Project Pabst Festival Will Hit Portland September 26-28

The Portland music festival season just got busier. Pabst Brewing Company—makers of a little beer called “Blue Ribbon,” perhaps you’ve come across it—are launching a new music festival here in Portland. It’s called Project Pabst, and it’s taking place Friday, September 26 through Sunday, September 28.

The festival—which Pabst is producing with Superfly Presents (who also do Bonnaroo and Outside Lands)—is centered around two all-day shows on Saturday, Sept 27 and Sunday, September 28. Those will take place at Zidell Yards at the west side of the Ross Island Bridge, and the headliners for those shows will be Modest Mouse and Tears for Fears. The rest of the bills are equally diverse: GZA doing Liquid Swords, Rocket from the Crypt, Phosphorescent, and Milwaukee’s own Violent Femmes, especially fitting for a Pabst fest.

In addition to the two big outdoor shows, there will be a series of smaller club shows at various venues throughout Portland on the nights of Friday, September 26 and Saturday, September 27. Those are slated to take place at Ash Street Saloon, Dante’s, Mississippi Studios, the Wonder Ballroom, and the Crystal Ballroom, and performers include Guided by Voices, Constantines (yayy!!!!), Menomena, High on Fire, and lots of others.

The inaugural festival—hopefully the first of a recurring yearly event—is taking place in Portland for a very specific reason, according to Pabst. Apparently, we drink a lot of this Blue Ribbon beer in this town of ours. And they’re grateful. According to the press release:

“We wanted to create a festival as uniquely original as the city itself,” says Pabst Brewing Company’s CMO Dan McHugh. “Project Pabst is a love letter to Portland. The company wanted to do something for the city that has embraced it and has never wavered in its support.”

Tickets for the 21-and-over event are on sale today at the Project Pabst website. One dollar from each ticket goes to the Jeremy Wilson Foundation, which aids musicians in need of medical care.

Take a look at the festival’s full roster for the outdoor weekend shows:

Modest Mouse • Tears for Fears • The Violent Femmes • GZA performing Liquid Swords • Lord Huron • Rocket From the Crypt • Phosphorescent • Red Fang • Shabazz Palaces • The Thermals • Deap Vally • X Ambassadors • Speedy Ortiz • K. Flay • Guantanamo Baywatch • Grandparents

And here’s the lineup for the late-night club shows:

Guided By Voices • Constantines • High On Fire • Menomena • Surfer Blood • Pure Country Gold • Small Black • Craft Spells • Woolen Men • Summer Cannibals • Jacaszek • Christopher Willits • Greg Gives Peter Space • Rival Consoles • Stoneburner • Vektor • Lord Dying • Dead Conspiracy • Burials

[UPDATE] Ticket prices for the two daytime shows are insanely affordable, especially if you buy early. Right now tickets are $25 per day and $45 for both days; that will eventually rise to $35/day and $60/weekend. A full weekend pass gets you into both daytime shows plus all the evening club shows (capacity permitting) for $150, or you can buy individual tickets for specific nighttime shows, with prices ranging from $10 to 25. Unless you’re intent on show hopping, that’s probably the better deal.

Full press release after the jump,

PABST BREWING COMPANY AND SUPERFLY
ANNOUNCE THE INAUGURAL
“PROJECT PABST”

MAJOR WEEKEND-LONG EVENT TO TAKE PLACE
SEPTEMBER 26 – 28 IN PORTLAND, OREGON

MAIN EVENT TO TAKE PLACE AT ZIDELL YARDS
SATURDAY AND SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 27th AND 28th

NIGHT TIME SHOWS TO TAKE PLACE
FRIDAY AND SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 26th AND 27th

MAIN EVENT WILL FEATURE:
MODEST MOUSE, TEARS FOR FEARS, THE VIOLENT FEMMES, GZA (PERFORMING LIQUID SWORDS), LORD HURON, ROCKET FROM THE CRYPT, PHOSPHORESCENT, RED FANG, SHABAZZ PALACES AND MORE

NIGHT SHOWS WILL FEATURE:
GUIDED BY VOICES, CONSTANTINES, HIGH ON FIRE, MENOMENA,
SURFER BLOOD, PURE COUNTRY GOLD, SMALL BLACK AND MORE

TICKETS TO GO ON SALE TODAY JULY 29th VIA PROJECTPABST.COM

Pabst Brewing Company and Superfly are proud to introduce Project Pabst, an innovative celebration of Pabst and the city of Portland, OR, featuring a main festival and night shows comprised of music, entertainment, food and drink. The inaugural main event will take place September 27th and 28th on two stages over 10 acres in the restored Zidell Yards in the heart of the South Waterfront District. Modest Mouse, Tears For Fears, The Violent Femmes, GZA and Rocket From the Crypt are among the many artists who will perform. Fans must be over 21 to attend. The late-night show component of the festival will take place September 26th and 27th at venues to be announced soon. The night shows will feature: Guided By Voices, Constantines, High On Fire, Menomena, Surfer Blood, Pure Country Gold, Small Black and more. A complete list of the Project Pabst Festival lineup is below

Tickets will go on sale today July 29th via projectpabst.com. One dollar from every ticket will go to help the Jeremy Wilson Foundation, dedicated to providing financial assistance in times of medical crisis and to improving the overall well-being of individual musicians and their families.

“We wanted to create a festival as uniquely original as the city itself,” says Pabst Brewing Company’s CMO Dan McHugh. “Project Pabst is a love letter to Portland. The company wanted to do something for the city that has embraced it and has never wavered in its support.”

Project Pabst has found an ideal site at the Zidell Yards in Portland, where the Zidell family is building the city’s next great neighborhood in the once-industrial South Waterfront district on the Willamette River. Says Matt French, Managing Director, “In hosting Project Pabst as part of a series of exceptional outdoor events, the Zidell family continues to seed a dynamic neighborhood culture that will thrive as the Zidell Yards are redeveloped.”

To help them create the ideal multi-faceted festival experience Portland deserves, Pabst brought in Superfly, the renowned producers of such culture-defining events as Bonnaroo and Outside Lands. Superfly’s history of designing groundbreaking properties and cultivating them into becoming incomparable global phenomenons, coincided perfectly with Pabst’s remarkable vision as the largest American-owned brewer, which was subsequently established in 1844.

“We are very excited to be working with Pabst,” said Superfly’s Richard Goodstone. “They have a very unique approach to all they do, and their culture is very much aligned with how Superfly operates. We focus on adding dimension and tangibility to brand presence at our festivals, and Pabst has empowered us to bring that specific sensibility to Project Pabst.”

The unique strengths of these two companies using the backdrop of the beautiful waterfront in one of the greatest musical cities in the country is certain to make for an unforgettable weekend. The music programming will represent a wide range of genres, with major national headliners performing alongside exceptional emerging talent, making the event a substantial celebration of the established and the cutting edge. Local acts will also be featured prominently as the festival will represent Portland’s vibrant cultural community. The Portland flavor will also be seen in the festival’s concessions, featuring foods from local eateries.

McHugh concludes: “We wanted to treat this festival like a jukebox at midnight in some of our favorite Portland bars.”

With a seemingly endless selection of music and activities, Project Pabst is certain to provide a singular festival experience that will also serve as a beacon as it shines a light on the wonders of the Portland community.