July 28-30, 2006. Free. All-Ages.
Tons of Portland bands.
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Give the Gift of PDX Music this Holiday!

11:23PM on Thursday December 07, 2006

Just a suggestion for those with some Christmas shopping left to do: the PDX Pop Now! 2006 music compilation and PDX Popped! – a DVD of nine electrifying performances from the 2005 festival – make the perfect (and cheap!) stocking stuffers for the music lovers on your list.

But don’t take our word for it. Here’s what Luciana Lopez, music editor for the Oregonian, has to say about the comp, one of her top picks in the recent “Wired Gift Guide” from the Oregonian A&E:

“The notes to this double disc [comp], celebrating the annual music festival, read like a Who’s Who of Portland music. Colin Meloy of Decembersists fame does his version of folk ballad “Barbara Allen,” while The Blow chip in the spare electro-pop “Babay (Eat a Critter, Feel Its Wrath).” Hip-hop is well represented, with Vursatyl of the Lifesavas, Ms. Su’ad and Cool Nutz. Though the wide range of contributors means the discs don’t have much of a unifying aesthetic, what is consistent is the quality throughout.”

Produced by local DIY filmmakers Skratch Films, PDX Popped! captures Viva Voce, Nice Nice, The Blow, Talkdemonic, and five other acts tearing up the Loveland’s stage at the Second Annual PDX Pop Now! Music Festival and makes an ideal companion gift to the compilation.

PDX Pop Now! 2006 retails for a mere $7, while PDX Popped! goes for $8-$9. Both are available at local independent record stores and select retail outlets including:

Everyday Music (Downtown, Eastside, and Beaverton)
Music Millenium (Northwest and Eastside)
Jackpot Records (Downtown and Hawthorne)
Ozone Records 03
Q is for Choir
Reverb Music
Infringement Records
Stumptown Coffee (Downtown)
Hot Lips Pizza

Pardon Our Dust

05:17PM on Friday September 29, 2006

So, with the invaluable help of our tech guru Chris Anderson and David Gibbons, the admin over at our generous hosting sponsor, Planet Argon, we’ve finally managed to get this here website back up and running.

There are still plenty of broken things around, so watch your step, but we’re doing our best to get things back to where they were.

We’re also just starting up our efforts for 2007, so keep an eye on this space to find out about all the exciting things we’ve got planned and to find out how you can get involved!

Stream or Download PDX Pop Now! 2006:
Day 1!

05:17PM on Friday September 29, 2006

Thanks to our good friends at Tables Turned, an incredible Portland-based podcasting/digital broadcasting company, you can now relive (or maybe live for the first time) the amazing first day of our third annual music fest by streaming or downloading podcasts of the performances. Sets by Stars of Track and Field and Horse Feathers, sadly, are unavailable, but we can offer you choice appearances by the likes of Viva Voce, Old Time Relijun, Siren’s Echo, Small Sails, and the other stellar bands who kicked off this year’s festival.

PDX Pop Now! Day 1: Stream

PDX Pop Now! Day 1: Podcasts

Stay tuned for music from Day 2 and Day 3, as well as video clips from all three days of the festival.

Thank You, Artists and Attendees of
PDX Pop Now! 2006!

05:17PM on Friday September 29, 2006

What a weekend! And it’s one that wouldn’t have been possible without the 48 Portland acts which generously donated their time and talents to the festival and the hundreds of music lovers – and the musically curious – who turned out to see them.

Want to know what you missed, you who weren’t fortunate enough to make it to this year’s fest? Check out the play-by-play action from Greg Borenstein, the PDX Pop Now! organizer who “blogged the shit out of” the event for Urban Honking. Also peep the Oregonian review, and Willamette Week’s Local Cut recap.

You’ll see that it was an almost overwhelming exhibition of PDX music, where for many of us the 30 minutes given each artist felt like too little from too many of them. But we still want to deeply thank all the artists for those 1/2 hours. Thank you for leaving us wanting more. Thank you for playing even though you had to work that day, for swapping shifts so you could play, and for even taking the day off altogether so you could play our festival. We appreciate it.

