Portland City Council approves license for Payson Park music festival [Video]

A new music festival is coming to Portland this summer.

After months of planning, the Portland City Council gave license to organizers who will put on a music festival in Payson Park in August.

The council voted 5-2 in favor of approving the license with Councilors Wes Pelletier and Kate Sykes voting against it.

Sykes cited concerns about using a public common space for a private event. Pelletier said he wasn’t convinced Portlanders wanted a festival like this and that it would likely cater to tourists. He also said he was concerned about the location in Payson Park.

“Festivals are weird and they are held in rural places,” said Pelletier. “It just doesn’t make a lot of sense to hold it in Portland to me. It seems like a pretty easy political bet that something is going to wrong here and people are going to ask why this was approved if it makes …