It’s that time again, Portland: The 25th annual Pickathon music festival is upon us! Chances are, if you’ve held court with any of Portland’s many, many music nerds and concert junkies, you’ve likely learned a great many things about Pendarvis Farm’s four-day, genre-agnostic blowout.
Trying to describe Pickathon to people who haven’t been is tough, making you sound as though you’ve just woken up from a beautiful fever dream. It’s a festival at which the biggest bands two years from now get billed to play two different sets in barns, and in the woods, and on ornately designed stages—all surrounded by an idyllic, 80-acre farm in Happy Valley, Oregon.
If you’re new to the festival, the whole thing can seem overwhelming. But don’t worry, we’ve been to the farm a few times! So before you hop in your car or on the Pickathon shuttle, take a peek at our (not-comprehensive-in-the-least) guide to camping advice, stage recommendations, and a taste of what makes Pickathon the best festival on Earth.
What is Pickathon?
Pickathon is the kind of festival that makes you hastily reassure your friends, “it’s not like other festivals,” because it’s actually closer to a perfect summer camp experience. You head out to the woods, all of your friends are there (even the ones you really only see in this one specific setting), and you’re going to have to pee in a Honey Bucket. What’s giving summer camp+ is the festival’s minimal ecological footprint, the food selection is immense, fellow attendees are immeasurably friendly, and for 12 hours a day, you’re surrounded by a bounty of bands you may have never heard before—even better, they’re all playing two sets!
That’s Pickathon—what started as a wish and a dream of the festival's founder, Zale Schoenborn, has (mostly) outgrown its bluegrass roots, turning into an artistic free-for-all that’s as comfortable hosting Yo La Tengo and Tyler Childers, as it is giving you Tuvan throat singers and a Danish band performing a bespoke score for a 100-year-old silent cartoon.
At Pickathon you won't be drinking $20 beers, getting blinded by towering LED displays, or tripping over mountains of discarded plastic cups and empty beer cans. Rather, here you'll make lifelong friends, discovering new favorite artists you’d never heard before. If that all sounds silly to you, just wait and see how you feel after you’ve experienced it.
Who should I see?
That’s a very personal question, buy us a Brew Dr. Kombucha first! Like any festival, the routes you can take while exploring the lineup are endless. Unlike most festivals, you can let vibes and serendipity take hold, steering you toward the Pickathon experience you’re meant to have. Luckily for those of us who love a list, the festival built a series of playlists available to help guide your festival decisions. And for those of us who love being told what to do, the Mercury pulled together a list of 15 acts not to miss to help influence your festival decisions.
When all else fails, listen to your gut. Get comfortable asking people on the farm one simple question: “What have you seen and loved so far?” Almost every act performs twice, so you can always catch their next set.
What are the stages like?
The seven main stages of Pickathon are each a little different—from the simple sit-down atmosphere of Lucky Barn (where you’ll find bands playing songs and getting interviewed by a local DJ or writer), to the largesse of the Paddock and Cherry Hill stages (the de facto “headliner” stages).
Is there a best stage? That’s an impossible question to answer, and after you’ve experienced the festival you’ll understand why. We’d need to double the word count of this article to effectively wax poetic about just how magical the Woods Stage can be, especially when you leave it behind to go watch an artist in Galaxy Barn whip their crowd into a frenzy at 1am.
Fun fact: This year, the Paddock Stage was designed by ZGF Architecture and Hoffman Construction, whose last collaboration was the remarkable transformation of Portland International Airport—not bad!
Should I camp out?
There is no wrong way to do Pickathon—going home every night is entirely valid, and probably the most sane choice. However, if you want the full experience, camping is a must. Will you sleep like a baby, or will your neighbors throw a giant party? Yes! When you immerse yourself in “Pickathon World" for four days, it truly does begin to feel like the best summer camp of your dreams. Plus, camping is the only permissible excuse for eating Pine State Biscuits in public while wearing flannel pajama bottoms.
If you do camp out, there’s an outstanding gear drop service that’ll take all your heavy gear up the mountain for you. It might take a minute for it to be dropped off, giving you ample time to get comfortable with the festival grounds.
Okay, but what about the food?
That’s the great news: Not only is all the food available at Pickathon drool-worthy, it’s also emblematic of what makes this festival different. Rather than serving everything on paper plates and in plastic cups destined for hundreds of years in a landfill, Pickathon will sell you a token. A token that can then be exchanged for a bamboo plate-bowl hybrid to use while eating. Once you’re done eating, the dirty bamboo plate-bowl can then be returned for another token—thus, we eat our food with joy, and drink our wine with a happy heart, for Pickathon approves of this!
But what you should put on that plate is yet another personal question. Much like the lineup, there are no wrong answers—the açai bowls from Carioca Bowls are just as dynamite of a Saturday morning breakfast as that Veggie Reggie Deluxe you were eating in your pajamas over there. Or maybe you’re the kind of hungry that only teriyaki chicken and mac salad from Ate Oh Ate can satiate? Only do yourself a favor, and indulge in the simple comfort of a quesadilla by Poblano.
What gear should I bring?
The list of must-haves for a weekend at Pickathon varies based on the experience you seek. If you’re camping, consider bringing pruning shears and a shovel, along with a garbage bag to make sure you don’t leave any trash out in the woods around Pendarvis Farm.
A number of things are universal: comfortable and supportive shoes, sunscreen, earplugs, nasal spray (to help combat the Pendarvis dust), wet wipes (see again: dust), and a healthy appetite for artistic discovery. Oh, and a water bottle. Always a water bottle!
Read the Mercury's Top 15 Bands to see at Pickathon 2025.
