Why Pickathon 2015 Is A Festival Not To Be Missed

With the distinction of being an independent music festival Pickathon sets itself apart with it’s unique setting and layout. A Portland classic, the festival is seen as a gem of the Northwest indie music scene. With two sets per band over the weekend fans get to enjoy the fact that they won’t miss their favorite artists and can see some twice if they’d like. No running from stage to stage to see bands this weekend. The woodsy setting near Portland and creative stage setups combine to create a beautiful place to see live music.

Small festival with a big lineup

The festival provides an excellent lineup that is focused on alt and psychedelic rock while promoting a burgeoning indie rock scene. The independence of the festival also means that corporate interests are not forced upon you.

Some highlights from the lineup:

Heartless Bastards

The rock band from Austin are touring on the heels of their new album Restless Ones. The vocalizing of Erika Wennerstrom is both mesmerizing and powerful with a gnarled edge and the songs are heavy and vivacious.

FRIDAY, July 31 : 09:20 pm – 10:30 pm
Woods Stage

SUNDAY, August 2 : 08:00 pm – 09:00 pm
Galaxy Barn

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Ty Segall

More psych-garage rock to set the tone for the weekend, Ty Segall’s recent release Manipulator is stylistic and full of raging guitar rifts.

SATURDAY, August 1 : 09:40 pm – 10:40 pm
Galaxy Barn

SUNDAY, August 2 : 02:40 pm – 03:40 pm
Woods Stage

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William Tyler

William is a skilled and artistic musician, and his music touches on the complexities of being human His guitar picking is also beautiful and hard to ignore.

FRIDAY, July 31 : 05:10 pm – 06:10 pm
Tree Line Stage

SATURDAY, August 1 : 06:40 pm – 07:40 pm
Lucky Barn

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Hiss Golden Messenger

The country rock ensemble plays songs that are ripe with devastation and grief while still being catchy and easy to digest. Songwriter MC Taylor writes songs of immense spiritual grace.

FRIDAY, July 31 : 10:50 pm – 11:50 pm
Starlight Stage

SUNDAY, August 2 : 01:00 pm – 02:00 pm
Woods Stage

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Israel Nash

A psychedelic rocker who these days hails from a small Hill Country town just outside of Austin, Israel Nash has an amazing live group featuring his signature “desert folklore” sound with steel guitars and a brash, bold vocal style unlike anything you’ve heard before.

SATURDAY, August 1 : 11:00 pm – 12:00 am
Starlight Stage

SUNDAY, August 2 : 08:40 pm – 09:40 pm
Tree Line Stage

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Forest Setting

In case you’re tired of camping in big fields or in the high desert with the sun baking your tent before you even get a chance to sleep off your hangover, Pickathon takes place in the woods just outside of Portland where the temperature is ideal and the camping is perfect. The festival grounds are lush and clean so you won’t need a dirt mask. Trees provide ample shade in the campgrounds and in the festival grounds where the creative stage designs seem to sprout out of the forest.

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Renewability

Pickathon eliminates plastic cups, plates and utensils by encouraging attendees to bring their own reusable supplies and providing a place for them to be cleaned. Festival-goers can also purchase a token that can be used to receive plates and utensils when ordering food from vendors and then returned to dishwashing areas in order to ensure that zero waste is being generated by food vendors as well. This system is a new approach to the mass amounts of waste that festivals typically create. The Galaxy stage has a permanent solar array that offsets all of the power used for that stage plus all of the power used by the vendors. They also have three portable solar generators that power all of the trail lighting and an area used for cell phone recharging. The fest even has a team of volunteers that collects recycling and compost. As if they already don’t do enough to offset the festival’s carbon footprint, they provide shuttles from Portland and Clackamas making it both easy and green to get to the festival grounds.