Portugal. The Man’s Alaskan Soul Finds a Second Home in Texas

There’s a kindred spirit between the vast, untamed wilderness of Alaska and the wide-open, fiercely independent heart of Texas. It’s a connection that John Gourley, frontman for indie rock titans Portugal. The Man, feels deep in his bones. As the band prepares to bring their kaleidoscopic sound to The Bomb Factory on Dec. 11, Gourley reflects on a bond that transcends geography, forged in house parties, fist fights and a shared, untamable spirit.

“Texas was the first place that really accepted us without any effort outside of just being Alaskan as hell showing up there,” Gourley tells us. “I just immediately felt at home. We go to house parties, we played beer pong with people, and [it] just feels like you’re back home. Whenever I think of Texas, I just think about the house parties. I think about the fist fights. I think about how it’s a little loose, and we like that.”

This sense of being “a little loose” is the lifeblood of Portugal. The Man. For nearly two decades, the band has swerved between genres, blending psychedelic rock, soulful falsettos and undeniable pop hooks into a sound that is uniquely their own. Their journey has taken them from Wasilla, Alaska, to global stages, earning a Grammy for the inescapable 2017 hit “Feel It Still.” But their latest album, Shish, feels less like a victory lap and more like a full-circle return to their roots.

Released on Nov. 7, Shish is a deeply personal and sonically adventurous record. It’s a representation of Gourley’s Alaskan upbringing, a narrative tapestry laced by threads of community, resilience and the beautiful chaos of modern life.

“To me, the album feels like picking up your phone and setting it down,” Gourley explains, offering an apt metaphor for the record’s dynamic shifts. “I pick up my phone, and I see chaos, and it’s messy, and it’s loud and it’s extreme. And I set it back down and I go fishing. I drive my daughter to school. We cook food, and it’s pleasant, and it’s the Beatles.”

This “loud, quiet, loud” dynamic, a nod to influences like the Pixies, gives Shish its thrilling unpredictability. The album veers from the distorted, propulsive energy of tracks like “Mush” to the hazy, sun-drenched psychedelia of “Tanana,” mirroring the disorienting scroll of a social media feed before snapping back to the tangible, grounding reality of the world right in front of you.

The album’s title and central theme stem from a profound conversation Gourley had with his father, a celebrated dog sled musher. Asked to draw a dog sled for the album art, his father went on a tangent that struck a creative nerve.

“He says, ‘You know, each night before I go to bed, I think about the things I would put into a six-foot toboggan when I’m ready to leave,'” Gourley recounts. The statement wasn’t about a physical journey, but a spiritual and existential one. “It’s just a statement about when I’m ready to go, these are the things I’m going to put in my toboggan. And it made me think about the things I want to put in my toboggan.”

This question — what do you carry with you when it’s time to go? — became the album’s narrative engine. For Gourley, the answers are both practical and deeply personal: a tarp for shelter, his daughter Frances, the subsistence traditions of his heritage. The album is filled with these essentials, lyrical nods to “berries” and the values of community and self-reliance. He poses the question to his listeners: “What are you going to put in your toboggan when you’re ready to leave? Once you leave that city, once you leave that town, once you leave your home, what are you bringing with you?”

This thematic weight is being brought to life on their current tour, which features a bold, three-act structure. The band opens by playing Shish in its entirety, a confident move that turns the concert into a shared, real-time experience of discovery for the audience.

“I made a record that reflects the way I feel right now, and it’s the most important part of the set for me,” Gourley asserts. He pushes back against the familiar concert trope of the obligatory new song that sends fans to the bar. “This is a new band, this is a new record, this is a new thing.”

The show’s middle section is where the band’s connection to the audience truly shines. It’s a fluid, improvisational space where the setlist is guided by the energy of the city. For a place like Dallas, Gourley anticipates a crowd that craves more than just the hits.

“I do base a lot of this on audiences,” he says. “Some cities are like a ‘play the hits’ city, and others are like ‘deep cuts,’ and it’s kind of interesting. Texas, I gotta be honest, is probably a deep cut spot. There’s just more to it. They’re deeper than that.”

This intuition comes from years of touring and a genuine effort to connect, even checking DMs to gauge the local vibe. It speaks to the mutual respect between the band and their Texan fans — an audience they see as extensions of their own Alaskan tribe.

“You find Alaskans everywhere you go,” Gourley muses. “And Texas is full of Alaskans… they’re a little bit wild, a little bit reckless. They’re very much about their neighbors, their community.”

It’s this focus on community that animates much of Gourley’s life, both on and off the stage. Through the Pass the Mic (PTM) Foundation, the band champions indigenous visibility and provides unrestricted grants to indigenous communities. Another initiative, Frances Changed My Life, named for his daughter, who lives with a rare neurodegenerative disease, is dedicated to developing treatments for rare diseases in children. These foundations are not vanity projects. They are funded entirely by the band, ensuring every dollar donated goes directly to the cause.

As Portugal. The Man returns to Dallas, they bring with them more than just a new album. They bring stories of home, a philosophy of survival, a celebration of community and a sound that is as expansive and unpredictable as the landscapes that shaped them. They are ready to get a little loose, to dive deep with an audience they consider family and to remind us all to think about what’s truly worth carrying.

Portugal. The Man with La Luz will perform on Thursday, Dec. 11, at 8 p.m. at The Bomb Factory, 2713 Canton St., Dallas. Tickets are available starting at $34.58 on Ticketmaster.com.