The high point of summer is nearly upon us—seriously, stop reading this and go outside for a second if you don’t believe us—and that means we’re now less than one week away from Pickathon’s annual shindig on Pendarvis Farm in Happy Valley, Oregon. And that means that today we’re debuting the final episode in this year’s Slab Sessions, featuring our old buds in Palehound.
When we last heard from the Boston power trio, they were barreling through “Molly,” from 2015’s excellent Dry Food. Since then, they’ve released that album’s followup, A Place I’ll Always Go, and are gearing up for a nice lengthy trek across these United States, but before they did any of that, they recorded another Dry Food cut in the clearing at Pendarvis Farm.
“Healthier Folk” finds Ellen Kempner leading her dudes through a semi-self-conscious jam. “I only feel half right around healthier folk,” she sings, the great irony being how in command she is here—of her voice, of her band, and of the world of the song itself. Chalk it up to the tranquility of the site if you must, but Kempner has found her clearing.
Check out “Healthier Folk” below, and tune in to Pickathon’s YouTube channel next weekend to catch the fest live from the comfort of your own home. That’ll kick off at 12 p.m. PST on August 4 with a set from Dori Freeman, with performances by Big Thief, KING, Lucy Dacus, Y La Bamba, Deer Tick, Charles Bradley, Jay Som, Jonathan Richman, Priests, Xenia Rubinos, Drive-By Truckers, Aldous Harding, Steve Gunn, Andy Shauf, Dinosaur Jr., Ty Segall, and many more to follow throughout the weekend. The entire livestream schedule is below.
As always, this episode of the Slab Sessions was produced by the excellent folks at Half Stop Sessions.
Pickathon Live Broadcast schedule (all times PST)
August 4
12 p.m. — Dori Freeman
1 p.m. — Anna & Elizabeth
2:10 p.m. — Ghost-Note
3:10 p.m. — KING
4:20 p.m. — Lucy Dacus
5:30 p.m. — Big Thief
6:40 p.m. — Y La Bamba
7:40 p.m. — RY X
8:50 p.m. — Deer Tick
10 p.m. — Dezarie
11 p.m. — Charles Bradley and His Extraordinaires
12:20 a.m. — Sweet Spirit
1:20 a.m. — McTuff feat. Skerik
August 5
12 p.m. — Jay Som
1 p.m. — Jonathan Richman
2:10 p.m. — Priests
3:20 p.m. — Marlon Williams
4:20 p.m. — Tank and the Bangas
5:30 p.m. — Xenia Rubinos
6:30 p.m. — Meatbodies
7:40 p.m. — Sunflower Bean
8:50 p.m. — Drive-By Truckers
10 p.m. — Mandolin Orange
11:40 p.m. — Billy Strings
1:20 a.m. — M.A.K.U. Soundsystem
August 6
12 p.m. — Aldous Harding
1 p.m. — Brent Cobb
2:10 p.m. — Steve Gunn
3:20 p.m. — The Last Artful, Dodgr
4:20 p.m. — Andy Shauf
5:30 p.m. — Mandolin Orange
6:40 p.m. — Julia Jacklin
7:40 p.m. — Huun Huur Tu
8:50 p.m. — Dinosaur Jr.
10 p.m. — Ty Segall
11:40 p.m. — Wolf People
12:35 a.m. — Luke Bell
1:20 a.m. — Hiss Golden Messenger
