At last, only a week left before summer, the best time of year to be alive in the Pacific Northwest. Summer marks the official concert season, and all of us up in the Northwest will be handsomely rewarded with high-profile shows and annual outdoor concerts from now until football season. Here are 10 big events to keep an eye on this summer.
Safeway Waterfront Blues Festival: July 3 – 6, Tom McCall Waterfront Park, Portland – Now in its 21st year, the 2008 Blues Festival will feature more than 100 live performances on four stages over the 4th of July holiday weekend. Isaac Hayes will be headlining a tribute to Memphis soul on the first night of the festival. Canned Heat will be followed by a firework spectacular on Independence Day, and Charlie Musselwhite and Phoebe Snow will round out the weekend’s headliners.
American Idol Live Tour: July 11, Rose Garden, Portland – Finally, Kristy Lee Cook is returning to Oregon. The Selma native will accompany all of her “Idol” mates at the Rose Garden this July. The top 10 performers will all be in appearance, including this year’s winner David Cook and runner-up David Archuleta. This season of the show proved to be the biggest eve, ranking in the top viewer ratings of every week by far and constantly featuring big-named guest musicians.
Oregon Country Fair: July 11 – 13, Veneta – If you’ve never been to the annual event that is the Oregon Country Fair, do yourself a favor and pack up your car and drive the 15 miles west to Veneta. All of the musical bases are covered from folk, rock, jazz, blues, to bluegrass, Latin rhythms and spoken word.
KUBE 93 Summer Jam: July 20, White River Amphitheater, Auburn, Wash. – In case you blew $60 on the Lil’ Wayne show at Mac Court last fall, here’s another opportunity to burn $60 for another potential Weezy no-show. He’ll be supporting the release of his album “Tha Carter III” along with The Game, whose new album, “LAX,” is slated to drop later this summer.
Nine Inch Nails: July 26, Key Arena, Seattle – Nine Inch Nails will be forgoing an appearance in Portland and will head straight to Seattle. Regardless of that, NIN shows are always guaranteed to be jaw-droppingly mesmerizing and will be well worth the five-hour drive up north.
Slightly Stoopid, Pepper: August 8, Cuthbert Amphitheater, Eugene – Slightly Stoopid and Pepper are two bands from southern California. They fuse reggae and rock music and appeal to college students.
Radiohead: August 20, White River Amphitheater, Auburn, Wash. – If you are reading this and still don’t have a ticket, you are probably out of luck – tickets promptly sold out moments after the spring announcement of the North American dates. Radiohead is returning to the Northwest for the first time since 2005’s “Hail to The Thief” tour.
Wilco: August 23, Les Schwab Amphitheater, Bend – Jeff Tweedy and the invincible Wilco return to Oregon yet again to play the scenic and underrated Les Schwab Amphitheater as they feature more of the same from 2007’s “Sky Blue Sky.” So take the drive out to the desert and take in those warm Fender Tele’s and glowing Hammond organs as you lie in the plush green grass facing the clear summer night sky.
Bumbershoot: August 30 – September 1, Seattle – Staking its claim as the quintessential arts and music festival in the northwest, the annual Seattle extravaganza will fill your Labor Day weekend with a star-studded lineup featuring the likes of Beck, Stone Temple Pilots, the soon-to-be incarcerated T.I., Keyshia Cole, Del The Funky Homosapien, Lee “Scratch” Perry and ex-Portland crooner M. Ward.
Rock The Bells Tour: September 6, Gorge Amphitheater, Quincy, WA – Nas will be sharing the bill with ’90s rap legends A Tribe Called Quest, a recently reunited Pharcyde, and Hollywood movie star Mos Def. Spank Rock will be there holding it down for Bmore, and all you northwest hip-hop fans will be pleased to find Blue Scholars rounding out the bill.
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