We also appreciate all the fans who turned out to lend their ears and hearts to some of the best and brightest in Portland music. We sincerely hope you had a wonderful time. We hope you danced, picked up some albums, made some new musical discoveries, and made a mental commitment to check out some of these bands again at the next available opportunity. Thank you for coming, and we were delighted to have you.

Stay tuned for updates on PDX Pop Now! 2007.

The Final Day! + Stream Online!

05:17PM on Friday September 29, 2006

We’re now on Day 3, the last leg of the musical marathon that is PDX Pop Now! 2006, and what a thrilling home stretch it is. We’ll be closing things down with one helluva dance party, courtesy of Ohmega Watts, Copy, Strategy, and Cool Nutz; but before then, catch Evolutionary Jass Band, White Rainbow, Alan Singley & Pants Machine, and the dozen other awesome Portland artists lined up just for you.

ALSO! We probably (OK, definitely) should have told you this on Friday, but PRA Radio, KPSU, and Tables Turned have been bringing you a real-time stream of the festival all weekend, and will continue to do so today. You can stream the festival LIVE right here. Pretty amazing, right? Many thanks to our radio friends for providing this awesome service.

Now, on with the show!

Schedule: Sunday, July 30

Upstairs
12:00-12:30: Sleepyhead
12:40-1:10: Yacht
1:20-1:50: I Can Lick Any Sonofabitch in the House

Downstairs
2:05-2:35: Quiet Countries
2:45-3:15: Garland Ray Project
3:25-3:55: The Whips and Whales

Upstairs
4:10-4:40: Treva Jackson
4:50-5:20: Tea for Julie
5:30-6:00: Alan Singley & Pants Machine

Downstairs
6:15-6:45: Old Growth
6:55-7:25: White Rainbow
7:35-8:05: Evolutionary Jass Band

Upstairs
8:20-8:50: The Swallows
9:00-9:30: Wilding
9:40-10:10: Wet Confetti

Downstairs
10:25-10:55: Cool Nutz
11:05-11:35: Strategy
11:45-12:15: Copy
12:25-12:55: Ohmega Watts

See you there, and remember, wear your dancing shoes.

In the Thick of It!

05:17PM on Friday September 29, 2006

We’re now on to Day 2 of PDX Pop Now! 2006, sort of the boisterous middle child of the festival. Look forward to awesome sets from 50 Foot Wave, Dahlia, Fleshtone, Nice Nice, ...worms, Parenthetical Girls, Alela Diane, and a dozen more of Portland’s finest musical artists.

Schedule: Saturday, July 29

Upstairs
12:00-12:30: Jr. Private Detective
12:40-1:10: The Upsidedown
1:20-1:50: Boy Eats Drum Machine

Downstairs
2:05-2:35: The Conductor
2:45-3:15: Holcombe Waller
3:25-3:55: The Dimes

Upstairs
4:10-4:40: Alela Diane
4:50-5:20: Thanksgiving
5:30-6:00: Parenthetical Girls

Downstairs
6:15-6:45: Nice Nice
6:55-7:25: ...worms
7:35-8:05: Strength

Upstairs
8:20-8:50: Guau Guau
9:00-9:30: Reverse Dotty and the Candy Cane Shivs
9:40-10:10: Dykeritz

Downstairs
10:25-10:55: The Shaky Hands
11:05-11:35: Fleshtone
11:45-12:15: Dahlia
12:25-12:55: 50 Foot Wave

AFTERPARTY: Click here for the flyer!

And check our schedule page to see what’s in store for Sunday, the final day of the festival.

Let the Pop Begin!

05:17PM on Friday September 29, 2006

PDX Pop Now! 2006 begins tonight, 6:30 p.m., at Loveland. And what does Day 1 hold in store? Just Viva Voce, Old Time Relijun, Siren’s Echo, Please Step Out of the Vehicle, and six other amazing PDX acts, that’s all.

