Meet the Bands of MusicfestNW Presents Project Pabst: White Reaper

The Louisville quartet plays high voltage, feel-good rock ‘n’ roll that walks a fine line between arena friendly and punkishly unhinged.

By Matthew Singer
IMAGE: Jesse De Florio.
We’re only a few months away from MusicfestNW presents Project Pabst! Each week leading up to the festival, we’ll be introducing you to one of the 18 acts on the lineup.
WHO: Tony Esposito (guitar, vocals), Hunter Thompson (guitar), Ryan Hater (keyboard), Sam Wilkerson (bass), Nick Wilkerson (drums)
SOUNDS LIKE: The kind of thumping classic rock that ought to come standard in every Trans-Am out there.
LATEST RELEASE: World’s Greatest American Band.
FOR FANS OF: Van Halen, The Strokes, Cheap Trick, Deer Tick
WHY YOU CARE: The ballsy title of White Reaper’s second album would be enough to denounce them as an overtly pompous, Spinal Tap-esque act if they didn’t back it up with some of the catchiest pop-rock imaginable. The Louisville quartet plays high voltage, feel-good rock ‘n’ roll that walks a fine line between arena friendly and punkishly unhinged. It’s highly transportive stuff that sends you straight back to the days of stuffed leather pants, pyrotechnics and the requisite sea of groupies. There’s a timelessness to the guitar-heavy, four-piece formula, and White Reaper is feisty, fun-loving proof.

SEE IT: White Reaper plays MusicfestNW presents Project Pabst at Tom McCall Waterfront Park on Saturday, Aug. 26. Get tickets here.

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MFNWpPP 2017MusicfestNWMusicfestNW presents Project PabstProject PabstWhite Reaper

Matthew Singer

Matthew Singer

A native Southern Californian, former Arts & Culture Editor Matthew Singer ruined Portland by coming here in 2008. He is an advocate for the canonization of the Fishbone and Oingo Boingo discographies, believes pro-wrestling is a serious art form and roots for the Lakers. Fortunately, he left Portland for Tucson, Arizona, in 2021.

Willamette Week’s reporting has concrete impacts that change laws, force action from civic leaders, and drive compromised politicians from public office.

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