"Obomsawin reminds listeners constantly that folk music shouldn’t be about pliant, pretty subservience, and that Abenaki culture is loudly, proudly living and expanding."
THE GUARDIAN
Bassist Mali Obomsawin, a member of the Odanak First Nation and one of Grammy.com’s top ten emerging jazz artists, brings forth her exceptional musicality as the composer of the Oscar-nominated film, Sugarcane. The 2024 documentary, an investigation into abuse and missing children at an Indian residential school, shines a spotlight on the Sugarcane Reserve. In this powerful evening of music and film, Obomsawin and her band perform live to the backdrop of the film. A stunning tribute to the resilience of Native people and their way of life, Sugarcane is an epic cinematic portrait of a community during a moment of international reckoning, illuminating the beauty of a community breaking cycles of intergenerational trauma and finding the strength to persevere. When not performing with the likes of Esperanza Spalding, Dave Holland, Billy Hart, Peter Apfelbaum, Julia O’Keefe’s Indigenous Big Band, and others – Obomsawin, who lives in Portland, can be found fronting her own quartet and the indie rock duo Deerlady.
SHOW TIMES
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2026 – 7 PM
STATE THEATRE, PORTLAND
RUNTIME: 2 HOURS
PORTTIX BOX OFFICE
MEMBER PRE-SALE THROUGH JUNE 26. PUBLIC ON SALE JUNE 27.
TICKETS: $30 • $45 • $55
SENIOR (65+) DISCOUNT AVAILABLE
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Wheelchair accessible. Assistive Listening Devices available. Read more about accessibility at State Theatre Portland.
Content Warning: This performance contains references to trauma and violence.
ASL available upon request.