News/Announcements: The Storied Arts Announces Inaugural Soundscape NW Festival in Portland, OR

The Storied Arts were founded and are led by entertainment and media veteran Scott Crane, who in recent years has creative directed and produced events for Pharrell Williams, iamOTHER, Steven Soderbergh, Brainfeeder, NPR, BBC, Giles Peterson, Interscope and Variety, and has delivered high-profile experiences during Coachella, Fashion Week, Golden Globes, The Grammys, The Oscars, Sundance and SXSW. He led partnership strategy for the 20th anniversary of San Francisco’s citywide Noise Pop Festival and co-produced the Oakland Music Festival (OMF).

Crane also serves as Executive Creative Director and Executive Producer across Soundscape Northwest.

Yesterday, The Storied Arts announced that the inaugural Soundscape Northwest, an ambitious new music festival and conference will take place in Portland, OR between April 27, 2026 – May 2, 2026.

Soundscape Northwest plans to be a future-forward reimagining of the traditional conference, with organizers setting out to forge lasting connections between international artists, and and industry, with a heavy focus on music discovery and supporting Public Radio.

Produced in collaboration with Austin-based Tiger Bomb Promo, Soundscape Village Radio showcases the most innovative college and public radio presenters toady, including KCRW’s Novena Carmel. More radio partnerships will be announced shortly, with 10% of the festival’s profits going to support these visiting stations, all of whom have lost their federal funding and desperately need the public’s help to stay on their air.

The festival’s Soundscape in Residence in program features singular international creatives across multiple disciplines. KCRW’s Novena Carmel is Host in Residence. Currently based in Mexico City but longtime Portland-based act Y La Bamba is the festival’s Artist in Residence. Photographer Driely S is the festival’s Filmmaker/Photographer in Residence. Festival organizers will be adding and announcing more residents to the program over the coming months.

The music festival portion will feature six days of programming across more than a dozen venues, featuring 100+ international artists, transforming a historic Central Eastside industrial neighborhood into a dynamic cultural playground. The festival lineup will feature massive underplays in intimate venues, exclusive debuts of new projects from high-profile talent, historic first USA appearances and iconic Portland locals.

“This is far more than an industry event; it’s a blueprint for how music can drive economic recovery, urban renewal, and cultural innovation,” 
says Scott Crane, founder and Executive Creative Director of The Storied Arts and SSNW. 

CONFERENCE PROGRAMMING

SSNW’s conference programming will feature global music export agencies, trailblazing executives, creative disrupters and award-winning producers to present an unmatched workshop lineup exploring the intersection of music, technology and culture.

ARTISTS

SSNW will deliver world-class hospitality and exclusive, artist-only experiences. Beyond the stage, artists are invited into a deeper ecosystem: hands-on labs and curated introductions to top-tier media, music supervisors, agencies and brands.

FANS

SSNW is intentionally as a walking festival. So fans can go to venue to venue, surrounded by multiple James Beard-celebrated bars and restaurants — all within 6×8 block grid.

Expect more announcements within the upcoming months. Keep checking out this space as we get closer to the festival. But in the meantime, check out the festival’s homepage: https://www.soundscapenorthwest.com/

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