PDX Pop Now! is a local annual music festival held in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populou ...

, and a 100% volunteer-run registered 501(c)(3)

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

organization that organizes and promotes the festival event. It consists of a two-disc compilation released in spring; a multi-day, free, all-ages music festival in the summer; and school and community outreach programs throughout the year. The organization and the event are dedicated to "celebrating, promoting, and enhancing Portland’s vital and diverse

music community A music community is a group of people involved in a given type of music. Typically such a community has an informal, supportive structure. In the past such groups have typically developed within a town or school, where the members can meet physic ...

." The festival was first held in 2004, and has occurred every year since that time.

History

PDX Pop Now! originated from a discussion on PDX Pop, Portland Indiepop Mailing list, a long running

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for Portland musicians, fans, and writers interested in discussing the local music scene. On Jan 15th, 2004 Kell Dockham started a question about the sense of true unity in Portland music scene which ignited and inspired PDX Pop list members to organize a festival to celebrate local music. After two initial meetings, on Feb 3rd, 2004, Joshua Kirby sent out a meeting note to the PDX Pop list and pronounced the working title "PDX Pop Now", and thus a festival was born. This is how one e-email became a music festival. From then on members of the PDX Pop list formed their own PDX POP Now! board and committee, and worked toward organizing the first PDX Pop Now! music festival, which was held July 9–July 11 at Meow Meow, a music venue on Portland's industrial east side. In support of the large number of

underage In law, a minor is someone under a certain age, usually the age of majority, which demarcates an underage individual from legal adulthood. The age of majority depends upon jurisdiction and application, but it is commonly 18. ''Minor'' may also ...

fans, the organizers made the conscious decision to open the festival up to all ages. To prevent other barriers to attendance, they made a similar dedication to keep festival admission free of charge and to hold it at venues close to public transportation routes. To fund the festival, organizers curated a two-disc local music compilation. Subsequent festivals were held in 2005 and 2006 at Loveland, and in 2007 at AudioCinema. 2005, 2006, and 2007 also brought additional music compilations, for which the organization has received considerable attention from the media. Since 2014 the festival has been held under the Hawthorne Bridge in Southeast Portland. The festival was cancelled for live events, though it went virtual in 2020.

Musician support

A number of notable Portland musical acts have appeared on the PDX Pop Now! compilation or at the festival, including

50 Foot Wave 50FOOTWAVE is an American alternative rock band, formed in 2003. The band is fronted by Kristin Hersh, who writes the group's songs with collaborative efforts from the other group members in composing and arranging the music. The group's name is ...

Alan Singley and Pants Machine Alan Singley and Pants Machine is an Indie rock band from Portland, Oregon, made up of Alan Singley, Gus Elg, Leb Borgerson, and Scott Hayden. Alan Singley and Pants Machine is a fixture of the Portland, Oregon independent music scene. They've b ...

Blitzen Trapper Blitzen Trapper is a Portland, Oregon-based experimental country/folk/rock band associated with Sub Pop Records, Vagrant Records and Lojinx. Formed in 2000, the band currently operates as a quintet, with Eric Earley (guitar/harmonica/vocals/keybo ...

The Blow The Blow is an American electro pop band, comprising Khaela Maricich and Melissa Dyne. Maricich and Dyne write, compose, produce and perform all the music. It was formed as a solo project by Maricich in 2002, and she was joined by Jona Bechtol ...

The Decemberists The Decemberists are an American indie rock band from Portland, Oregon. The band consists of Colin Meloy (lead vocals, guitar, principal songwriter), Chris Funk (guitar, multi-instrumentalist), Jenny Conlee (piano, keyboards, accordion), N ...

The Helio Sequence The Helio Sequence is an American indie rock duo from Beaverton, Oregon, signed to Sub Pop. The band consists of Brandon Summers on vocals and guitars and Benjamin Weikel on drums and keyboards. History Summers and Weikel formed The Helio Seque ...

, Hockey (band),

Lifesavas Lifesavas is a hip hop group from Portland, Oregon. Their style exhibits tag-team rhymes, matter-of-fact storytelling and a soulful production. The emcee's styles and song writing skills are showcased in the arrangements of a funky collection o ...

, M.Ward,

Menomena Menomena is an indie rock band from Portland, Oregon, United States, made up of Justin Harris and Danny Seim. Both members of the band share singing duties and frequently swap instruments while recording. In concert, Seim plays drums, while Ha ...

Mirah Mirah (born Mirah Yom Tov Zeitlyn) is an American musician and songwriter based in Brooklyn, New York. After getting her start in the music scene of Olympia, Washington in the late 1990s, she released a number of well-received solo albums on K ...

Quasi Quasi (phonetics 'kwa - zee') is an American indie rock band formed in Portland, Oregon in 1993 by former spouses Sam Coomes (vocals, guitar, rocksichord, various keyboards, bass) and Janet Weiss (vocals and drums). Joanna Bolme performed ...

Sleater-Kinney Sleater-Kinney ( ) is an American rock band that formed in Olympia, Washington, in 1994. The band's current lineup features Corin Tucker (vocals and guitar) and Carrie Brownstein (guitar and vocals), following the departure of longtime memb ...

The Shins The Shins is an American indie rock band formed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1996. The band is the project of singer-songwriter James Mercer, who has served as the band's sole constant member throughout numerous line-up changes. The band's c ...

, The Shaky Hands, and

The Thermals ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in E ...

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official site for PDX Pop Now!Portland IndiePop Mailing List
Music festivals in Oregon Festivals in Portland, Oregon 2004 establishments in Oregon Annual events in Portland, Oregon Music festivals established in 2004