The last time Portland's Waterfront Park saw a Project Pabst was August of 2017. The two-day outdoor music festival hit a dry and dusty 90+ degrees both days, and I seem to recall that copious visits to the faithful little free water stands combined with the dehydrating power of Pabst Blue Ribbon lager ale (Pabst produces the fest) created something akin to a detoxifying, then retoxifying, experience. It was hot. The music was good. Now it's going to happen again.
This week, Project Pabst announced its grand return to Portland, on July 27-July 28, and its 2024 festival lineup. The curation is a bit all over the place: Soccer Mommy and Big Thief for lovers of contemporary, songwriting-focused indie rock, Billy Idol for fans of '80s night parties.
What's really going to bring in the throngs of heat-seeking revelers is the lineup of localish groups, like Gossip, La Luz swooping down from Seattle, Glitterfox, Alien Boy, and of course Portland's favorite band that might not actually live here anymore, but still hasn't changed their bandcamp status: STRFKR.
The dancey and weirdorable electro-pop favs announced a US tour in January to support their tenth album Parallel Realms, which just dropped March 1. However, there was a noticeable Portland-sized hole in the itinerary. Previous attempts at planning Portland STRFKR shows—even scheduling two back-to-back—often resulted in near immediate sellouts. So now, like scientists, we observe: Will the waterfront be able to contain Portland's STRFKR fans? Presale tickets are on sale, starting at $99 per day and $195 for the weekend, with the code UNICORN. On Friday March 8, the general tickets ($115 a day) drop at 10 am.
Here's the full line-up for the fest:
Saturday
Billy Idol
T-Pain
Violent Femmes
Gossip
STRFKR
Shannon & The Clams
DEHD
La Luz
Home Front
Alien Boy
Sunday
Big Thief
Denzel Curry
Manchester Orchestra
Jeff Rosenstock
Soccer Mommy
Militarie Gun
Kenny Mason
Miya Folick
Sweeping Promises
Glitterfox
