The Waterfront Blues Festival in Portland is back this year Friday-Sunday, July 2-5, with a few twists because of the continuing COVID pandemic. Instead of being held on the waterfront in downtown Portland, it’s moving less than a mile away to The Lot at Zidell Yards and changing its name to Upriver 2021.

The festival’s venue this year is in a large parking lot on Portland’s South Waterfront. Parties of two to six people will be seated in pods, where they’ll stay during the performances. The people in each party must be from the same group or household.

Each day, two separate ticketed performances will be scheduled, featuring local, regional, and national blues artists. Tickets will be purchased by pod, in two, four, or six increments. If you can’t attend or don’t feel safe attending in-person events, virtual livestreaming tickets will also be available. Individual tickets will not be sold this year.

If you have a ticket from the 2020 festival, they won’t be transferred to Upriver 2021. You can either get a refund or donate the funds from your ticket to the Waterfront Blues Festival. Refunds will be issued by phone through Brown Paper Tickets starting Tuesday, April 6 at 10 a.m., for Platinum, Gold, and Buddy pass holders and Monday, April 19, for Fan pass holders. Learn more about the refunds.

Ticketholders from the 2020 festival will have first priority on buying tickets for Upriver 2021.

The show lineup will be posted in May, and tickets will start selling in May. For more information and updates, visit waterfrontbluesfest.com/upriver-2021.

The address for Zidell Yards is 3121 South Moody Avenue in Portland, Oregon.