Every spring and summer, people gather in large outdoor areas to shake off winter blues like it’s 1967. Urban Outfitters sees a spike in crop top purchases, chunks of change are withdrawn from bank accounts, 30 bands are crossed off to see lists and photos of college students looking drunk on hills permeate Instagram.
Welcome to music festival season.
Spring
Willamette Valley Music Festival
When: May 10, 12 p.m. – 1 a.m.
Where: University of Oregon campus, three stages
Cost: Free
Vibe: WVMF, which actually began in 1970 and was called Willamette Valley Folk Festival, is UO’s own segway to the festival season. Local, easy to attend and put on by UO students and the UO Cultural Forum, WVMF features a slew of cool local bands. This year’s lineup includes Portland indie rock band Wampire, psychedelic soul band Night Beats, plus a video game tournament and a petting zoo stocked with animals from Zany Zoo — whose mascot is a friendly lemur.
“Something I’m really excited about is our main stage is going to be in Gilbert Plaza, the area in the front of Lillis, which gives a ton of space for people to chill and hang out in the grass,” said sophomore Taylor Jones, one of the WVMF coordinators. “There’s a little bit of everything in the festival music-wise and culturally.”
WVMF is happening at the same time as the ASUO Street Faire, creating a music festival meets Saturday Market experience right on 13th Avenue.
Sasquatch
When: Memorial Day Weekend, May 23-25. In case you haven’t heard, the second show during fourth of July weekend is cancelled.
Where: The Gorge Amphitheater, six hour drive from Eugene
Cost: Tickets $325, plus fees
Vibe: A college student classic, the Columbia Gorge may be UO students’ most popular cover photo. The festival features a wide range of bands, from indie folk to electronic: Outkast, First Aid Kit, Kid Cudi and 101 other acts are on the lineup. Prepare for car camping, flower crowns, ravers, hipsters, bros, middle-aged men and $10 cans of PBR. If you’re hesitant to pay the large chunk of change, try dividing the ticket price by the number of bands you actually have been wanting to see. If you would be willing to pay that amount for one concert, then it’s probably worth your money.
Summer
Paradiso Festival
When: June 27-28
Where: The Gorge Amphitheater, six hour drive from Eugene
Cost: Tickets $197 with fees, camping $85 per vehicle
Vibe: Think the Gorge Amphitheater backdrop that Sasquatch made famous but with a smaller crowd, less days and an all EDM lineup. This year features Bassnectar, Above & Beyond, Kewella and Zedd.
“At rap concerts and stuff, you hear about fighting, but that this festival everyone just loves each other,” said junior Michael Morris, who has attended the festival twice. “The first night of camping is the best, it’s crazy. It’s almost the best part besides all the music.”
“The vibe at Paradiso is unlike anything you can experience anywhere else. I would encourage people to go to Paradiso for the experience whether or not they like EDM music. It’s all about love for one another and love for music. How can you have a bad time dancing your nights away in a beautiful place with amazing people?” said junior Brenda Mahrt.
Pickathon Independent Music Festival
When: Aug. 1-3
Where: Pendarvis Farm, Happy Valley, Ore. Two hour drive from Eugene, 25 minute drive from Portland
Cost: Tickets $273, with fees
Vibe: Called “the chillest music festival on planet earth” by VICE, this festival consists of indie folk, rock and bluegrass music on an Oregon farm. At Pickathon, you can do acid around a campsite with 20 college students and sway with dads and watch kids blow bubbles. As Pickathon is extremely dedicated to sustainability, guests must either provide dishes or buy dishes with a $10 token. Food is provided by local vendors and there are several campgrounds, including a quiet campground and a jam campground. This year’s lineup includes Blind Pilot, Foxygen and Parquet Courts.
“The whole vibe is unreal. Everyone is happy to be there. If you want to join someone’s group, someone’s camp or someone’s drinking circle — almost everyone wants to share,” said junior Elie Hoover. “The most notable thing for me is how thankful all the musicians are to be there.”
Bands To Look Out For
Pickathon
CHARLIE PARR
Parr is a bearded flannel-clad folk singer from Minnesota. He’s influenced by Lightnin’ Hopkins and Woody Guthrie and an appreciator of Northwest beauty. Parr plays the banjo and guitar, using a Resonator and a 12 string. Parr’s sound is timeless. His own style is built on the shoulders of traditional folk, making him the perfect Pickathon act.
“It’s an amazing festival, one of my very favorites. It’s so unique. It’s intimate. A lot of festivals you go to you kind of get rushed around a bit. Pickathon was the opposite. It’s a very exciting opportunity to appreciate music,” Parr said. “A lot of attention was given to the setting where artists performed. They put a lot of effort into it and I really appreciate that.”
Sasquatch
BIG FREEDIA
Big Freedia is one of America’s most unlikely festival stars. The female stage persona of New Orleans musician Freddie Ross, Freedia has acted as the unofficial ambassador of the regional New Orleans dance style called “bounce music.” Bounce music is focused on call and response chants and relentless ass shaking, guaranteeing an experience that’s interactive, fun and a bit physically exhausting. Though Ross is gay, he rejects the “sissy bounce” label placed on many of the scene’s queer stars, encouraging people of all sexual and gender identities to come “shake their azzzzz.”
Packing guide:
Water: It’s the most important item for your survival over the festival weekend, unless you have an inclination toward sink water provided by Honey Bucket. Bring several gallons along with packages of plastic bottles.
Watch: Your phone will die and you will get over it. But you won’t get over missing Cut Copy.
Trash Bags: Environmentally friendly Northwest somehow makes an exception for Sasquatch and Paradiso. Music festivals are notoriously unsustainable, but cleaning up your campsite will help.
Camping supplies: A tent is more important than a flower crown. Don’t forget basic camping supplies — including sleeping bags, blankets, rain gear, plastic utensils and camping chairs.
Schedule: Schedule printouts are often as gone as a handle of vodka by the first day of a festival. Although stumbling to different stages can be fun, printing out a schedule ensures you see at least a few of the bands you were planning on.
Ticket: Nobody needs to deal with being six hours away from Eugene and realizing your ticket and wristband are on the kitchen table.
Food
Food inside venues is somewhere between $12 quesadillas and $6 hot dogs. If you’re drinking and dancing all day, it’s best to bring your own food to keep you going. Bagels, peanut butter, granola bars, fruits and vegetables are easy to bring into venues, relatively healthy and cheap. Canned soup is easy to heat up if you bring a camping stove. Best to stay away from perishables.