Somehow, it’s already the first week of August, and that means that we’re only a few days away from this year’s edition of Pickathon, which kicks off Friday night at Pendarvis Farm in Happy Valley, Oregon.
Over the past few months, we’ve been premiering episodes of the Galaxy Barn Series, shot live in the titular barn that stands in as a festival stage every summer. We’ve seen A Giant Dog and Cloud Nothings peel the wood off the walls with screaming punk, we’ve seen Kamasi Washington’s band deliver a deep-funk take on “The Magnificent Seven,” we’ve seen Joseph bring the room down with a whisper. And now, in the season finale, we see New Orleans bluesman Little Freddie King cluck his way through “Chicken Dance.”
By now, you’ve probably realized that Pickathon is about as beholden to the guitar-slinging connotations of its name as the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival is beholden to the idea of jazz (which is to say: it’s not), so the presence of King is actually something of a surprise. Still, the easy strut and sly confidence of “Chicken Dance” make him a natural fit, if only because he seems like he’d be a natural fit pretty much anywhere.
Check out the finale of this year’s Galaxy Barn Series below.
Pickathon runs this weekend in Happy Valley, Oregon.
