Event Schedule
Thursday Swing ft. The Minidoka Swing Band
PLEASE NOTE this dance is NOT INCLUDED in the Full Weekend Pass or the Party Pass.
Portland’s longest-running swing dance moonlights as the kick-off party for PDXLX 2026!
The Minidoka Swing Band remembers the Japanese Americans who were interned behind barbed wire during WWII with big band sounds from the 1930’s, 1940’s and beyond. The band’s name comes from the Minidoka Internment Camp near Twin Falls, Idaho, one of ten major camps where Japanese Americans from Portland and Washington State were imprisoned by the U.S. government without due process. To give a sense of normalcy to the lives of the teenagers and young adults, the camps often held Saturday night dances to make the best of a horrific situation.
To celebrate the kick-off of PDXLX, we’ll also feature a FREE dance contest and a FREE taster lesson in addition to our standard Foundations Lesson.
Schedule
6:00 PM Doors open for check-in, bar will be
6:45 - 7:45 PM Upstairs Ballroom Lindy Hop Foundations Lesson
Downstairs Ballroom Taster Lesson TBD!
8:00 - 10:30 PM Minidoka Swing Band
Set break DJ
Dance Contest details TBD!
Friday Feature Classes
Location: Norse Hall
We are excited to bring you two class tracks this year:
Solo Jazz with Laurel Ryan and Lindy Hop with Kelly Young & Matt Richey
You can learn more about teachers here. Watch for class descriptions!
Classes are not available à la carte and may only be purchased as part of the full weekend pass or early bird pass.
Schedule
10:30 Doors Open
11:00 - 12:00 PM Classes
12:15 - 1:15 PM Classes
1:15 Break for Lunch & Learn
Friday Lunch & Learn
Grab a lunch and attend a talk from teacher Laurel Ryan!
This is a free community event.
Pub Crawl
Kick off for the afternoon and make new friends with a crawl through food and beverages offerings of the inner east side! Check out the map on the Venues page for the route. PDXLX staff will be around to help out.
This event is free for the community.
Passholders can pick up a PDXLX Pub Crawl Passport card at the first venue — collect four stamps and present at the front desk for a prize!
1:15 PM — Classes wrap up at Norse Hall
2:30 - 5:00 Pub Crawl! Details to follow.
Friday Night: Stomp Off Party
Headed by bandleader Shane Allen of Eugene OR, Stomp Off Party swings the standards with vibrance & depth, bringing together voices from all corners of the Willamette Valley jazz community (and beyond!). Polyphonic and multigenerational, Stomp Off Party is collaboration at its best, digging into the American Songbook from all directions, delivering riffs and rhythms tuned expressly for dancing. Always lively, always swinging!
Schedule
7:00 Doors Open for Check In
7:30 DJ
8:00 - 11:00 Stomp Off Party
Set-break DJ
Friday Late Night: Ashley Seaton & the TK Swing All-Stars
Portland’s hottest swing band is here! Led by the velvety vocals of Ashley Seaton and the Django-inspired guitar of Tracy Kim, this All-Star crew features top-tier talent like Gavin Bondy (Pink Martini) and Dave Evans (Bridgetown Sextet). Whether you’re dancing or just vibing, it’s jazz joy all night long.
Schedule
11:00 - 12:00 DJ Break + Late Night Snacks
12:00 - 2:00 Band Ashley Seaton & the TK Swing All-Stars
Set-break DJ
Intro to Swing Outs Series
Location: The Viscount Dance Studio (NOT Norse Hall!)
Ready to learn to swing out? Feeling a little rusty? Want to learn the opposite role?
Register for our Intro to Swing Outs clinic on Saturday!
All of the paid classes at PDXLX (included with the Weekend Pass & Early Bird Weekend Pass) are intermediate level and assume participants are comfortable with Charleston and Swingouts. The Intro to Swing Outs Series is intended for folks who are not quite ready for the intermediate level classes, but are still looking to learn something new during the exchange.
Brought to you by local teachers Austin Neverman & Darcie Juarez
Cost: $20
Register online in advance or at the door on Friday night.
