Pickathon Festival Announces Initial 2019 Lineup
Saving Country Music’s home festival, and the place where Sturgill Simpson was discovered, a.k.a. the Pickathon Festival just outside of Portland, OR has just announced their initial 2019 lineup, and it includes a lot of worthy names from the country and roots world and beyond who will assemble at the Pendarvis Farm August 2-4 for the 21st Annual gathering.
Crowned by Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats, the early lineup also includes the Saving Country Music reigning Artist of the Year Tyler Childers, the reigning Best Live Act Mike and the Moonpies, soaring Pacific Northwest songwriter Courtney Marie Andrews, formidable bluegrass band and frequent Tyler Childers collaborators Town Mountain, Mandolin Orange, Lauren Morrow formerly of The Whiskey Gentry, and San Antonio’s best kept secret, Garrett T. Capps, among many others (see full lineup below).
Established in 1998, Pickathon is an independent, highly-curated, master planned, all-ages and family-friendly music festival. Unlike other festivals, Pickathon features multiple performances from artists in a variety of settings, from a stage deep in the woods, to intimate performances in hobby barns, to the big main stage in a field lined by towering Douglas Firs. Along with the music comes leadership in the festival space for curating every aspect of the festival-going experience, and a zero-waste site model that is like a shining city on a hill for how to manage the impact of large events.
“Our secret is that we continue to double down on choices that only make sense when your primary focus is to make the best experience possible, even when it sometimes conflicts with maximizing profits,” says festival founder Zale Schoenborn. “We made a conscious choice some years back to limit our attendance to favor the comfort of our attendees over finding new ways to maximize how many people we can jam into Pendarvis Farm. Entering our 21st year, Pickathon remains inspired to innovate new ways to create the best festival experience.”
Pickathon knows how to keep it intimate, with only 3,500 attendees in 2018, but puts on a festival with national implications, with many of the biggest names in roots music first getting their big start on a Pickathon stage. For more information and to purchase tickets, go to pickathon.com .
Pickathon 2019 Initial Lineup
• Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats • Khruangbin • Mandolin Orange • Nathaniel Rateliff (solo) • Tyler Childers • Lucius • Preservation Hall Jazz Band • Fruit Bats • Mountain Man • Caamp • YOB • Damien Jurado • Lambchop • Laura Veirs • Julia Jacklin • The Marías • Miya Folick • Sudan Archives • Bonny Light Horseman • Mdou Moctar • Courtney Marie Andrews • Lido Pimienta • Cedric Burnside • Town Mountain • Jupiter & Okwess • The Beths • B Boys • Our Girl • JJUUJJUU • Sneaks • Young Jesus • Sam Evian • Black Belt Eagle Scout • Flasher • Mike and The Moonpies • Nap Eyes • Soft Kill • H.C. McEntire • Helena Deland • The Cordovas • Lauren Morrow • Bodega • David Nance Group • The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys • Virginia Wing • Garrett T Capps • Martha Scanlan • Gold Star • Colton Turner • &more (Chill Moody & Donn T) • David Bragger & Susan Platz
January 21, 2019 @ 1:17 pm
What do you mean by home festival?
January 21, 2019 @ 2:02 pm
Pickathon is the festival I go to every year, hell or high water. They were supporting artists like Dale Watson and Wayne Hancock way before others. It was the first roots festival to look beyond the obvious names. It’s where careers are made and artists get discovered. I’ve watched with my own two eyes the careers of artists like Sturgill Simpson and Lake Street Dive get launched from a Pickathon stage. I never lived in Portland, but I did live in Southern Oregon for a while, and return to the area every year.
January 23, 2019 @ 7:38 am
Where in Southern Oregon? Your comment took me by surprise that it’s your home festival. I just moved back to Roseburg and my wife and I are looking at going to this festival now. Thanks for reporting the good stuff.
January 21, 2019 @ 2:51 pm
I’ve never been to pickathon but it seems strange to have YOB there. I had to check the pickathon website to make sure it’s the band I was thinking of. They put out one of the best doom metal albums last year. Is that consistent with pickathon to have a band like that?
January 21, 2019 @ 4:47 pm
Yes, over the last few years they’ve had at least one straight up metal band to the lineup. Though mostly a roots festival, they do a good job finding performers from other disciplines that are having a big impact in their respective scenes, and can be enjoyed by most music listeners, regardless of genre tastes.
January 22, 2019 @ 9:08 pm
That’s one heck of a lineup.
How family friendly is this festival? Always looking for ways to inundate the fam with good music, but not interested in all the stupid drunks that populate many of them.
January 22, 2019 @ 9:17 pm
Pickathon is the most family friendly festival I have ever been to, with Old Settler’s Festival being second. Pickathon has an entire area set up just for kids, with activities and its own stage and entertainment lineup. Each year the kids put together a parade that marches through the festival site. As kids get older, they hang out beside the path that goes to the Woods Stage (which is out in the woods), and often will sell little handmade trinkets, or if they’re budding musicians, they’ll busk. Many families bring their kids and eveyone’s cool with them, and drinking is designated in specific areas that get expanded at night so that kids don’t get swept up into any crazy night life.
Pickathon is expensive and not for everyone. But if you can make it, afford it, and want to take your kids to a cool festival, it’s just about perfect.
January 23, 2019 @ 6:28 pm
Awesome!
Thanks again, Trig!