It’s been a lifetime since PDX Pop Now! burst forth from its
electronic roots—a seemingly harmless email list thread—and
grew to a full-blown music festival that captures the fevered pulse of
Portland’s musical community. Back in 2004, stretching for three long
summer days at “Portland’s premier all-ages venue the Meow Meow,” the
festival seemed doomed to be crushed under the weight of its own
wishful thinking. There was no evidence that the demand would be
there—one day, maybe, but not three—plus nothing
illustrates the backward economics of underground music like the words
“free” and “all ages.” But people came then, and more importantly, they
still are coming, more and more every year.
The thousands that have attended PDX Pop Now! have witnessed a near
utopian glimpse of every single thing that is good and true about
Portland music. It’s inspirational to the point of being overwhelming,
and as the spotlight on this town’s music scene only intensifies on a
national—if not global—level, the festival gracefully rolls
with the punches, expanding with each passing year.
In the years following PPN!’s humble beginning, the always-evolving
music scene (for example, all three of 2004’s headliners have since
joined Meow Meow in that great local music graveyard in the sky) has
used the festival to groom and anoint tomorrow’s headliners today. Each
year seems to bring a new breakout act, a sort of coming-out party for
youthful bands to cross over to bigger and brighter things in front of
your very eyes. Last year, Blind Pilot went from “that one bicycle
band,” to something far greater in the course of their 30-minute
set.
Of course, PPN! itself is not immune to change. This year marks a
monumental transition for the nonprofit group: Once the dust settles on
this year’s festival, the final three founding board members (Ross
Beach, Greg Borenstein, and Mercury columnist Cary Clarke) will
step down from the organization. The last vestiges of the festival’s
initial development, they anchored the organization, were invaluable
components in all aspects of planning, acted as spokesmen, and
conducted countless other tasks in the name of PPN!
To depart at the peak of their popularity is not an easy task, as
Borenstein explains: “It’s definitely scary walking away from a project
that I—and many others—have worked so hard on, put so much
time into, and watched do so much good. That said, I’m really excited
about the people that are staying on and the possible new additions.”
He adds, “It’s not like any of us old board members are moving to
Antarctica; we’ll still be around to answer questions and help out with
advice if they need it. Most of all, I’m excited to see how PDX Pop
mutates and improves as the new board members make it their own.”