Confirming rumors, the Willamette Week announced today that the annual music festival they run, MusicfestNW, is merging with Project Pabst, the fierce, lager-fueled upstart festival that appeared on the scene in 2014. This consolidation eliminates a lot of overlap and competition between the two festivals, which both took place outdoors on the Portland waterfront over different summer weekends. In 2014, MFNW changed their format from a multi-day, multi-venue festival amid citywide criticism, and while this merger doesn’t seem to indicate it will return to the original format, it’s to be expected that Project Pabst’s night shows—and MFNW’s handful of night shows as well—will be part of the 2016 model. The main event is scheduled to take place at Waterfront Park during a to-be-determined weekend in August.
At this time the new name for the festival is not confirmed, but all rumors indicate Superfly Presents—the entertainment company that booked the past two years of Project Pabst and is also responsible for Tennessee’s Bonnaroo festival and San Francisco’s Outside Lands—will not be involved. With this year’s MusicfestNW booker, Matthew McLean, back at Monqui, it remains to be seen who will be booking the new iteration of the festival. However, unconfirmed rumors have suggested that Trevor Solomon, MFNW’s longtime booker up until 2014, could possibly be returning to the fold.
Stay tuned for more on the new, double-sized festival, which I have decided to call ProjaMusaPabstFestNorthwest. It rolls off the tongue.
Corporate overlords at WW say, “Information is sparse right now, but we do know that the festival will take place over two days in August at Waterfront Park.” PP did not merge with MFNW, MFNW stole PBR as a sponsor and they’ll fold the little guy.
Let’s see if they screw it up olde school or new school Portland style. Because they sure did a number on the MFNW format.
Twice the “meh”