At the peak of summer in 2017, Lizzo, Iggy Pop, and Beck rocked Portland’s South Waterfront Park during the fourth year of the annual music festival Project Pabst. Nothing suggested that this state of affairs wouldn’t continue; it sold out every year. But after Beck’s closing set—which included a very long and mostly unsuccessful attempt at turning the crowd into a choir—Project Pabst disappeared into the night.

Now, seven years on, Billy Idol, T-Pain, and Big Thief are billed to resurrect it. The two-day, 21-and-over festival will return to South Waterfront Park July 27 and 28, hosting 18 bands on two stages. Local food vendors, plenty of “Pabst! Blue! Ribbon!” (Dennis Hopper’s beer of choice in Blue Velvet), and the specifically 22-foot-tall unicorn that debuted at the inaugural festival in 2014 are promised. Tickets go on presale Friday, March 8.

Matt Slessler, “the guy who invented PBR’s hipster cred” (our words, he’s officially a PBR executive), describes Saturday’s lineup this year as “a little more retro,” nodding to the triple threat of Billy Idol, T-Pain, and the Violent Femmes. Sunday skews slightly contemporary, with indie rockers Big Thief and rapper Denzel Curry topping the bill.

Portland bands are also peppered across both days, exceptionally nostalgic ones at that, like electro-pop aughts stars Strfkr and Gossip, Beth Ditto’s band that’s about to release its first album in over a decade.

So the festival is back, but where did it go? Project Pabst had expanded quickly to Atlanta, Denver, and Philadelphia by 2017. “We really stretched ourselves,” Slessler says. “At the end of the day, we sell beer, you know? We don’t throw music festivals.” So they shut it down, COVID hit, and the better part of a decade passed.

Slessler says the idea to revive Project Pabst has been “bubbling under the surface for years.” The timing finally felt right this year, the city said go for it, and before they knew it Billy Idol was on the phone and they were once again commissioning a fresh 22-foot-tall unicorn. This time around, they’re sticking to Portland.

The Deets

Tickets go on presale Friday, March 8 at 10am ($99 per day, $115 if purchased later). The festival itself is Saturday and Sunday July 27 and 28 at South Waterfront Park.