Sasquatch! Music Festival has been filling the Memorial Day weekend plans of Washingtonians for over a decade.
Originally founded in 2002 by local concert promoter Adam Zacks, the first lineup included artists such as Blackalicious, Galactic, Jack Johnson, Ben Harper and The String Cheese incident. Since its humble first beginnings, Sasquatch! has grown immensely to become one of America’s most popular music festivals and to boast one of the most impressive lineups so far.
This year, Sasquatch! is taking a different direction with its schedule. Sasquatch! usually takes place over Memorial Day weekend, filling a Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday schedule.
Instead of one four-day festival, Sasquatch! is splitting its jam-packed lineup into two separate weekends. The first, per usual, will occur on Memorial Day Weekend but will only cover Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The second will occur during Fourth of July Weekend, giving Sasquatch! fans a new way to celebrate the holiday.
Sasquatch! is known for its eclectic lineup and its ability to satisfy the music taste of a wide variety of listeners. The festival generally features five stages with most hosting indie rock bands and individual singer-songwriters but also featuring specialty genres, such as the “Banana Shack,” an electronic music tent.
This year’s lineup should be able to satisfy the listening preferences of the loyal Sasquatch! attendees while also drawing in new fans.
The Memorial Day Weekend set will be headlined by Outkast, The National and Queens of the Stone Age. Already, a variety of listeners have a headliner to be excited about.
The weekend will continue with performances from M.I.A, who is said to give some of the most memorable concerts out there, Kid Cudi and Major Lazer for those listeners looking for shows that will be fun from start to finish.
Indie rock fans will be thrilled to see Foals, Foster the People and Portugal the Man to name a few.
The mellower, folksy kind can look forward to Little Green Cards, First Aid Kit and Tune-Yards.
The Memorial Day weekend has gotten a good deal of hype and is said to be preferred by the patrons of the festival who attend habitually on Memorial Day. But those willing to be a little flexible and to go for a little change are favoring the Fourth of July lineup.
This lineup features headliners Soundgarden, Kraftwerk, and New Order and Frank Ocean. It follows this strong basis with classic favorites like Neutral Milk Hotel, Spoon, Local Natives and Of Montreal. For something other than your standard indie rock, festival attendees can check out Rhye, Atmosphere or Dillon Francis to name a few.
Sasquatch! certainly has taken a risk by splitting the weekends, but it seems that the festival has grown so popular in the Pacific Northwest and has even secured a comfortable spot on the radar of music festival junkies all over the country, that it will be able to support this expanded spread.
One complaint that attendees have had about the new division of the festival is that ticket prices for one weekend are the same as they have been in the past. The only difference for attendees of just one weekend is that there is one fewer day of music that they are getting for that ticket price.
However, those with a bit of extra change in their pockets can splurge and buy both weekends at a package price that will give a better value for each weekend. Unfortunately, with each weekend selling individually at $325 including camping and the joint weekend package clocking in at $550, that is more than the average college student has on hand.
However, as always, many a Logger will be found at this event enjoying the Pacific Northwest summer. Anyone interested in attending the festival is likely to find other classmates doing the same. Carpool, share tents and enjoy one or both of these unforgettable Sasquatch! weekends.
