Whether you’re taking guitar lessons in Portland or are just a fan of great music, you should definitely check out Music-Fest-Northwest. MusicFestNW bills itself as the biggest and most successful music festival in Portland, Oregon. It’s not hard to see why. It’s grown since it’s inception in 2000 to include over 170 bands playing music at 18 musical venues around the Rose City. This is your chance to catch a glimpse of some truly amazing guitarists. I’ve found that watching and listening to great musicians do their thing can really help to inspire guitar students to focus and work harder during their guitar lessons.
So… If you’re in the Portland area and currently taking or thinking about taking guitar lessons, go mark your calendar for the next MusicFestNW now. Actually, MusicFestNW is a great learning opportunity no matter what musical instrument you’re learning to play. So if you’re studying any kind of music lessons in Portland, take a look at the MusicFestNW. You can learn a lot from watching some of Portland’s local bands performing along side acts from the Pacific Northwest region and across the United States.
Over 24,000 people come to this music festival to hear their favorite bands and musicians every year. Some of the larger concerts can get a little rowdy depending on the band that’s performing and the size of the venue. So if you’re planning on taking younger kids, you may want to take that into account when choosing which event to attend. Some local pubs and coffee shops around Portland, OR piggy back off of the crowds from the main concerts by pushing performances of their own. Although these aren’t officially part of the music festival, you may want to keep your eyes and ears out for these other music listening opportunities. Who knows? You may even spot your guitar teacher playing at or around the festival in Portland 😉
Just in case you were wondering… It’s more than just electric guitars thrashing away (though you’ll find plenty of that too). You’ll find some truly unique acts playing all kinds of musical instruments. One of my favorites is Trampled by Turtles that features some fabulous violin and banjo. If you’re looking for a low key local Portland band, The Dimes’ songs usually include some mandolin and acoustic guitar finger picking that’s out of this world.
If you get inspired at the festival and decide you want to learn to play the guitar, your next logical step is to take some music lessons. Oregon Music Academy provides guitar lessons in Portland, Oregon and the surrounding area.