A-WA
I can only conjure one word for the music of A-Wa: badass. Watch the music video for the Israeli popstars’ breakout single “Habib Halbi”—the title track of their 2016 debut—and try to disagree. Sisters Tair, Liron, and Tagel Haim bring infectious hip-hop beats and EDM drops to traditional folk songs, which are usually sung in Yemenite Arabic. They play twice on Sunday, but prioritize their late-night set—it’ll turn the Galaxy Barn into a sweaty club. CIARA DOLAN Sunday 6 pm at the Woods Stage and 11:40 pm at the Galaxy Barn
ALEX CAMERON
Who is this man? Here’s what we know: Alex Cameron is an Australian crooner who’s usually joined by his “business partner” (and saxophonist) Roy Molloy. They appear to have time-travelled to present day from 1980s Las Vegas in a Cadillac Seville. Cameron looks and sounds like he greases his hair with snake oil. He plays Springsteen-worshipping synth-pop with lyrics that illuminate his make-believe narratives with neon lights. The duo’s high-concept con-artistry doesn’t always pan out, but “Candy May”—the lead single from their forthcoming album, Forced Witness—is a true banger. CD Friday 1:05 am at the Starlight Stage and Sunday 10 pm at the Galaxy Barn
CHARLES BRADLEY AND HIS EXTRAORDINAIRES
Charles Bradley is known as the “Screaming Eagle of Soul,” though his debut LP was late to the music industry game—he released No Time for Dreaming in 2011, at the age of 63. He’s been playing sold-out shows ever since, where he’ll often exit the stage for glamorous outfit changes and wade into the crowd to give fans roses. Bradley was diagnosed with stomach cancer last October, but already completed treatment and is back in action with his Extraordinaires. This man is the resplendent diamond of the soul genre—don’t you dare miss him. CD Thursday 8:50 pm at the Mount Hood Stage and Friday 11 pm at the Woods Stage
COURTNEY MARIE ANDREWS
This Pacific Northwest transplant is one of the best folksinger/songwriters currently in operation. Courtney Marie Andrews left her home in Arizona at 16, then travelled around backing the likes of Damien Jurado and Jimmy Eat World while penning her own songs, which call to mind the natural power of Joni Mitchell. When Andrews finally settled down in Seattle, she got a job as a bartender, and the maudlin stories she heard inspired her pedal steel-heavy new album, Honest Life, released last year on Portland’s Mama Bird Recording Co. CD Friday 7:40 pm at the Lucky Barn and Saturday 11:20 am at the Woods Stage
HUUN-HUUR-TU
Where else can you see Ty Segall and Dungen share a bill with the throat singers of Huun-Huur-Tu? Thought so. They’re from the Russian republic of Tuva, which borders Mongolia, and have been introducing the region’s indigenous folk music to the rest of the world for more than two decades. This style of throat singing allows the musicians to produce two or three notes at once using circular breathing. It’s epic and haunting—the droning vocals sound like nothing you’ve ever heard. CD Saturday 1:10 am at the Starlight Stage and Sunday 7:40 pm at the Lucky Barn
JONATHAN RICHMAN
Jonathan Richman is the godfather of self-inflicted bleeding hearts. Though he’s known for fronting 1970s proto-punk band the Modern Lovers, Richman’s solo stuff is perhaps more enduring—he’s a master storyteller, and his playful expositions about parties and romance and horse girls flourish when they’re backed by pared-down instrumentals. Here’s hoping he plays some songs from his 1990 record Jonathan Goes Country; Pendarvis Farm would be the perfect setting to revisit his brief foray into twang. CD Friday 2:40 pm at the Woods Stage and Saturday 1 pm at the Lucky Barn
KHUN NARIN
The National Weather Service issued an excessive heat warning for this week’s 100-plus temperatures, but that’s not what’ll melt your brain at this year’s Pickathon. Brace yourself for the sonic vortex of Khun Narin, a psych group from a remote village in Thailand. They’ve released two albums via Innovative Leisure, 2014’s Khun Narin’s Electric Phin Band and 2016’s II. These riffs are things of legend—bear witness to them or resign yourself to permanent FOMO. CD Saturday 1 pm at the Woods Stage and Sunday 1:05 am at the Starlight Stage
THE LAST ARTFUL, DODGR
Earlier this year, Portland-based, LA-raised rapper the Last Artful, Dodgr released her latest LP, Bone Music, with producer Neill Von Tally. It’s one of the best albums to come out of our city in a long time—over Von Tally’s melodic but abstract rhythms, Dodgr tells tales of the working-class grind, romance as escapism, and her looming fear of dying before self-actualizing: “If I die, play my beats,” she raps on “LLC.” Her shows are unreal—do yourself a favor and experience her contagious energy live. CD Friday 11:40 pm at the Starlight Stage and Sunday 3:20 pm at the Galaxy Barn
PRIESTS
This Washington, DC-based band already released one of the best albums of 2017: Nothing Feels Natural, 10 tracks of driving post-punk that rages against the hypocrisy and oppression behind the American dream. Though Priests’ message is particularly salient right now, the lyrics never feel topical or hollow. Every song on the record deserves a chef kiss, but “Jj” is magnificent—the four-piece sounds like they’re impersonating the greaser band in John Waters’ 1990 film Cry-Baby, especially singer Katie Alice Greer. Her voice alternately roars and squeaks with bravado over the repeated line, “I thought I was a cowboy ’cause I smoked Reds.” CD Friday 11:40 pm at the Galaxy Barn and Saturday 2:10 pm at the Mt. Hood Stage
WOLF PEOPLE
English group Wolf People made its memorable West Coast debut at 2015’s Pickathon. And now, following the release of 2016’s spectacular Ruins, the four-piece makes its triumphant return with a fresh platter’s worth of wicker-man-folk-tinged psychedelic rockers under their druid-robe-bedecked arms. With dynamics that range from eerie maypole traipses to slab-shaking, wizardly eruptions, Wolf People’s tight instrumental interplay is predestined to win over many new converts. Ned Lannamann Friday 10 pm at the Treeline Stage and Sunday 11:40 pm at the Starlight Stage
