Although many have heard of, enjoyed, and snorfed the trail dust of Pickathon—the best darn little music festival held 16 miles outside of Portland—it’s also no shame to be new to the name.
The Happy Valley farm-placed fest has a history of setting new standards for sustainability and creating a unique choose-your-own-adventure experience in a lush natural setting. But, above all, Pickathon has an undiminished reputation for curating a bill that even the vinyl-hardened audiences of Portland can appreciate and be surprised by.
This morning the fest announced its 2023 lineup, to unfold across a four-day weekend this August. And they made a Spotify playlist, so you can immediately start dipping into summer.
“2023 not only presents our best lineup ever,” Pickathon founder Zale Schoenborn said in a press release, “but now we understand the new Pickathon Neighborhoods even better, and we’re excited to refine all the details to make this year our most immersive experience to date.”
The weekend is packed with the likes of soul icon Lee Fields, folk duo Watchhouse, singer/songwriter Courtney Marie Andrews, Austin soul/R&B artist Jackie Venson, female-fronted “discodelic soul” from Brooklyn band Say She She, Canadian rapper TOBi, punk-jazz from New Orleans band Mike Dillon’s Punkadelic, hip-hop and electronic duo They Hate Change, psychedelic African rockers Orchestra Gold, reggae vibes from Pachyman, Chicago indie-rock trio Dehd, and punk and garage rock from Hermosillo, Mexico band Sgt. Papers.
There are a handful of stalwart Portland-based artists on the bill as well, including krautrockers Møtrik, garage and psych group the Shivas, and shoegaze/synthpop band WHIMZ.
Last year’s hot and dry return to Pendarvis Farm was the first since 2019, due to the pandemic, and saw the fest revamp the layout of stages into various themed neighborhoods, which drew audiences into shady areas during the heat of the day and out under the stars at night.
Check the vibe: Our Favorite Moments of Pickathon 2022
The return was not without hiccups, many unavoidable (the high-90s heat on some festival days) and some that Pickathon has obviously worked to improve upon. With the release of the 2023 early bird tickets, the fest revealed improvements to the parking situation, in the form of a new, much larger lot. Early Bird ticket sales are in motion and going fast, and there’s car camping, parking, and shuttles on sale now.
Check out the full lineup below:
FULL LINEUP:
Watchouse
Lee Fields
Dehd
Madison Cunningham
Vieux Farka Touré
Florist
W.I.T.C.H.
Wednesday
MonoNeon
Ocie Elliott
Butcher Brown
Yot Club
Courtney Marie Andrews
Imarhan
Say She She
MJ Lenderman
Madison McFerrin
The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys
They Hate Change
Andrew Marlin
Pachyman
Wine Lips
Nikki Nair
GA-20
Nick Shoulders
Wayne Graham
Mike Dillon’s Punkadelic!
Rich Ruth
The Altons
Thee Sinseers
Novalima
Logan Ledger
Meridian Brothers
TOBi
Emily Nenni
Mikaela Davis
Joe Rainey
Riddy Arman
The Mountain Grass Unit
The Kernal
Larry & Joe
Hooveriii
Gel
Jackie Venson
Nat Myers
Allison de Groot & Tatiana Hargreaves
Sgt. Papers
Orchestra Gold
WHIMZ
Sprig of That
The Shivas
MØTRIK
Pickathon 2023 takes place at Pendarvis Farm, 16581 SE Hagen, Happy Valley, Thurs Aug 3-Sun Aug 6, tickets here, all ages
