Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, Portland, OR
9/15/2026
Patti Smith has spent the last decade and a half looking back. At one point during her night of stories and songs at Portland’s ornate Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, Smith said that the 20th century is where she belonged, though she was happy to be alive in the 21st. Banga , Smith’s last record of original music, came out in 2012. The artist has released multiple books since then, including last year’s Bread of Angels , from which she read excerpts that evening.
For those familiar with Smith’s history, she has taken a breaks from making music before. After releasing Wave in 1979, Smith retreated to domestic life in Detroit to raise her children. She resurfaced in 1988 with Dream of Life and then went silent again until the mid-‘90s, following the passing of her husband Fred “Sonic” Smith, who died at 46 from heart failure.
Fred was very much on Smith’s mind that evening as the event took place the day after what would have been his 78th birthday. Smith focused on sections of Bread of Angels that recounted her courtship with Fred, their life together in Detroit and all the songs that he inspired, including the “ Love is a ring/ T...