Skip to main content[FESTIVE FOLK] In Portland, music festivals—like bands—are growing exponentially. But this weekend's Portland Folk Festival has a few extra feathers in its cap: its organizers. Kill Rock Stars founder Slim Moon; his assistant, Amanda Stark; and Blackbird Presents/Knitting Factory/the Woods booker Chantelle Hylton Simmons have put together a quadrant- and genre-hopping four-day festival that includes influences both international (Afro-Brazilian guitarist Celso Machado; Oregon-based Zimbabwean Afro-beat artist Thomas Mapfumo) and regional (iconic Northwest singer-songwriter Kimya Dawson; Portland folk chanteuse Laura Gibson). We talked to Hylton Simmons—who returned to Portland last September after a stint booking the Knitting Factory in New York City—about the festival's genesis and her busy life.
WW: How did this thing come together?
Chantelle Hylton Simmons: It was just kind of serendipity. Slim [Moon] and I had been talking about doing something together, and he mentioned a folk festival that he and his assistant, Amanda, had been talking about. It wasn't exactly what I had expected, but I sorta flipped out, because it hadn't really been done before.
Did you plan it as a venue-hopping event from the start?
We were originally going to have it in a big park, and then have a few evening shows afterward in venues nearby—it was going to be by Mississippi Avenue. But we realized it would have to be a free show, and we weren't going to be able to raise the money to do it this year. The festival that it is now, it's teeny-tiny, but it's bigger than we thought it would be.
The festival is set up to jump into different neighborhoods. Why did you plan it that way?
Well, we're big fans of Portland and one of the treasures of Portland is that it has so many unique neighborhoods. So highlighting that was something we all agreed on. I booked this festival called the Northside Festival—it's in Williamsburg and Greenpoint over four days and probably like 20 venues every night. So I had already been working in that format and it seemed natural and easy to do it.
So why does Portland need another music festival?
(In bitchy voice) Because I want to book a festival. And if I feel like booking a festival, I'm going to book a festival. That's why. (Laughs) No, I think it's something that isn't happening in Portland. One of the big ideas is to really highlight folk music from all over the world—which hasn't happened to the extent we'd like, starting so late in the game. And "folk" can take on all kinds of meanings, which is part of the fun of it.
Do you miss New York?
Living in New York was awesome. But it also made me appreciate Portland a bajillion times more. I think doing a folk festival can be a contribution—I can book a festival that my friends would go to, but also bring a little of the cultural experience of living in New York to Portland, too.
The Portland Folk Festival runs Thursday through Sunday, Aug. 19-22, in venues around the city. Wristbands can be purchased for $30 at Music Millenium and Land (3925 N. Mississippi Ave.). See music listings, music calendar and portlandfolkfestival.com for information.
WWeek 2015