This year, Early Entry lands on Wednesday. Gates open to the public at 5:00 PM on Wednesday, July 29, giving you a full evening to settle in before the music begins Thursday.

Wednesday Early Arrival Ticket: Arrive a day early to claim your favorite forest campsite and enjoy a “test the magic” preview of the farm’s lights and soundscapes. Requires a 4-Day Pass.

Here’s what to expect: most folks will head straight to set up camp, then start wandering. The site will still be coming together around you. Crews will be building, sound testing will be happening, and the farm will be in motion. That’s part of the charm of arriving early. You get to watch Pickathon wake up, a true behind the scenes experience.

And you won’t be roughing it. The Galaxy Bar will be open Wednesday evening, the Galaxy Courtyard food trucks will be serving, and the Dish program will be up and running. Market and merch operations open Thursday.

But it wouldn’t be Pickathon if we didn’t plan something special for night one.

The Galaxy Barn Opens with a Barn Dance

On Wednesday night, the Galaxy Barn hosts our first-ever early entry Barn Dance. The evening starts with Two-Step lessons from 7pm to 8pm, led by the Showdown Saloon’s own BootScootPDX and Honkytonkbasement. Then William Surly & the Barroom Gospel Band take over until 10pm. The bar will be open, and the music stays inside the barn, so campers turning in early can rest easy while the dance floor does its thing.

No dance experience required. That’s the whole point of the lessons.

Meet Your Instructors: BootScootPDX and Honkytonkbasement

New to Two-Step? Been to a few drop-in lessons at the Showdown Saloon and looking for more? Welcome to BootScootPDX and Honkytonkbasement, a team of experienced Two-Step instructors based in Portland, Oregon.

Robbie Veltman proves you don’t have to grow up dancing to be part of the community. An avid live music fan and show attendee, she got sick of watching the dancers have all the fun and gave it a shot. She was quickly hooked, taking East Coast Swing, Lindy, and Balboa lessons. Two-Step has always been her favorite style, and frustrated by the lack of class options, she started her own class to help grow the local dance and live music scene. Her favorite part of teaching is building confidence in new dancers and assuring them it’s always more fun to be dancing than not. Find her at @bootscootpdx and @corndog_cowgirl.

James Jones is the owner/creator of Honkytonkbasement, a weekly guide to country music and dance events in PDX. A Mexican-American artist and social dancer, he brings over four years of experience in Two-Step, West Coast Swing, Lindy Hop, Salsa, Balboa, and Slow Balboa. He discovered dancing after attending countless country shows and deciding he didn’t want to just watch. He wanted to be part of the dancing community. For James, dance is a connection, both to the music and to the friends he’s made along the way. As a teacher, there’s nothing better than seeing a student have a breakthrough moment, when they finally get a move they’ve been trying to learn and start to truly enjoy themselves on the dance floor. Find him at @honkytonkbasement.

The Band: William Surly & The Barroom Gospel Band

William Surly is a singer/songwriter who saddles his horse (metaphorically speaking) in Portland, Oregon. Within his music he mixes classic country with outlaw, honky tonk, a dash of folk, some rock, and soul.

Inspired by storytellers of the Outlaw and Folk movements of the ’60s and ’70s and rejuvenated by the modern sounds of Sturgill Simpson, Margo Price, Mike and The Moonpies, Nikki Lane and more, Surly pays homage to the ones who came before him, singing songs best suited for a long running bar tab.

Best known for his role in the Lonesome Billies, who have shared the stage with nationally touring acts like Pokey LaFarge, Hurray for the Riff Raff, Blitzen Trapper and Nikki Lane, Surly has been in the Portland music scene for many years. His newest endeavor, William Surly & The Barroom Gospel Band, brings together a mighty fine mix of talented musicians currently working on their next album release.

The Details

• 🐸 Wednesday, July 29 at Pendarvis Farm
• Gates open to the public: 5pm
• Galaxy Bar, Galaxy Courtyard food trucks, and Dish program: open Wednesday evening
• Two-Step lessons with BootScootPDX: 7-8pm, Galaxy Barn
• William Surly & The Barroom Gospel Band: 8-10pm, Galaxy Barn
• Market and merch operations open Thursday
• Wednesday Early Arrival Ticket requires a 4-Day Pass

The music officially begins Thursday, but the dancing starts Wednesday. Grab your Wednesday Early Arrival ticket and be there when the farm comes to life.