Stirring up dust in the pit at MFNW on the waterfront in 2014—click to see a whole gallery of photos by Autumn AndelYes, it's true: It's 2016 and MusicfestNW has merged with Portland's favorite imported hipster swill to become MusicfestNW presents Project Pabst. And while the PBR gods have ceded their gravely turf between bridges (Zidell Yards) in favor of a slightly more central and much more trafficked patch of dusty PDX grass (still between bridges and also along the water at Tom McCall), this summer marks the conjoining of one of Portland's longest-running indie festivals with its newest.
While the lineup is stacked with artists that span genres and generations, the biggest bummer is for the kiddos: The event is now 21-and-over-only. Makes sense with all the koozie'd, unicorn'd PBR tallboys that'll be freely floating around, but it's still a loss that stings for an underserved population in PDX's music scene.
With such a proliferation of festivals every single weekend this summer, the combination of efforts from these two juggernauts should expectantly bring a better festival, but definitely one that's specifically geared towards millennials and Gen Xers (thanks in no small part to the age restriction). You can also expect art and games on the fest grounds with the return of the PBRcade (a large air-conditioned tent with a bar and free ‘80s arcade games), graffiti walls and PBR Wax (where you can cut your own song live to vinyl).
Peep the full lineup below featuring some strong PDX talent (err, ex-PDX) alongside '80s icons and psych rock's best of the best.
And seeing as the music ends by 10pm each night, you can also look forward to some more (hopefully all-ages) club shows (plus comedy) at various venues around town from August 25 to 28—it'll all be announced soon!
Saturday, August 27
Duran Duran
Ice Cube
Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats
Starfucker
A$AP Ferg
Andrew W.K.
Lizzo
The Coathangers
Kyle Craft
Sunday, August 28
Tame Impala
Ween
Drive Like Jehu
Unknown Mortal Orchestra
Parquet Courts
Sheer Mag
Hop Along
Diarrhea Planet
Tenement
