| Music Festival Name: | Sasquatch! Music Festival |
| Location: | The Gorge Amphitheatre, George, Washington, U.S. |
| Years Active: | 2002–2018 |
| Founders: | Adam Zacks |
| Dates: | Memorial Day weekend |
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.[1]
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.[2]
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!:[3]
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.[4] 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.[5]
The lineup for the 2011 Sasquatch! Music Festival was announced on February 6, 2011.[6]
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.[7]
The comedy lineup included Rob Riggle, Bobcat Goldthwait, Luke Burbank, Mike Birbiglia, Patton Oswalt and Craig Robinson.
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.[8] The event took place on Memorial Day weekend, May 23–25, 2009.[7]
The comedy lineup included Zach Galifianakis, Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!, Todd Barry, H. Jon Benjamin, God's Pottery, People's Republic of Komedy, The Whitest Kids U Know, The Red Wine Boys, and Maria Bamford.
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.
The 2008 festival features the first ever Sasquatch! comedy tent.
The Flaming Lips' long-awaited film Christmas on Mars premiered on Sunday, May 25 at the festival.
The 2007 Sasquatch! Music Festival was hosted by Sarah Silverman, Michael Showalter, and Aziz Ansari.
M.I.A. was scheduled to perform but cancelled due to visa complications.
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.
The 2005 Sasquatch! Music Festival took place on Saturday, May 28.
The 2004 Sasquatch! Music Festival took place on Saturday, May 29. The event was hosted by David Cross.
Hosted by El Vez.
