Pickathon music festival returns this week
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The Pickathon music festival opens in Happy Valley just outside Portland on Thursday. Photo: Courtesy of Pickathon
The Pickathon music festival opens Thursday at Pendarvis Farm in Happy Valley, just outside Portland.
Why it matters: Pickathon has shed its image as a music festival devoted to the banjos and fiddles of Americana and now leans on emerging rock, pop and hip-hop acts to attract Gen Z fans and keep up the energy.
Zoom in: Better-known names playing this year include Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Courtney Barnett and Durand Jones, but the festival concept is to explore bands that are close to blowing up.
What we're watching: Pickathon founder Zale Schoenborn picked out some names for Axios readers to watch: Geese, from New York; LA LOM, or Los Angeles League of Musicians; Foamboy, from Portland; and Theo Lawrence, "a country artist who sings in English, but you would never imagine he grew up in Bordeaux, France."
Flashback: Pickathon emerged when Pickathon founder Schoenborn (mandolin) and Keith Moseley (bass) from the String Cheese Incident imagined a festival with wildly mixed genres.
The vibe: Last year, Tampa, Florida, hip-hop duo They Hate Change energized crowds at the Woods Stage, bemused to perform under trees and noting it was their first time ever camping.
- Many acts camp or glamp because they play more than one show.
What they're saying: Pickathon is more of an experience than a typical festival with large crowds and a must-see big name band, Schoenborn told Axios.
- "This is fantasy island, you don't get it until you come."
Fun fact: Every year Pickathon has one stage built by Portland State University architecture students using recycled materials. In 2022 the Cherry Hill stage was made of 175 giant wooden cable spools, which acted as seats when bands weren't playing. In 2024 it's a forest in forest theme.
- This year, each of the 15 "neighborhoods," nine of which contain stages, has been dramatically redesigned to be more sculptural, in some cases resembling mythic creatures.
- ZGF architect Gene Sandoval, who helped design Portland's new wooden airport terminal, designed Antlers & Sunset, the backdrop for the main stage in the Paddock Neighborhood.
If you go: Pendarvis Farm, 16581 SE Hagen Road, Happy Valley. Hours: 9am-11pm.
- Thursday 10am-8pm early entry ($95) is available for weekend pass holders.
- Weekend tickets: $415 for adults, $208 for ages 13 to 17. Day passes (ages 13 and older): $205 Friday and Sunday and $225 Saturday. Ages 12 and under are free.
- Parking is available, a free shuttle bus runs from Foster Road MAX station all day during the festival.