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Deep in the forested outskirts of Hillsboro lies one of the region’s wackiest venues and largest flightless birds: a decommissioned Boeing 737 jet, the wing of which serves as a music festival stage one weekend out of the year. Otherwise, it’s the inventively recycled home of a man named Bruce Campell (not that Bruce Campbell), like a converted shipping container or a gigantic tiny home.
For curious music fans, fasten your seatbelts and prepare for takeoff, since Crash Landing Fest, a three-day event making use of the property, is returning for its fifth year Aug. 14–16.
While the plane might be the biggest hook, the lineup features over 20 local favorites across every kind of band you might hear practicing in a garage. Headliners include the all-femme post-punk group Altar Girl (one of WW’s Best New Bands of 2026), five-piece indie-rock outfit Les Gold, and local horse-obsessed emo band Swiss Army Wife.
Zach Gilfillan, one of the festival’s organizers who books the artists, says Friday will focus on a more “indie-pop, dreamy sort of feel,” while Saturday is heavier rock ‘n’ roll and Sunday is leaning into the “folk, indie niche.” After the live performances wind down, late-night silent discos—synced headphone dance parties—run till 2 am Friday (“house/techno”) and Saturday (“more bass-heavy and dubstep”).
Gilfillan says he received over 300 submissions (up from around 50 last year) from artists who wanted a spot within the festival. To accommodate, Crash Landing Fest added a third day and a second stage dubbed “The Control Tower,” although it’s on the grass.
A weekend pass ($100) includes camping permits. Note: Attendees are subject to a “TSA-style” search, and, like the airport, the festival is strictly drug-free. That’s to say, despite the airplane of it all, you can’t get high at this music festival.
Past the novelty, an airplane wing does make a pretty great stage. “People have the freedom of space,” says Javier Alvarez, another organizer. He says people bring out picnic blankets, chairs and hammocks to sit and watch the performances. “There’s not a bad view of the airplane,” Alvarez says.
For the performers, rugs lining the wing/stage provide some traction to help prevent accidents, and instead of a fold-up set or air bridge, artists board via clunky wooden stairs the organizers built years ago. Alvarez assures it’s all plenty sturdy.
What of Campbell, the plane’s live-in owner? Alvarez says he’s a fan of the fest, and calls him a “firm believer in creative expression and building community in unconventional ways,” which seems evident.
“One of the plane’s emergency doors opens onto the wings, so he’ll sit up there and be watching the whole time,” Gilfillan adds. “He loves to come out and talk to people.”
For the team of organizers, though, everything packs in and everything packs out, including sound, lighting and the small alley of food vendors and local merchants, including vintage clothing sellers and a pop-up nail salon, leaving Campbell to chill out in the quiet woods until next year.
GO: Crash Landing Festival, 15270 SW Holly Hill Road, Hillsboro, clfairlines.com. 2 pm–2 am Friday–Sunday, Aug. 14–16. $45 a day, $100 for the weekend. All ages.
