How to Fest at HQ MusicFest

This Isn’t Just a Festival. It’s a Neighborhood Living Room.

HQ MusicFest isn’t designed to be something you simply watch. It’s something we build together.

For three days, the block in front of HQ (112 Depot Street) transforms into a creative playground where music, art, conversation, dancing, filmmaking, and spontaneous ideas all collide. Our festival stretches from Adams Avenue to the alley on Depot Street, centered around HQ with both an outdoor street stage and performances inside the venue throughout the weekend.

This is a grassroots festival. There are no giant corporate sponsors. No million-dollar production budget. Just a community deciding that gathering together around music and creativity is still worth doing.

If you’ve ever wished there were more places where people simply came together to make something beautiful… Welcome home.

Thursday: Build Day

Thursday at Noon is when the magic begins. Before the first evening performances, we’ll close Depot Street and start building the festival together. The stage goes up. Lights get hung. Signs appear. The beer garden takes shape. Art starts finding its place. The street slowly transforms into something entirely different.

Pass holders, musicians, artists, vendors, volunteers, neighbors, and curious visitors are all invited to help shape the space. Bring your ideas. Bring your hands. Bring your imagination. By Thursday evening, we want the street to feel like it belongs to everyone.

Bring Your Creativity

One of our favorite ideas is turning Depot Street into a giant outdoor living room.

Bring old rugs or carpet remnants, lawn chairs, folding chairs, camp chairs, vintage couches, coffee tables, floor cushions, battery-powered string lights, games, blankets, art projects, musical instruments, conversation, or anything else that helps create a welcoming place to gather.

Create your own little gathering space. Invite strangers to sit. Meet new friends. Listen to music together. Dance when the moment feels right. We’re intentionally leaving room for people to surprise us.

Explore

Performances will rotate between our outdoor stage and the indoor HQ venue throughout the weekend, so wander. Discover a new band. Watch an artist paint. Catch a silent film. Meet someone new. Sit down. Stand back up. Dance. Repeat.

The best festival experiences are usually the ones you didn’t plan.

Support Downtown

One of our goals is simple: let’s make downtown La Grande thrive together.

Rather than bringing in a fleet of food vendors, we’re encouraging everyone to support the amazing restaurants already surrounding the festival. Grab lunch, take a dinner break, or meet friends for drinks before heading back to the music.

We’re working toward pass holder specials with participating businesses including Side A Brewing, The Depot, The Sub Shop, Raul’s Taqueria, Liberty Café, Long Branch, Benchwarmers, Thai Fresh, GC Asian Fusion, and Tap That Growlers, and Brickyard Lanes.

Music. Film. Art. Community.

HQ MusicFest is more than a music festival. Throughout the weekend you’ll find local artists and makers, creative vendors, community gathering spaces, Eastern Oregon Film Festival projections, silent films after dark, and plenty of spontaneous creative moments.

We’re still looking for artists, makers, and vendors. If you’d like to participate, please sign up through our vendor form here: https://forms.gle/Vo4LWGY3rPu2pong6.

Support the Musicians

Independent musicians drive hundreds of miles, haul their own gear, and play because they love it. Show up. Listen. Dance. Buy merch. Tell your friends. Become a fan. Every audience member helps make independent music possible.

Buy a Pass

Purchasing a festival pass is the single biggest way you can support HQ MusicFest. Your pass helps pay artists, rent equipment, close the street, build the stage, and prove that independent arts can thrive in Eastern Oregon.

More importantly, it says you believe our community deserves places where creativity happens.

Physical passes can be picked up at the festival welcome table. Your digital pass will be sent to your email address.

See You on Depot Street

Bring your chair. Bring your rug. Bring your dancing shoes. Bring your friends. Bring your weird ideas.

Let’s remember what it feels like when a community gathers—not because it has to, but because it’s fun.

Questions? Interested in volunteering, vending, sponsoring, or contributing something creative? Reach out at lagrandehq@gmail.com.