Schedule: Friday, July 28

Downstairs
6:30-7:00: Stars of Track and Field
7:10-7:40: Horse Feathers
7:50-8:20: Small Sails

Upstairs
8:35-9:05: Dramady
9:15-9:45: We’re From Japan!
9:55-10:25: Sexton Blake

Downstairs
10:40-11:10: Please Step Out of the Vehicle
11:20-11:50: Siren’s Echo
12:00-12:30: Old Time Relijun
12:40-1:10: Viva Voce

Don’t forget to check our schedule page to see what Saturday and Sunday will bring, and we’ll see you at Loveland!

One More Day!

05:17PM on Friday September 29, 2006

Just one day more to go, then we kick off PDX Pop Now! 2006, the city’s premier festival of Portland music. Remember: it’s FREE; it’s ALL-AGES; and it’s absolutely the best chance you’ll have all year to catch in one spot and over one mind-blowing weekend an insane volume of some of the best music in town. Visit the schedule page to view the complete lineup.

To give you a small taste of what you’re in for, check out this video footage of some awesome performances from last year’s festival (taken from PDX Popped! – a DVD by Skratch Films of 9 musical highlights from PDX Pop Now! 2005, which will also be available for a mere $8 at this year’s fest):

The Blow – Knowing the Things that I Know

Nice Nice – One Hit

Viva Voce – Alive with Pleasure

And while you’re waiting this last day, go pick up PDX Pop Now! 2006, our new double-disc compilation of Portland music, which features exclusive tracks from Stephen Malkmus, The Thermals, Viva Voce, Menomena, Talkdemonic, Tara Jane O’Neil, and Copy. It’s now in stores, and it’s still only $7.

PDX Popped! DVD Screening - July 26@
Holocene; CD Compilation Now in Stores

05:17PM on Friday September 29, 2006

Want to relive some of the incredible, sweat-drenched moments from last year’s festival? Soon you’ll be able to with the release of PDX Popped!, a DVD of 9 musical highlights from PDX Pop Now! 2005, including performances by Talkdemonic, Viva Voce, Nice Nice, and The Blow. Say thanks to on-the-spot DIY filmmaking crew Skratch Films for producing this awesome visual record.

Holocene will host a special screening of the DVD, which will be available for a mere $8 at this year’s festival.

Wednesday, July 26
Holocene
1001 SE Morrison St.
8:30 p.m. doors | 9 p.m. screening
$4 | 21+

Following the screening comes a great show wth:
Caves
The Tasteful Nudes
Valediction

(Only the screening is a PDX Pop Now! event)

PDX Popped!

1. Blitzen Trapper – Lux & Royal Shopper
2. Viva Voce – Alive with Pleasure
3. The Blow – Knowing the Things that I Know
4. Norfolk & Western – Porch Destruction
5. Nice Nice – One Hit
6. Wow & Flutter – Bringin’ Down the Hizzouse
7. Science of Yabra – The Voice is the Tax
8. The Planet The – Dreams of Your Co-Workers
9. Talkdemonic – Indian Angel

Oh, and another thing: PDX Pop Now! 2006, our new compilation – featuring exclusive tracks from Stephen Malkmus, The Thermals, Viva Voce, Menomena, Talkdemonic, Tara Jane O’Neil, and Copy – is now in stores, and it’s still only $7. Go pick up your copy.

50 Foot Wave, Viva Voce, Ohmega Watts Lead Festival Lineup

05:17PM on Friday September 29, 2006

Except for the man who burst in to my work over the weekend demanding to know who’ll be playing the festival (true story), you’ve all been incredibly patient waiting for this year’s lineup. And you shall wait no more.

Led by 50 Foot Wave (fronted by recent transplant Kristin Hersh), the ridiculously awesome duo Viva Voce, and young hip hop lion Ohmega Watts, the bill features a handful of returning favorites and whole lot of exciting talents making their first PDX Pop Now! appearances. Check out the 40+ acts we’ve lined up so far here.

