My latest from Fortune:

SXSW pulled out of Portland in 2001 when Willamette Week, the local alt-newpaper, abandoned its sponsorship of NXNW and went on to create MusicFestNW, an event aimed at putting music first. Since then, it has grown into a multi-venue festival that takes over town for four days, packing 18 venues with 170 bands and 24,000 fans. The National, The Decemberists, Band of Horses and Iron & Wine have all played the festival, and in 2009, Time declared it one of the 50 most authentic experiences in America. This year’s MusicFest begins next week. In the meantime, tech start-ups began sprouting up all over town. Read on…