In Lieu of a Festival, Northwest String Summit Will Host a Drive-In Concert Series This Summer

Attendees will park in view of the stage, and remain there for the show.

Yonder Mountain String Band Yonder Mountain String Band performing in Davenport, Iowa, in 2015. IMAGE: Roberta/Flickr. (Roberta Osmers)

Don’t call it a comeback, because it’s not. But it’s better than nothing.

For the second summer in a row, the Northwest String Summit—the annual jam band-centric roots music festival held just outside Portland in North Plains—isn’t going to happen, at least not in the way it normally does, with thousands of campers pitching tents in the woods and listening to four straight days of dobro solos.

But concertgoers will return to the Horning’s Hideout property this July—they’ll just have to stay by their cars.

The Peacock Park’n’Pick, as it’s being called, will take place over two weekends, July 20-21 and 27-28, and feature performances from String Summit regulars Yonder Mountain String Band, the Infamous Stringdusters, and Greensky Bluegrass.

As the name suggests, attendees will park in view of the stage, and remain there for the show. Guest are allowed to exit their vehicles, but must stay within their designated areas. A whole heap of other rules can be found here.

Other annual festivals, such as the Waterfront Blues Festival, are going forward with similarly socially distanced formats this year. (Pickathon, String Summit’s less-crunchy but still rootsy cousin, has not yet announced its plans for 2021.)

Park’n’Pick tickets are now on sale.

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.

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