If you like Newport Folk Festival, try Pickathon
Pickathon, at the idyllic privately owned Pendarvis Farm in Happy Valley, Oregon — located 15 minutes outside downtown Portland — has a bohemian-hipster spirit and an overriding focus on artist sustainability and green living. The 80 acres of meadows, forests and rustic buildings bring bucolic ambiance to the event, and the range of indie roots artists (more than 45 this year) give intimate performances to audiences that haven’t yet exceeded more than 5k for the entire weekend. Every artist at Pickathon performs twice so you don’t have to worry about conflicting set times, fine food and drink is offered throughout, impromptu jam sessions spring up all over the wooded grounds, and there’s camping in the farm’s dense forest along with a plethora of lodging options for those who’d want to soak up the Portland vibes and catch a few acts on the fly.
Next dates: Aug. 2-4, 2013. $260 weekend pass/$130 single-day tickets.
2013 highlights: Feist, Andrew Bird, Divine Fits, Ty Segall, Kurt Vile & The Violators, Shabazz Palaces, Vieux Farka Touré, Foxygen, Marco Benevento, Parquet Courts, King Tuff.
If you like Coachella, check out FYF
The same high caliber of indie and alt music talent you’ll find at Coachella is delivered on a less grandiose, more metropolitan scale at the event originally known as F*** Yeah Fest, currently condensed to FYF. You don’t even have to rent a car, as the Metro Rail stops right in front of the fest site at downtown Los Angeles’ 32-acre State Historic Park, directly adjacent to Chinatown and boasting its own picturesque view of the city’s hazy skyline, not to mention shade tents and misters. Camping isn’t an option. But then again, if you’re vacationing in LA, you’re probably not interested in roughing it.
Next dates: Aug. 24-25, 2013. $99 weekend pass/$199 VIP.
2013 highlights: The Breeders performing Last Splash, My Bloody Valentine, Yo La Tengo, TV on the Radio, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Beach House, MGMT, FLAG (The Black Flag reunion group featuring former members with Descendents guitarist Stephen Egerton), Devendra Banhart, Strfcker, Deerhunter, Les Savy Fav, Metz, Mikal Cronin, Solange, Thee Oh Sees.
