Sasquatch! Music Festival

{{Short description|Annual music festival in George, Washington, United States}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2020}}

{{Infobox music festival |

| music_festival_name = Sasquatch! Music Festival

| image = File:Sasquatch! Music Festival 2005.jpeg

| caption = Sasquatch! Music Festival 2005

| location = The Gorge Amphitheatre, George, Washington, U.S.

| years_active= 2002–2018

| founders = Adam Zacks

| dates = Memorial Day weekend

| genre = Indie rock, experimental rock, singer-songwriter, electronica, alternative rock, underground hip-hop

| website ={{url|sasquatchfestival.com}}

}}

Sasquatch! Music Festival was an annual music festival held at The Gorge Amphitheatre in George, Washington, United States. It took place on Memorial Day weekend, running for three to four days.

In 2018, it was announced that the festival was canceled indefinitely and would not return in 2019.{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/sasquatch-music-festival-will-not-return-in-2019-667030/|title=Sasquatch! Music Festival Will Not Return in 2019|first=Althea|last=Legaspi|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=June 29, 2018}}

{{TOC limit|2}}

About the festival

File:Sasquatch_2008.jpg

Sasquatch! typically featured a range of musical genres, with the emphasis being on indie rock bands and singer-songwriters, but also including alternative rock, hip hop, EDM, and comedy acts. As of 2012 the festival featured five stages: Sasquatch! Main Stage, Bigfoot Stage, Banana Shack (a tent that featured primarily comedy acts and electronic music- now known as El Chupacabra), Yeti Stage, and Uranus Stage (the smallest of stages, that generally changed names every year, but was not present from 2017 onward).

Most attendees of the festival camped in designated campsite fields nearby, as the venue is relatively remote and there are no large urban areas nearby.

Sasquatch! was voted as one of the "Top 10 Summer Music Festivals in the US" by ConcertBoom.{{cite web|author=Ryan|title=Top 10 Summer Music Festivals in the US|url=http://www.concertboom.com/news/2013/05/top-summer-music-festivals/|work=ConcertBoom|publisher=ConcertBoom|access-date=June 14, 2013}}

History

The Sasquatch! Music Festival was founded in 2002 by Pacific Northwest-based concert promoter Adam Zacks, then at House of Blues. Prior to the inception of the festival, Zacks booked and managed shows at the Roseland Theater in Portland, Oregon. After moving to Seattle to be closer to friends and family, Zacks began considering the creation of a music festival in the Pacific Northwest. In an interview with Seattle Weekly in September 2007, Zacks described the birth of Sasquatch!:{{cite web | first= Aja | last= Pecknold |url=http://www.seattleweekly.com/2007-09-26/music/adam-zacks-mother-of-sasquatch.php |title=Adam Zacks: Mother of Sasquatch! |access-date=March 8, 2008 |publisher=Seattle Weekly }}

Sasquatch was an idea born on a hunch that there was untapped demand for a certain kind of festival that catered to the eclectic tastes of music enthusiasts. It started in 2002, which was shortly after a number of the touring festivals (Lollapalooza, Lilith, Horde) had petered out and the beginning of the wave of regional festivals that started with Coachella and now is a dominant force on the music landscape, with Bonnaroo, Austin City Limits, etc.

In 2014, Adam Zacks decided to expand the festival to two weekends due to the high demand for tickets in 2013.{{cite web|last=Young & Roffman|first=Alex & Michael|title=Sasquatch!: The First Two Weekend Festival|url=https://consequence.net/2014/02/sasquatch-the-first-two-weekend-festival/|publisher=Consequence of Sound|access-date=February 12, 2014|date=February 6, 2014}} On March 21, 2014, the Independence Day Weekend of Sasquatch was cancelled. Jeff Trisler, President of Live Nation, released the following statement upon the announcement: "The Sasquatch! community has spoken. They continue to support the traditional Memorial Day Weekend event with great enthusiasm," Jeff Trisler, president of Live Nation Seattle, said in a statement. "Unfortunately, the second weekend was not embraced. We felt it was better to cancel the new event now and give everyone time to make alternative plans for the Fourth of July weekend. Going forward, Sasquatch! Music Festival will be at the Gorge Amphitheatre on the weekend the fans want: Memorial Day Weekend only."

On June 28, 2018, Zacks officially announced that Sasquatch! Music Festival would cease operation indefinitely and would not be returning in 2019.{{cite web |last1=Singer |first1=Matthew |title=Sasquatch Music Festival Is Ceasing Operation |url=http://www.wweek.com/music/2018/06/28/sasquatch-music-festival-is-ceasing-operation/ |publisher=Willamette Week |access-date=June 29, 2018}}

2018

=Lineup=

==Friday, May 25==

==Saturday, May 26==

==Sunday, May 27==

2017

=Lineup=

==Friday, May 26==

==Saturday, May 27==

==Sunday, May 28==

2016

=Lineup=

==Friday, May 27==

==Saturday, May 28==

==Sunday, May 29==

==Monday, May 30==

2015

=Lineup=

==Friday, May 22==

==Saturday, May 23==

==Sunday, May 24==

==Monday, May 25==

2014

=Lineup=

==Friday, May 23==

==Saturday, May 24==

==Sunday, May 25==

2013

File:Nissim at Sas.jpg at the 2013 Sasquatch! Music Festival.]]

