I LIVE for the concert road trip.  As a self proclaimed Alt-Dork, I never, ever miss the annual Sasquatch! Music Festival at The Gorge in George, Washington.  First off, what a rad venue.  I don't even care who's playing, the camping experience & the scenery alone are worth the drive.  And nothing, and I mean nothing beats camping with the Sasquatch crowd.  Depending on the year's line up, you get everybody from Portland hippies to college kids in huge motor homes to electronica base heads dumping out of vans.  The camping alone is truly an awesome experience, I highly recommend doing it at least once in your life.

Sasquatch is always on Memorial Day Weekend giving you an extra day for travel time.  The wait in line for a camping spot is effing BRUTAL, I ain't gonna lie, but if you come prepared and approach the wait like a party it freakin' rocks.

Last year was the first time that your Sasquatch ticket included parking and camping, those are usually extra and not cheap.  Which means EVERYBODY decided to camp and totally overwhelmed Gorge staff, the wait to get in was terrible, especially because we had to leave last minute as it was the day after Foo Fighters in Missoula.  However, I suspect the promoters learned from last year's mistakes and will be ready to accommodate everybody more efficiently this year.  Or at least I'm hoping...

Sasquatch is unique in that it offers a little something for everybody.  There's this insane, massive 3 story structure full of trippin' raver kids going nuts to DJ sets, there's a gigantic shower that can be shared by at least 100 people at once, there are X-Box tents that make a killer place to chill out, of course there are hundreds of food venders and a not-so-cheap beer garden.  There are like 5 different stages for comedians, impromptu stuff from random celebs & dozens upon dozens of bands.  It's just soooooooooooo much fun, believe me.

Each January I begin anticipating who will be announced for the line up, they're pretty damn good at keeping it a surprise, despite the Sasqatch rumor blog that is constantly being updated.  I had no idea who to expect this year so I was ecstatic to see Silversun Pickups on the list!!  LOVE this band, saw them once in Spokane, they're phenomenal live.  I'm sure they'll be on some crappy side stage, which in fact is NOT crappy cuz you can walk right up and see them from like 2 feet away.  Saw the Beasties once that way at the Gorge, sooooo rad.

I'm also super excited for Tenacious D, Metric, The Joy Formidable and obviously Jack White & Beck. Huge Beck fan.

The official Sasquatch! site hasn't posted the daily schedule yet, but make sure to check it when they do to help determine if you need a couple of daily passes or a full 4-day pass.  Oh, and speaking of the 4-day pass, for the first time this year, you'll be allowed to leave and re-enter the grounds if you have one.

loading...

SASQUATCH! MUSIC FESTIVAL SETS LINEUP FOR
MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND
(MAY 25-28) AT THE GORGE AMPHITHEATRE

FESTIVAL PASSES ON SALE SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11 (11:00 am Missoula time) AT sasquatchfestival.com

Jack White

Beck

Tenacious D

Silversun Pickups

Bon Iver, Pretty Lights, The Shins, Beirut, Girl Talk, The Roots, The Head & The Heart, Portlandia, Feist,  Metric, Explosions In The Sky, The Joy Formidable, Mogwai, Nero (DJ), M. Ward, John Reilly & Friends, Childish Gambino, St. Vincent, The Civil Wars, Jamey Johnson, Little Dragon, Tune-Yards, Wild Flag, Blind Pilot, Wolfgang Gartner, Beats Antique, Apparat, The Walkmen, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Mark Lanegan Band, Spiritualized, Blitzen Trapper, The Cave Singers, Shabazz Palaces, Fun., Grouplove, Tycho, Sbtrkt, Strfkr, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, Deer Tick, Imelda May, Alabama Shakes, Dum Dum Girls, The Helio Sequence, Kurt Vile, Cloud Cult, We Are Augustines, Ben Howard, Here We Go Magic, Zola Jesus, The War On Drugs, Shearwater, Cass McCombs, Active Child, Trampled By Turtles, Charles Bradley & His Extraordinaires, Araabmuzik, Star Slinger, L.A. Riots, Com Truise, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, I Break Horses, Walk The Moon, Dry The River, Allen Stone, Pickwick, Hey Marseilles, Gary Clark Jr., Purity Ring, Electric Guest, Yellow Ostrich, Nobody Beats The Drum, Coeur De Pirate, Lord Huron, Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside, Beat Connection, The Sheepdogs, Hey Rosetta!, Said The Whale, Howlin Rain, Gardens & Villa, Felix Cartal, Craft Spells, Vintage Trouble, Poor Moon, Black Whales, Gold Leaves, Greylag, Awesome Tapes From Africa, Thee Satisfaction, Dyme Def, Fresh Espresso, The Physics, Sol, Metal Chocolates, Grynch, Spac3man, Don’t Talk To The Cops, Scribes, Fatal Lucciauno, Fly Moon Royalty, Katie Kate

Comedy: Nick Kroll, John Mulaney, Todd Barry, Beardyman, Rob Delaney, Pete Holmes, Howard Kremer

They usually have a better comedy line up than this, I never make it to watch the comedians anyway, who the Hell am I kidding?  Here's their official Press Release...

 

Following last year’s 10th anniversary, which crushed previous attendance records and set a new mark for the speed with which tickets sold out, the Sasquatch! Music Festival unveils its 2012 lineup which once again features 4 days of music. The festival, hailed as “a model of well-paced programming…in a four-day schedule as efficient and natural feeling as an expertly built algorithm” by NPR Music while Wired notes, “leave the landscape out of it and Sasquatch! has a lineup to kill for,” runs May 25-28 (Memorial Day Weekend) at The Gorge, the internationally acclaimed concert venue carved in the basalt cliffs high above the Columbia River Gorge in Quincy, WA.

Festival creator Adam Zacks founded Sasquatch! in 2002 with the aim of building an event that catered to the eclectic tastes of voracious music enthusiasts. Personally programming the lineups for each Sasquatch! Music Festival, Zacks handpicks a fresh array of performers with a tradition of presenting critically acclaimed emerging talent alongside established artists. Sasquatch! has recently been recognized for its programming excellence with a nomination for Festival of the Year at the 2012 Pollstar Awards and was named “Festival of the Year” in 2010 by Consequence of Sound.

Esurance, the direct-to-consumer personal car insurance company, will return in 2012 as the title sponsor for the Sasquatch! Music Festival. A green sponsor of the event since 2007, Esurance will continue its ongoing drive toward a planet-friendly festival. Following the success of 2011’s carpooling initiatives, the eco-conscious insurance company will again provide this year's concertgoers with multiple ridesharing opportunities through partner Zimride as well as a new shuttle service that will run between Ellensburg, WA and the festival. Esurance also plans to implement new programs aimed at maximizing the concert experience for music lovers, while continuing to promote a more sustainable and green event.

More From 96.3 The Blaze