by: Jack London Revue, PDX Jazz, Lady Blackbird
Location: The Jack London Revue, Southwest 4th Avenue 529, Portland
Tickets: Get tickets
Concerts, Festivals
About event
In every Lady Blackbird song is the unmistakable sound of freedom. Harnessing a mighty voice that embodies power, yearning, and soft balladry, she has imbued her music since 2021’s Black Acid Soul with journeying independence. Her instantly recognizable sound evokes both joy and heartache, blending jazz, soul, gospel, psychedelic rock, and pop. Now, with Slang Spirituals, Lady Blackbird embraces her fullest musical freedom yet. “This is my journey of becoming,” she says. “It’s me rewriting the book to show the world who I truly am. From being labelled a sinner to finding my acceptance.” Across 11 tracks, she channels her sweeping, cinematic voice through deeply personal stories—working again with producer Chris Seefried—to create a record rooted in vulnerability, power, and self-discovery.
Raised in a religious household in Farmington, New Mexico, Lady Blackbird began singing as soon as she could walk and was signed to a Christian label by age 12. As she came to understand her identity as a queer woman, she left the church world behind, spending years as a session vocalist before finding her true sound with Seefried. Their debut Black Acid Soul was a breakout success, leading to sold-out tours, collaborations with Gregory Porter, Moby, Trevor Horn, Nitin Sawhney, and Billy Porter, and performances across Europe. With Slang Spirituals, written amid intense touring, Lady Blackbird emerges reborn—her songs shedding the weight of judgment for anthems of liberation and joy. “I had to dig my way out of a grave to finally breathe and sing about who I really am,” she says. “It’s neo-gospel, avant soul, acid rock, and everything in between.” Lady Blackbird will take this powerful new sound on tour beginning in May, including a performance at Chaka Khan’s Meltdown Festival, where her voice will once again set audiences free.
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The Biamp Portland Jazz Festival, March 5-14, 2026, is a multi-venue, citywide celebration of sound and culture presented throughout Portland, Oregon. Dedicated to evolving out loud, the Festival honors America’s art form while embracing its future—bringing together legendary masters, boundary-breaking artists, and rising local talents who are redefining jazz and expanding its reach across genres and generations.
Raised in a religious household in Farmington, New Mexico, Lady Blackbird began singing as soon as she could walk and was signed to a Christian label by age 12. As she came to understand her identity as a queer woman, she left the church world behind, spending years as a session vocalist before finding her true sound with Seefried. Their debut Black Acid Soul was a breakout success, leading to sold-out tours, collaborations with Gregory Porter, Moby, Trevor Horn, Nitin Sawhney, and Billy Porter, and performances across Europe. With Slang Spirituals, written amid intense touring, Lady Blackbird emerges reborn—her songs shedding the weight of judgment for anthems of liberation and joy. “I had to dig my way out of a grave to finally breathe and sing about who I really am,” she says. “It’s neo-gospel, avant soul, acid rock, and everything in between.” Lady Blackbird will take this powerful new sound on tour beginning in May, including a performance at Chaka Khan’s Meltdown Festival, where her voice will once again set audiences free.
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The Biamp Portland Jazz Festival, March 5-14, 2026, is a multi-venue, citywide celebration of sound and culture presented throughout Portland, Oregon. Dedicated to evolving out loud, the Festival honors America’s art form while embracing its future—bringing together legendary masters, boundary-breaking artists, and rising local talents who are redefining jazz and expanding its reach across genres and generations.