Portland has a fun music festival coming up — Buskathon on city streets in April

Published 12:15 am Thursday, March 27, 2025

A lot of people enjoy street musicians, and listening (and rewarding) their talents.

Portland will feature scores of street musicians in April in a new four-day festival. It’s called Buskathon, and it’ll feature 214 performances from 30 buskers in downtown Portland and Old Town, Thursday-Sunday, April 10-13. Music will happen at 18 venues.

Said publicity: Portlanders are encouraged to explore downtown, visit participating businesses, and enjoy free live entertainment throughout the festival. Whether you’re a longtime fan of street performances or discovering busking for the first time, Buskathon is an invitation to experience the heartbeat of Portland’s streets once again.

For more information and a full schedule of performances, visit busk-athon.org.

Many musicians and artists get their start busking, or street performing, learning how to engage a crowd, test new material and develop their unique sound. (Portland has already presented annual performances on the Portland Transit Mall.)

At Buskathon, you can watch and listen and vote for your favorite busker and attend the “Busk-Off” at Director Park, 3 p.m.-5 p.m. April 13. Musicians will compete for “Portland Favorite Busker” and a $1,000 grand prize. Thanks to Friends of Noise, an additional $500 “Rising Star” award will be presented to the top performers between the ages of 16-25.

A list of participating musicians: AirShow, Albert Kaufman, Angela Thomas, Annelise McNally, Brassless Chaps, Chaace Dragoon, Charlie Watters from Westbound City Train, Dontae Harriss, Eel Sallad, Erik Harper, Focus Group, Greta Lau, Group W, Heather Rose, Jared Hines, Jeremy Fama, Maeve Stier, Mathilda Schmidt, Phong Nguyen, the CSET PM Band, Saige Rayne, Sarah L Gerhardt, Scott Allen Shannon Wiancko, Skye Kitt, Sweet Bean Selene, Sydney Burch, Thorn Hartspring and Wyatt Button AND perhaps the very popular Johnny Franco and (his real brother) Dom. There’ll be two surprise guests.

It’s an event put on by Portland Metro Chamber and Downtown Portland Clean & Safe, and fellow sponsors Friends of Noise and Travel Portland.