45 East is the Central Eastside warehouse where Portland sees its biggest touring EDM names, with a main floor for headliner sets and an upstairs Jade Room for techno and ambient.
Tip: 21 and over, doors usually 22:00 on Friday and Saturday; check the calendar for the Jade Room upstairs which programs separately from the main floor.
Address: 315 SE 3rd Ave, Portland, OR 97214
Dixie Tavern is the two-level country-leaning bar on the corner of 3rd and Couch in Old Town, where bartenders dance on the bar and the dance floor runs to 02:30 on weekends.
Tip: Country and line-dancing programming Thursday through Saturday; cover after 21:00 on busy nights, and the dance floor packs out for top-40 sets later in the evening.
Tube is the long-running Old Town dance bar a few doors from Dixie on NW 3rd, with a steady weekend DJ booking and a small but committed dance floor on Friday and Saturday nights.
Tip: No cover most nights, drinks run cheap by Portland nightclub standards, and the late shift goes to 02:30 on Friday and Saturday.
Lola's Room is the second-floor venue inside McMenamins' Crystal Ballroom complex on West Burnside, programmed for smaller dance nights and DJ residencies under the bigger room above.
Tip: Friday's 80s Video Dance Attack and Saturday's 90s Dance Flashback are the long-running anchors; doors usually 21:00 with a low cover.
Mississippi Studios is the converted Baptist church on N Mississippi that is the city's most reliable mid-size indie room, with the attached Bar Bar handling drinks and burgers.
Tip: Most shows have a 21+ bar room and an all-ages floor; the Bar Bar patio next door is open every day from 11:00 if you want food before the set.
The Crystal Ballroom is the 1914 McMenamins ballroom on West Burnside with the famous floating dance floor that bounces under the weight of a sold-out crowd, the room Tina Turner and the Grateful Dead both played.
Tip: The floor's spring suspension is unique in the country; standing on the main floor is the way to feel it, balcony seats trade that for sightlines.
Roseland Theater is the 1,400-capacity general-admission room on NW 6th in Old Town, the room that hosts touring hip-hop and rock on a near-nightly schedule.
Tip: General admission only; arrive early for the rail or watch from the balcony bar, which has its own entrance line.