Pickathon

Heather Binns We’ve got a brand-new Pickathon video for you in our ongoing presentation of the Portland-area music festival’s Starlight Series, spotlighting the nocturnal magic of that intimate, after-hours stage where bands play into the wee hours. This season’s second episode features rising country singer/songwriter Brent Cobb playing “Let the Rain Come Down,” a track […]

Charles Bradley Katie Summer Priests Natalie Behring Ty Segall Katie Summer This year’s Pickathon could’ve been hellish, with smoky skies and 100-degree temperatures. Despite the heat, the weekend unfolded like a strange, beautiful dream. Israeli popstars A-Wa’s Yemenite grooves made for the ultimate forest dance party. Ty Segall inspired men in fedoras to try moshing, […]

Veronica Rose Follow the Mercury music team on Twitter (@PMercMusic) and Instagram (@portlandmercury) for Pickathon coverage and more helpful tips. Pickathon kicks off tonight at Pendarvis Farm, and the forecast is sweltering—according to my weather app, Happy Valley’s predicted to hit 103 degrees at 5pm. My top priority this year is maintaining an acceptable body […]

Liz Devine We’ve reached the series finale for our ongoing Pickathon Starlight Series. And perfect timing: We’re wrapping up the best of 2016’s performances just as the 2017 installment of the festival is getting underway later this week. Today’s clip comes from Portland rapper Myke Bogan, who recently announced that his new album Pool Party […]

Tim LaBarge There’s not much time left before Pickathon, but there’s always time for another episode in our ongoing Pickathon Starlight Series. Today’s is extra special, as it features an exceptional performance from one of last year’s breakout performers, Daniel Norgren. Pickathon 2016 marked the Swedish singer/songwriter’s first US appearance, and he definitely left an […]

Liz Devine We may be in the last throes of spring drizzle, but summertime’s best party, Pickathon, is less than two months away! And we’ve got the latest in our Starlight Stage series of performances from last year’s festival to get you in the mood for this year’s. Today’s installment comes from Kevin Morby, who […]

Jovelle Tamayo This captivating video comes from last year’s Pickathon, where literal sister act Joseph performed, armed only with an acoustic guitar and three intertwining harmonies. The Starlight Stage was the perfect place to see them sing their spare but gooseflesh-inducing folk songs, and as part of the Mercury and The Stranger‘s ongoing Starlight Series, […]

Dylan VanWeelden Moving through Pickathon can sometimes feel like traveling through time, with musical styles from all eras—from bracingly modern jams to amber-preserved vintage sounds—gracing the many stages. This Starlight Stage performance from C.W. Stoneking definitely falls in the latter category, and the film has been treated to match the Australian blues musician and band’s […]

Thee Oh Sees at Pickathon 2016 Christopher Garcia Valle This morning Pickathon announced over a dozen additions to its 2017 festival lineup: Ry X, Tank and the Bangas, M.A.K.U SoundSystem, Steve Gunn, Dezarie, Jay Som, Los Cojolites, Priests, Lucy Dacus, Meatbodies, Aldous Harding, Luke Bell, Tim Darcy, Mic Capes, Sweet Spirit, Coco Columbia, Moorea Masa, […]

Ravid Kahalani of Yemen Blues Todd Cooper Pickathon’s Starlight Series continues with this scorching performance from Yemen Blues, the Tel Aviv-based band that was for my money the greatest discovery of the 2016 festival. They’re playing “Min Kalbi,” a mini-epic of sorts that takes a basic but insistent groove and turns it into something transcendent. […]