Schedule:
9:30 AM Doors Open
10:00 - 11:00 Class I
11:15 - 12:15 Class II
12:15 - 1:15 Lunch Break
1:15 - 2:15 Class III
2:30 - 3:30 Class IV
Saturday Feature Classes
Location: Norse Hall
We are excited to bring you two class tracks this year:
Solo Jazz with Laurel Ryan and Lindy Hop with Kelly Young & Matt Richey
You can learn more about teachers here. Watch for class descriptions!
Classes are not available à la carte and may only be purchased as part of the full weekend pass.
Schedule
9:45 Doors Open
10:00 - 11:00 AM Classes
11:15 - 12:15 PM Classes
12:15 - 1:15 PM Lunch Break
1:15 - 2:15 PM Classes
2:30 - 3:30 PM Classes
Saturday Afternoon: The Hot Lovin’ Jazz Babies
Location: TBA
A PDXLX tradition, the afternoon outdoor dance is a favorite with exchange regulars. This dance is FREE to the community.
THE HOT LOVIN’ JAZZ BABIES is a high-powered swing ensemble based in Portland, Oregon featuring Doug Sammons and Dee Settlemier, front persons for the long-time Portland swing band the Midnight Serenaders. The group was put together at the beginning of 2015 specifically for the Secret Society’s (Portland's former premier dance club) Thursday Swing night series, and has since become a favorite of Portland’s swing dance community. The Hot Lovin' Jazz Babies strive to resurrect the spirit of late 1930’s small band ensembles such as Fats Waller & his Rhythm, Teddy Wilson and his Orchestra and Billie Holiday and her Orchestra. The group has a monthly residency at the Alberta Street Public House in Portland, OR, and perform at other Portland area dance clubs. They have also been featured at past Portland Lindy Exchanges. The 7-piece band features Dee Settlemier on drums/vocals, Doug Sammons on guitar/vocals, Pete Lampe on bass, John Moak on trombone, David Evans on sax/clarinet, Garner Pruitt on trumpet, and Andrew Oliver on piano.
Saturday Night: Stomp Off Party ft. Michael Horsfall & Marilyn Keller
Theme Night: Flying Home to Portland!
Headed by bandleader Shane Allen of Eugene OR, Stomp Off Party swings the standards with vibrance & depth, bringing together voices from all corners of the Willamette Valley jazz community (and beyond!). Polyphonic and multigenerational, Stomp Off Party is collaboration at its best, digging into the American Songbook from all directions, delivering riffs and rhythms tuned expressly for dancing. Always lively, always swinging!
Stomp Off Party features Michael Horsfall on vibraphone and Marilyn Keller on vocals for this theme night honoring Lionel Hampton!
Schedule
7:00 Doors Open for Check In
7:30 DJ
8:00 - 11:00 Stomp Off Party
Set-break DJ
Saturday Late Night: The Rhythm Wrecker Dance Band
Founded in 2020, the Rhythm Wrecker Dance Band is a Portland, OR based swing band led by drummer and swing dancer Eddie Montejo. Formed by dancers and for dancers, the Rhythm Wrecker Dance Band plays solid, four-to-the bar swing with a commitment to making danceable music for lindy hop and swing.
Schedule
7:00 Doors Open for Check In
7:30 DJ
11:00 - 2:00 Rhythm Wrecker Dance Band
Set-break DJ
Sunday Feature Classes
Location: Norse Hall
We are excited to bring you two class tracks this year:
Solo Jazz with Laurel Ryan and Lindy Hop with Kelly Young & Matt Richey
You can learn more about teachers here. Watch for class descriptions!
Classes are not available à la carte and may only be purchased as part of the full weekend pass.
Schedule
9:45 AM Doors Open
10:00 - 11:00 AM Classes
11:15 - 12:15 PM Classes
12:15 Break for Lunch
Sunday Farewell Jam
Wrap up the weekend with our afternoon jam at Migration Brewing on Williams.
Bring an instrument, your voice, your tap shoes, or whatever floats your boat to make some music with our house jam band. When you’re not taking a solo, enjoy space to dance or grab a beer and a plate of delicious Nicaraguan cuisine.
This event is FREE to the community.