Incase will be participating by offering laser etched leather iPhone case with artwork by Neck Face.

Friday, Sept. 7th, we present the ‘Room 205 live’ showcase with five featured artists from our collaborative Sound & Vision series Room 205, (including Blouse, Chelsea Wolfe, Craft Spells, Crystal Antlers and Tropic of Cancer).

Saturday, Sept. 8th, we present the Captured Tracks showcase with Wild Nothing, The Soft Moon, DIIV and Mac DeMarco. To all our Portland friends and MFNW performing artists, we look forward to sonically shredding with you again very, very soon.

Portland’s MusicFest Northwest has now come and gone. Did we sleep? Nope. Are we tired? Yes indeed, we are oh so tired. Did we eat a lot of great food and guzzle a few gallons of Stumptown coffee? Definitely. Did we walk around searching for obscure and ridiculous records, battered guitars, and weird old tube-driven audio equipment? Constantly. Did we have breakfast with the legendary Aaron Draplin? Man, we sure did. Did we see a lot of great shows? Yes! Including sets by Past Lives, Ted Leo & The Pharmacists, Big Freedia, Red Fang, David Bazan, Abe Vigoda, Thee Oh Sees, The Gories, Cave Singers, Akron/Family, Menomena, The Dodos, The Walkmen, The National, NoMeansNo, and the reunited Sleep (performing Holy Mountain). And that’s just the short list.

To be honest, we’re always a bit taken aback by just how surprising and lovely MFNW can be. Year after year, thanks to the ceaseless efforts of Trevor Solomon and Dan Winters, MFNW is consistently one of the best booked independent music festivals in the US. Two dudes just makin’ it happen. Bonkers.

In years past, MFNW has exclusively been an indoor festival playing host to hundreds of performers scattered throughout the city’s 40 odd bars, community centers, and all-ages clubs. This year, however, with a little help from Incase and Levis, Trevor and Dan produced the festival’s first ever outdoor event at Pioneer Square in downtown Portland. Over the course of two days we gifted 3,700 iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4 to a combined two-day audience of 8,000 patrons. Were people pumped? Oui. So much happy.

If you love food, fresh air, and live music, Portland, Oregon just might be your bag. It certainly is ours. Trevor and Dan, thanks again for all your hard work and friendship. We’ll see you again next year. Enjoy the photos!

If you’re in Portland, OR right now you probably already know MFNW began yesterday. The festival runs Sept. 8-12th and features more than 200 artists performing at some 40 venues around the greater Portland metro area (maybe this is an exaggeration? I can’t remember, I’m so tired). ANYWAY, that’s only half the point of this post. Get ready, here comes the other half:

On Friday, Sept. 10th, MFNW and Incase present Mogwai’s Burning at the Bagdad Theater in Portland’s Hawthorne District. As part of our presentation of the film we’ll be on hand eating popcorn and gifting free cases for your iPhone 4 & 3GS. Doors at 6PM, film starts at 7PM. Admission is $5 clams or free with MFNW wristband.

At the Bagdad Theater on Friday, September 10th, Incase & MFNW will present the new concert documentary Burning by Scottish post-rock giants Mogwai. If you’re at all wondering what this means, we can spell it out in three words: serious rock action. If an instrumental band ever deserved having a full-length concert film made about their live show it would be Mogwai. Bring ear plugs and a quadruple espresso. Doors at 7PM, tickets are $5 clams. For a chance to win film tickets and VIP passes to the festival check: @MUSICFESTNW

We’ll also be at Pioneer Square on September 11-12th for two nights of outdoor concerts with festival headliners The National, The Walkmen, Helio Sequence and The Decemberists. Join us as we gift a zillion Incase Snap Cases and get deeply weird enjoying the city’s Indian summer. Check the recap of MFNW 2009. Really, it’s worth it!

MusicFest Northwest (a/k/a MFNW) is one of those regional music festivals that just sort of sneaks up and blows your mind. Sure, you could miss it and think to yourself, “No biggie.” But you’d be wrong. Yes, you could pass it by in favor of some mega-fest somewhere. But that’d just be unwise. While the faithful horde busily attended, recapped, lauded and/or guffawed their way through several of spring and summer 09’s biggest events, MFNW 2009 quietly shaped itself into one of the best booked independent music festivals of the season. For the third year in a row, (and for almost a week straight!), promoter Trevor Solomon and the Willamette Week newspaper hosted 25,000 attendees and more than 100 national and local performing artists around the greater Portland area. Logistically, my friends, this was no small fete.

On any given night at any one of the fest’s 18 participating venues, you could see artists like Om, Eluvium, Chairlift, Bad Brains, Avi Buffalo, Brother Reade, Modest Mouse, Dirty Three, Beach House, Explosions In The Sky, Love As Laughter, as well as the recently reunited Sunny Day Real Estate and the mighty Team Dresch… to name but a few…. As a principle sponsor of MFNW 2009, Incase hand-delivered product requests to participating festival artists and MFNW community participants (Hi Fasil!). As well, we sponsored the stage at The Holocene and community radio station KEXP’s remote broadcasts from the stage at The Doug Fir.

From the city’s coffee shops to its dedicated bike lanes to its positive neighborhood vibes to its great food and vital independent music scene, Portland always feels like a home away from home.Trevor, thanks again for putting on yet another great music festival. You and everyone involved with MusicFest NW should be proud. See you again next year. Enjoy the photos!

For the second year in a row Incase is sponsoring Portland, Oregon’s MusicFest NW.

That Trevor Solomon puts on one helluva festival. Though I can’t quite recall the exact figure, he’s booked somewhere in the realm of 200 bands to perform at roughly 18 venues around the Rose City.

Last year’s standouts included sets by Awesome Color, TV On The Radio, Red Fang, Love As Laughter, and the reunited Polvo. This year? God only knows.

But this much we do know, the Bad Brains will be strappin’ it back on, which is more than enough reason to go. As well, you can see Dillinger Four, Frightened Rabbit, Frank Black, Avi Buffalo, Brother Reade, Crom (holy crap!), Eluvium, Om, Team Dresch (wow!), and dozens more.

We hope to see you there.

MusicFest NW
Sept. 16-20th, 2009
Portland, OR