PDX Pop Now! & Portland City Hall Team on Outdoor Show

05:17PM on Friday September 29, 2006

PDX Pop Now! and Portland City Hall team up to bring local rock dowtown – right in front of City Hall itself. This special, early-evening show – which Mayor Tom Potter will kick off with welcoming comments – features three of the Rose City’s brightest indie stars: beloved P-Town all-stars Quasi, The Minders, who leave the next day for a national tour behind their awesome new album, and the ever-rad Pseudosix. The event also serves as a sort of an early launch for our 3rd Annual PDX Pop Now! Portland Music Festival (July 28-30, at Loveland).

PDX Pop Now! and Portland City Hall Present:

QuasiThe MindersPseudosix

Wednesday, July 19, 2006
Outdoors in front of Portland City Hall
1221 SW Fourth Ave.
5:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
FREEALL AGES

Hope to see you there.

Compilation Available Only at Release Party, General Release Delayed

05:17PM on Friday September 29, 2006

Due to an unfortunate error on the part of PDX Pop Now! the fantastic track “Aftershocks + Afterthoughts” by Small Sails was omitted from the first pressing of PDX Pop Now! 2006, our third compilation. CDs from this first pressing will be available this week at our July 13 compilation release party (8 p.m., Berbati’s Pan)—and only at our release party, not in stores as we had hoped.

Those people who attend this event ($5, a copy of the comp included) will be the only ones with access to the album until the corrected version arrives in stores the week of the festival. Those who purchase the album at the party and wish to exchange it for a corrected copy will be able to do so at the festival. Our humblest apologies to Small Sails and to everyone awaiting the compilation.

In the meantime, please enjoy:
Small Sails – Aftershocks + Afterthoughts

Compilation Release Party - July 13 - Berbati's Pan

05:17PM on Friday September 29, 2006

Come help us celebrate as we unleash our third PDX Pop Now! compilation on the world. We’ve got a great evening planned: incredible pop music of the electro- (The Snuggle Ups), symphonic- (Antlerand), and folk- (Per Se) varieties; some Class of ‘79 punk likely from alum Dave Allen (Gang of Four), who’ll be spinning between sets; and your chance to win some awesome prizes in our raffle.

PDX Pop Now! 2006 Compilation Release Party
Thursday, July 13, 2006
Berbati’s Pan
231 SW Ankeny St.
(503) 248-4579
8 p.m.
$5 (compilation included with admission)
21+

Music by:
The Snuggles Ups
Antlerand
Per Se
DJ Dave Allen

Hope to see you there.

PDX Pop Now! 2006 Listening Party - July 6 - Adidas in the Pearl

05:17PM on Friday September 29, 2006

Want to be the first on your block to hear the new PDX Pop Now! compilation, the one with brand-spanking-new music from Stephen Malkmus, The Thermals, Menomena, Vursatyl (from Lifesavas), Viva Voce, Talkdemonic, and other Portland favorites? Come check out the world premier of our 2006 comp when Adidas in the Pearl hosts a pre-release listening party this coming First Thursday. PDX hip hop heavyweight Ohmega Watts will be DJing the event.

PDX Pop Now! 2006 Listening Party
Thursday, July 6, 2006
Adidas Originals Portland
1039 NW Couch
(503) 223-3109
6-9 p.m.

Tracklist play begins at 7 p.m.
Beats by DJ Ohmega Watts
Beer by Kona

Look for PDX Pop Now! 2006 in stores July 11, and check back for details on the official CD release party.

Volunteer Meeting: June 22, Powell's

05:17PM on Friday September 29, 2006

People of Portland, ask not what PDX Pop Now! can do for you, but … but you can probably guess the remainder. It’s not too late for you to get involved and help us put on our third festival (July 28-30, at Loveland). All kinds of volunteer opportunites await, and here’s your chance to find out what they are:

PDX Pop Now! Volunteer Meeting
Thursday, June 22. 6:00pm
World Cup Coffee And Tea (Inside Powell’s Bookstore)
1005 W. Burnside

If you have any questions, or perhaps can’t make this event but would still like to help out, please contact us.

