It consists of a two-disc compilation released in spring; a multi-day, free, all-ages music festival in the summer; and school and community outreach programs throughout the year.

[3] The organization and the event are dedicated to "celebrating, promoting, and enhancing Portland’s vital and diverse music community.

originated from a discussion[5] on PDX Pop,[6] Portland Indiepop Mailing list, a long running listserv for Portland musicians, fans, and writers interested in discussing the local music scene.

On Jan 15th, 2004 Kell Dockham started a question[7] about the sense of true unity in Portland music scene which ignited and inspired PDX Pop list members to organize a festival to celebrate local music.

After two initial meetings, on Feb 3rd, 2004, Joshua Kirby sent out a meeting note[8] to the PDX Pop list and pronounced the working title "PDX Pop Now", and thus a festival was born.