I’ve been in love with the idea of the Sasquatch! Music Festival for years now, even more so than with that of Coachella. Combine a mind-numbingly beautiful natural amphitheater in Washington with folk and indie music over Memorial Day Weekend and I’m sold.
On Monday, Sasquatch!’s lineup was released. And though it didn’t get the same kind of general, fanatic social media response as Coachella’s lineup announcement always does, it really should have.
And for those who missed the Coachella boat, Sasquatch! deserves consideration as a second option.
A disclaimer for the remainder of the column: I’m not overly excited every time I write the name of the festival – there really is an exclamation point in the name.
Sasquatch! is structured a bit differently from Coachella. It’s one massive amphitheater, with seating going all the way up a large bluff and overlooking The Gorge (Google it if you want to see what is probably the most impressive concert setting around).
It also takes place over four days, spreading acts out over a longer period of time than Coachella.
Another major difference in the two festivals is that Sasquatch! includes stand-up comedy. This year, three especially notable comic acts are Nick Offerman (yes, Ron Swanson is going to be at the festival), Mike Birbiglia and Brett Gelman.
But that’s not why you buy a ticket to this festival. The reason you buy a ticket to this festival is for the music.
And in that department, Sasquatch! delivers in a huge way, perhaps – dare I say it – even more so than Coachella?
These are the six “featured artists” for the festival. Brace yourself: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Mumford & Sons, Vampire Weekend, Sigur Rós, The Postal Service and the xx.
It’s no surprise that Macklemore will be there, since he’s from Seattle.
But the other five artists are also landmark names in their respective genres, and any three of these would be enough to warrant buying a ticket to the festival.
But all six are going to be there. And those are just the featured artists.
Beyond these six headliners, a huge wealth of other great indie and folk musicians are going to be there, as well as a few DJs. I’m just going to rattle off a few before talking about them.
Please save your applause until the end of the list: The Lumineers, Arctic Monkeys, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, Imagine Dragons, Andrew Bird, Steve Aoki, Devendra Banhart, Atlas Genius and The Tallest Man on Earth.
There’s more, but I won’t list them all here.
The bottom line is that this year’s Sasquatch! lineup puts forth a group of artists whose music is perfectly suited to the venue of The Gorge – beautiful and reflective at some times, bombastic and epic at others.
Now, onto the hard part of doing Sasquatch!. The finances of it, and then actually getting there. The ticket itself is less expensive than that of Coachella by about $10. But The Gorge is a lot farther than Indio, making the difference in ticket price nonexistent. In fact, Sasquatch! might be more expensive than Coachella.
So, here’s what you do.
Get a group of friends and make a road trip out of it. If your car has good gas mileage, it can probably make it to The Gorge on three tanks of gas, and if that is split five or six ways, it’s not that expensive. Parking is also included in the price of the wristband, so that potential extra expense is also taken care of.
In terms of food?
Well, I’ve heard ramen stays fresh for a while. And if you’re lacking hot water, smashing ramen into cereal is always a possibility. You’ll get weird looks from people, sure. But you’ll be at Sasquatch!. And in my opinion, this lineup and the setting of The Gorge is more than worth a few days of less-than-stellar dietary choices.
Are you more impressed by Sasquatch!’s or Coachella’s lineup? Email Bain at
abain@media.ucla.edu. “B-Sides” runs every Thursday.