PDX Pop Now! 2006 Compilation

05:17PM on Friday September 29, 2006

We’re pleased to announce the tracklisting for the PDX Pop Now! 2006 compilation. I’m not going to, you know, actually include it here, so those of you who can’t wait, please, go ahead, check it out.

For those of you still with me: we’d like to warmly thank the more than 350 artists who submitted their music for consideration this year. Please continue visiting and we’ll keep you updated on the compilation’s release and the cd release party. Now, go check out the tracklisting.

Requests Closed

05:17PM on Friday September 29, 2006

Requests are now closed for the 2006 festival. In the past month we received almost 8000 requests for more than 900 bands. Wow, is there a lot of music in Portland!

Thanks to everyone who took the time to tell us about the music they want to see. We’ll be working with all our might to get as much of it as possible booked for this year’s festival, which, in case you’ve forgotten, will be held July 28-30th, only 50 days from now.

Man, that’s soon. We better get to work…

June 6: Last Day to Make Festival Requests

05:17PM on Friday September 29, 2006

You have but one more week to tell us which bands you’d like to see play the 2006 PDX Pop Now! Festival (July 28-30 at Loveland). We’ll stop taking requests after June 6, so don’t procrastinate, head on over to our requests page and make your picks from our ballooning list of PDX artists or write in your favorites and tell us what kind of music they perform. Should you have any questions about the requests process, please visit our handy FAQ

Also, don’t forget to check out our awesome PDX Pop Now! music player, featuring nearly all of the tracks submitted for this year’s compilation. Happy listening, and thank you all for your requests.

We're Now Taking Requests for 2006 Festival

05:17PM on Thursday May 04, 2006

We have a festival to put on, and now’s the time for you, our fellow Portland music fans, to pitch in. Tell us who you would like to see perform at the Third Annual PDX Pop Now! Festival, to be held July 28-30 at The Loveland. That’s three days—and a lot of slots to fill—so help us do some of the legwork; hey, we’ll be the first to admit we don’t know everything that’s happening musically around town.

Visit our new requests page and browse the list of acts already up for consideration. Make some additions of your own. Share with us your dreams of seeing the city’s biggest marquis names participate or clue us in to less-recognized bands to whom we ought to pay some attention. You can even tell us what kind of music they play and help us schedule a diverse lineup. You can also hear musical samples from many of the acts on our list and perhaps make some musical discoveries of your own.

No guarantees that we’ll be able to get all of your favorites, but every request does help us learn more about what’s going on with PDX music these days. So yes, every request counts. Make yours now.

Festival Dates and Venue Announced

09:21PM on Tuesday May 02, 2006

We are proud to announce that the Third Annual PDX Pop Now! festival of Portland music will be held July 28-30th at The Loveland! This will be the third consecutive year in which The Loveland has been home to the festival. So, mark it on your schedules and start getting ready!

In other news, submissions for this year’s Compilation are still open through the end of the month, so be sure to get your track in on time (see February 2nd’s announcement below for details).

And we want to send out a big thank you to all the great new volunteers who came to last night’s open meeting. We’ll be getting in touch soon. If you couldn’t make the meeting, but are interested in helping out with this year’s festival, send us an email at info@pdxpopnow.com. Anyone and everyone are welcome.

Submissions Now Open for the 2006 Compilation CD

02:02AM on Tuesday May 02, 2006

To give all of you procrastination-prone musicians in Portland another shot at getting your music considered for the 2006 PDX Pop Now! compilation CD, we’ve decided to extend the submission deadline another two weeks. So, quit twiddling your thumbs and submit your music. Send a CD-quality original track along with a filled-out copy of our Submission Form to:

PDX Pop Now!
PO Box 14773
Portland OR 97293

And tell all your music-playing friends to do the same. Be sure to get those submissions in by April 14th. We won’t be extending the deadline again. Good luck!