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Primary Menu 31 Events Near Me content loading animation Search
  • Attractions
    • Avalon Theatre & Wunderland arcadeView All Attractions
    • Museums
    • Parks & Gardens
    • Family Friendly
    • Shopping
    • On a Budget
    • EVEN MORE THINGS TO DO
  • Culture
    • people sitting at tables eating foodView All Culture
    • Arts
    • Beer
    • Biking
    • Cannabis
    • Cultural Communities
    • Craft Spirits
    • Food
    • Makers
    • Music
    • Nightlife
    • Outdoors
    • Sports
    • Weird
    • Wine
    • MORE CULTURE
  • Neighborhoods
    • aerial view of downtown area with buildings and roadways, bridges crossing a river to a smaller set of buildings that expand into the distanceView All Neighborhoods
    • Alberta Arts District
    • Belmont
    • Central Eastside
    • Division/Clinton
    • Downtown
    • Hawthorne
    • Lloyd
    • Mississippi
    • Northwest / Nob Hill
    • Old Town Chinatown
    • Pearl District
    • St. Johns
    • Sellwood-Moreland
    • Williams
    • ALL NEIGHBORHOODS
  • Region
    • RegionView All Region
    • Near the City
    • Columbia River Gorge
    • Mount Hood
    • Oregon Coast
    • Willamette Valley
    • ALL REGIONS
  • Plan
    • Light rail train car driving past people shopping at an outdoor marketView All Plan
    • Portland Maps
    • Where to Stay
    • Tours & Itineraries
    • Transportation
    • When to Visit
    • Accessible Portland
    • Portland Weather
    • COVID-19 FAQ
    • Safety in Portland
    • Plan a Meeting
  • Events
  • Search
Tuck Woodstock

Tuck Woodstock

Tuck Woodstock wrote and edited content for Travel Portland from 2014–2020. Read More

Luke Burbank and Elena Passarello, host a live radio show, Live Wire. Luke Burbank and Elena Passarello, host a live radio show, Live Wire.
i
Live Wire Radio is an independently produced radio show and non-profit based in Portland, hosted by Luke Burbank and announced by Elena Passarello.
Credit: Live Wire Radio
Culture / Arts

Live Wire Radio

Enjoy original comedy, local music and captivating interviews at live tapings of this weekly variety show.

2 min read
Tuck Woodstock

Tuck Woodstock

Tuck Woodstock wrote and edited content for Travel Portland from 2014–2020. Read More

What do former Portland Trail Blazers star Robin Lopez, former congressman Barney Frank and This American Life host Ira Glass have in common? All have appeared on Live Wire!, a weekly radio variety show created in Portland and broadcast on dozens of stations from Tallahassee, Tenn., to Reading, England.

First airing on local NPR affiliate Oregon Public Broadcasting in 2004, Live Wire is billed as a “radio variety for the attention-span-challenged.” Each hour-long episode features host Luke Burbank and announcer, Elena Passarello. Burbank is a radio veteran known for his podcast Too Beautiful to Live and frequent appearances on the popular NPR quiz show Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!, presiding over a fast-paced blend of wacky skits, live music, original comedy and cheeky interviews with notable writers, filmmakers and “people who think cool thoughts.”

Hailed by critics as A Prairie Home Companion (APHC) for the new millennium.

Hailed by critics as A Prairie Home Companion (APHC) for the new millennium, the show’s popularity extends well beyond its Portland-rooted fan base. In fact, legendary APHC creator and host Garrison Keillor has appeared in an episode.

“I sit and listen [to Live Wire] and a kind of light comes out of the radio speaker, a whole ‘nother view of human experience, and new voices which we need in public radio,” Keillor said. “I’m hoping to retire soon, and when I do, I want there to be shows on public radio that I can sit in my car, in my driveway and hang on their every word. Live Wire is one of those shows. It could be for Portland and Oregon what Prairie Home is for Minnesota and St. Paul and Lake Woebegone.”

Getting caught up with episodes is easy: Past shows are archived as podcasts on iTunes and the show’s website. The ultimate multisensory experience, however, can only be achieved by attending a live taping. Performances are recorded live on select nights, several times per month, at the Alberta Rose Theater. Don’t miss this truly unique and totally Portland experience — after all, as Live Wire says, “It’s like a chew toy for your brain!”

Tickets are available online.

Comedy, Events, Literary, Music

Upcoming Readings & Talks

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Editor's Pick
Live Wire with Luke Burbank
Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023

Live Wire with Luke Burbank

Alberta Rose Theatre $30 – $45

Join Emmy award-winning host Luke Burbank for the taping of Live Wire, the fastest-growing entertainment show on public radio. We’ve got a late-night stride, an Oscar Wilde wit, and the charisma of Ferris Bueller grand marshaling a parade. Music, comedy, and conversation, live and packed with surprises. Featuring #1 New York Times best-selling author Cheryl…

Editor's Pick
Performing Arts
Readings & Talks
Editor's Pick
Live Wire with Luke Burbank
Thursday, Mar. 2, 2023

Live Wire with Luke Burbank

Alberta Rose Theatre $30 – $45

Join Emmy award-winning host Luke Burbank for the taping of Live Wire, the fastest-growing entertainment show on public radio. We’ve got a late-night stride, an Oscar Wilde wit, and the charisma of Ferris Bueller grand marshaling a parade. Music, comedy, and conversation, live and packed with surprises. Featuring Comedian and podcaster Paul F. Tompkins, writer…

Editor's Pick
Music
Performing Arts
Readings & Talks
Editor's Pick
UFO Festival
May 19–20, 2023

UFO Festival

McMenamins Hotel Oregon Cost Varies

Every May, thousands of visitors flock to the city’s famous UFO Festival, featuring four days of parades, costume contests and expert speakers.

Editor's Pick
Festivals
For Kids
Spring
Weird
Editor's Pick
TEDxPortland
Saturday, May 20, 2023

TEDxPortland

Keller Auditorium $79 – $300

In a world that’s often polarized and divisive, choose to come together. At the intersection of skepticism and curiosity are understanding and innovation. The power of ideas is what propels everyone forward. Inspired by the confluence of water where the Willamette River meets the Columbia, purpose and persistence find their way to the sea. Year…

Editor's Pick
Readings & Talks

Explore Live Shows in Portland

People read from scripts

JAW Festival: A Playwrights’ Festival

This annual theater festival invites the public into the creation process.

A historic building with a variety of business signs

Free Live Music and Comedy in Portland

Discover a new favorite comic or musician at Portland's free concerts and comedy nights, scattered across the city and scheduled throughout the week.

a man speaking on stage with a gameshow wheel behind him

Live Storytelling Events in Portland

Hear true stories about love, sex, history, movies and even middle school at six regular live storytelling events in Portland.

A bassist performs on stage in front of a drummer

Live Music Venues in Portland

From gritty rock to velvety jazz, Portland’s live music scene offers tunes for all types.

Theatrical cast on a stage

Portland Theater

Portland has a well-established network of venues and theater companies and an increasingly dynamic and diverse small theater scene.

more than a dozen ballerinas in white tutus on a stage covered in a white mist

Dance in Portland

Portland dance has an inventive spirit that welcomes collaborations and often spills beyond the generally accepted boundaries of “dance.”

Niche Live Music Venues in Portland

These hidden gems are havens for jazz, punk, bluegrass, funk and more.

Explore

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