=Lineup=

==Friday, May 24==

==Saturday, May 25==

==Sunday, May 26==

==Monday, May 27==

2012

=Lineup=

==Friday, May 25==

==Saturday, May 26==

==Sunday, May 27==

==Monday, May 28==

2011

The lineup for the 2011 Sasquatch! Music Festival was announced on February 6, 2011.{{Cite web |url=http://imgsrv.1077theend.com/image/kndd/UserFiles/Image/Flipper%20Pages/Sasquatch-page-02.jpg |title=Archived copy |access-date=February 7, 2011 |archive-date=July 7, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707054541/http://imgsrv.1077theend.com/image/kndd/UserFiles/Image/Flipper%20Pages/Sasquatch-page-02.jpg |url-status=dead }}

=Lineup=

==Friday, May 27==

==Saturday, May 28==

==Sunday, May 29==

==Monday, May 30==

2010

The lineup for the 2010 Sasquatch! Music Festival was announced on February 15, 2010. Headliners for the event included My Morning Jacket, Massive Attack, and Ween. The event took place on Memorial Day weekend, May 29–31, 2010.{{cite web|url=http://www.sasquatchfestival.com/#/lineup|title=Sasquatch!|website=www.sasquatchfestival.com}}

=Lineup=

==Saturday, May 29==

==Sunday, May 30==

==Monday, May 31==

2009

The lineup for the 2009 Sasquatch! Music Festival was announced on February 17, 2009. Headliners for the event included Jane's Addiction, Kings of Leon, and Ben Harper & Relentless7.[https://web.archive.org/web/20090304000004/http://www.upvenue.com/music-festival/2009/7/sasquatch-2009.html Sasquatch! 2009 lineup] UpVenue.com The event took place on Memorial Day weekend, May 23–25, 2009.

=Lineup=

==Saturday, May 23==

==Sunday, May 24==

==Monday, May 25==

2008

The lineup for the 2008 Sasquatch! Music Festival was announced on February 25, 2008. Headliners for the event included R.E.M., The Cure, and The Flaming Lips. The event took place on Memorial Day weekend, May 24–26, 2008. Hosted by Rainn Wilson.

=Lineup=

==Saturday, May 24==

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{{div col end}}

==Sunday, May 25==

==Monday, May 26==

=Comedy lineup=

The 2008 festival features the first ever Sasquatch! comedy tent.

==Saturday==

==Sunday==

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{{div col end}}

==Monday==

{{div col|colwidth=28em}}

{{div col end}}

=''Christmas on Mars''=

The Flaming Lips' long-awaited film Christmas on Mars premiered on Sunday, May 25 at the festival.

2007

The 2007 Sasquatch! Music Festival was hosted by Sarah Silverman, Michael Showalter, and Aziz Ansari.

=Lineup=

==Saturday, May 26==

==Sunday, May 27==

2006

The 2006 Sasquatch! Music Festival marked the first time the festival ran for three days. The event began on Friday, May 26 and lasted until Sunday, May 28. The second day was marked by an afternoon hailstorm, which forced Neko Case and her band off stage and threatened to shut down the show entirely. Fortunately, the storm subsided and the festival was able to continue as scheduled, as The Tragically Hip took the stage.

=Lineup=

==Friday, May 26==

==Saturday, May 27==

==Sunday, May 28==

2005

The 2005 Sasquatch! Music Festival took place on Saturday, May 28.

=Lineup=

==Saturday, May 28==

2004

The 2004 Sasquatch! Music Festival took place on Saturday, May 29. The event was hosted by David Cross.

=Lineup=

==Saturday, May 29==

2003

Hosted by El Vez.

=Lineup=

==Saturday, May 24==

2002

=Lineup=

==Saturday, May 25==

Performers that have played more than once

References

{{Reflist}}

Press

{{Commons category|Sasquatch Music Festival}}

  • [http://www.seattlepi.com/pop/123558_sasquatch26q.html 2003 festival review] at Seattle PI
  • [http://www.leftoffthedial.com/6_04Sasquatch.htm 2004 festival review] at Left Off The Dial
  • [http://www.tinymixtapes.com/features/sasquatch-music-festival-2009 2009 festival review] at Tiny Mix Tapes
  • [http://www.tinymixtapes.com/features/sasquatch-2010-yeah-meh-bleh 2010 festival review] at Tiny Mix Tapes
  • [http://www.synthesis.net/site/articles/featured-articles/sasquatch-music-festival-2007.html Interview with Sasquatch founder Adam Zacks] at Synthesis

{{Live Nation}}

{{Authority control}}

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Category:Rock festivals in the United States

Category:Tourist attractions in Grant County, Washington

Category:Music festivals established in 2002

Category:Music festivals disestablished in 2018

Category:Music festivals in Washington (state)

Category:Defunct music festivals

Category:2002 establishments in Washington (state)

Category:2018 disestablishments in Washington (state)