Portugal. The Man – The Wiltern – Los Angeles (A PopEntertainment.com Concert Review)

PopEntertainment
Nov 18
2 min read

Portugal. The Man – The Wiltern – Los Angeles, CA – November 16, 2025

Rock band Portugal. The Man took the stage to roaring cheers at The Wiltern in Los Angeles, dousing fans in psychedelic lighting that aptly matched their sonic identity of grunge meets surreal dream meets protest chant.

While the band has continued to garner increasing popularity, they are far from a new breakout.

Formed in Wasilla, Alaska in 2004, Portugal. The Man was originally started by guitarist and lead vocalist John Gourley and bassist Zach Carothers. After building out the rest of the band, they relocated to Portland, Oregon, where they are still presently based.

Through the years of the band evolving, its official members currently consist of Gourley and his wife Zoe Manville, who provides backing vocals and percussion. While on tour, they are joined by a talented group of musicians each night who seamlessly elevate the band’s extensive catalogue of songs.

The band has released ten studio albums, including their latest one titled SHISH, which debuted on November 7th, 2025. It offers a strong return to their experimental form that lends itself to a beautiful tapestry live, seamlessly blending gritty indie-rock tracks like “Denali” with more hardcore raw sounds, like in “Tyonek” – all while being accompanied by large projections that cycle through key cultural moments that emphasize the importance of living life beyond screens. As the audience bobbed their hands and became swept up in the band’s infectious energy, it was a nice touch that connected the group’s longstanding ties to political activism.

Broken out into three acts, the show seamlessly transitioned from being SHISH-focused tracks in Act I to crowd favorites in Act II, including breakout hit “Feel It Still” that catapulted them into mainstream success in 2017 and landed them a Grammy Award, to a high-energy encore in Act III. The crowd swayed and sang along all night, creating a very communal experience.

There are still many opportunities to catch Portugal. The Man as they continue onwards with their North American tour through December and embark on the European leg of their tour starting in February 2026.

Larisa Jiao