June 18, 2025
Page 7
Arts &
ENTERTAINMENT
Don’t Miss This on October
29, at The Old Church
Brandee Younger, harpist, composer and bandleader.
Mike Bennett cutting the ribbon to the Portland Aquarium. (Photo credit Portland Aquarium)
Mike Bennett’s
Portland Aquarium!
No Live
Animals - But
Vibrant Cartoon
Sea Creatures
The Portland Aquarium is
home to 100% cartoon marine
life
characters—handcrafted
by artist Mike Bennett and his
team. While everything you’ll
see is made of art, light, sound,
and storytelling, there’s a strong
educational current running
through the experience. We
worked closely with Chanel Ha-
son, our local marine biologist,
to curate accurate and inspir-
ing ocean facts throughout the
space. You’ll even get an Explor-
er Compendium—a field guide
packed with info about all 100
species you’ll encounter on your
journey through Bennett Bay. It’s
where creativity and curiosity
collide! The Portland Aquarium
is fully ADA accessible. Our
entire experience is designed to
be navigable for guests using
wheelchairs, mobility devices,
or strollers. We want everyone to
feel welcome exploring the won-
ders of Bennett Bay!
At this time, tickets to the
Portland Aquarium are only
available for purchase in per-
son at the Cascadia Marine Lab
a.k.a. our front lobby. If there’s
a wait when you arrive, no wor-
ries—we’ve got a digital waitlist
system! You can check out the
Mike Bennett Studios museum
and gift shop while you wait, or
explore other parts of downtown
Portland. We’ll send you a text
when it’s your turn to dive into
the depths of Bennett Bay. Start-
ing in July we will start hosting
birthday parties and other private
events in the mornings before we
open at 11am. If you are inter-
ested in renting our space for a
private event or tour, let us know
and send an email to pdxaquari-
um@mikebennettstudios.com.
PDX Jazz
Presents
The Brandee
Younger Trio!
BRANDEE YOUNGER is
revolutionizing the harps’ role in
modern music. Over the past fif-
teen years, she has worked relent-
lessly to stretch boundaries and
limitations for harpists. In 2022,
she made history by becoming
the first Black woman to be nom-
inated for a Grammy® Award for
Best Instrumental Composition.
That same year, she was also
nominated for an NAACP Image
Award and later, the winner of the
2024 NAACP Image Award in
the category of Outstanding Jazz
Album for her latest album Brand
New Life. Ever-expanding as an
artist, she has worked with cultur-
al icons including Common, Lau-
ryn Hill, John Legend, Pharoah
Sanders and Christian McBride.
Her original composition
“Hortense” was featured in the
Netflix Concert-Documentary,
Beyoncé: Homecoming and in
2019, Brandee was selected to
perform her original music as
a featured performer for Quin-
cy Jones and Steve McQueen’s’
“Soundtrack of America”. Bran-
dee is often noted for standing on
the shoulders of the very wom-
en who ushered in the harp as a
clear and distinct voice in jazz
& popular styles – particularly
Detroit natives Dorothy Ashby
& Alice Coltrane. Her latest al-
bum, Brand New Life, builds on
her already rich oeuvre, and ce-
ments the harp’s place in popular
culture. As the title of the album
suggests, Brand New Life is
about forging new paths–artistic,
personal, political, and spiritual.
Younger’s music is imbued with
a sense of purpose and respect of
legacy, creating a larger platform
for the harp to reach newer and
wider audiences than ever be-
fore. In addition to performing
and recording, Brandee Young-
er is on the faculty at New York
University, Steinhardt School
and The New School College of
Performing Arts.