When Barak Obama came to town a while back the coverage he received worldwide no doubt awakened many people to the fact that the 72,000 people who turned out to hear him talk were gathered in Portland’s Waterfront Park. Where Obama took the stage was at the southern end of the park nestled between the Hawthorne Bridge and Riverplace, a retail and residential development. It’s just one part of the 29 acre downtown riverfront park.

Although Portland is well known as the independent music capitol of the USA, the city offers a variety of music. For instance the Portland Jazz Festival that takes place every February played host to Sonny Rollins this year and currently the Waterfront Blues Festival, now in its 21st year and the second-largest blues festival in the country, has kicked off with none other than the soul legend Isaac Hayes. It continues throughout the July 4th weekend with literally hundreds of blues artists too many to mention here. Visit the web site for a full list of performers.

Indie music fans can get their fill with three upcoming festivals. First up PDXPOPNOW! 2008 which takes place July 25-27 at Rotture. As the festival folks quite simply say on their web site it’s - Free. All-Ages. Tons of Portland Bands.

In August the 10th Annual Pickathon Roots Music Festival takes place featuring artists Jolie Holland, Bad Livers, The Gourds and many more. It takes place at Pendarvis Farm on Portland’s outskirts and the three day weekend is set up for camping and RVs too. As the web site says - Pickathon is the Indie-Roots Music event of the Year. More than 35 bands on 5 stages. Camping, Hiking and Sustainability amongst Oregon’s Doug Firs on an 80 acre wonderland just 20 minutes from Portland, OR.

September 3rd to the 6th brings us the annual MusicFestNW festival, a three day music festival not unlike Austin’s SXSW. The festival grows in stature every year and this year’s lineup is exemplary - Vampire Weekend, TV On The Radio and The Murder City Devils headline and the rest of the lineup is stellar too - Del the Funky Homosapien, M Ward, Menomena and Polvo to name a few. Visit the site to see the full roster.

A little extra good news is that you can get a hotel deal if you’re thinking of attending any of the festivals this summer. On this site you’ll see an ad to help you find a hotel room and get a free CD or a download that features 12 Portland indie bands.