“Today we take a bow and bid farewell to Sasquatch!,” Zacks said in a statement. “I will no longer be producing the festival, nor will it take place in 2019.” It is unclear whether the festival may be picked up by another entity in the future.
In 2002, Zacks launched Sasquatch!, which was held annually at Gorge Amphitheater in George, Washington. This year’s event, which took place over Memorial Day weekend, featured Bon Iver, the National and Modest Mouse. Over the years, the festival grew from a single day to a three-day event (it spanned four days from 2011 to 2013). In 2014, the Memorial Day weekend festival expanded to encompass a Fourth of July weekend edition, but the second holiday weekend was canceled after failing to generate enough support from fans. Last year, Frank Ocean nixed his headlining appearance a few weeks before the festival commenced.
“Seventeen years is a long time to do anything. The Beatles lasted a mere eight years, a fact so astonishing it is difficult to believe,” Zacks continued in his statement. “While we didn’t accomplish anything as indelible as ‘Hey Jude,’ the festival left a lasting mark and proudly represented an independent spirit.
“Sasquatch! will forever remain a tapestry of the people who worked with us, the artists who inspired us, and the varied experiences of the fans who attended it… of friendships made, engagements, hilltop weddings, permanent tattoos, once in a lifetime collaborations, weather events both treacherous and magnificent, at least one very public conception and, of course, hundreds of awe-inspiring performances,” he concluded. “My humblest gratitude to you all.”
13/jan/2021
ReplyDeleteOn these short days & long nights I miss the anticipation of Sasquatch. The festival had become part of my annual cycle & rhythm... line-up rumors, organizing gear/rides, looking forward that glorious long weekend in May.
Then 2014 happened. Nobody cares now, but 2014 was - without question - the beginning of the end for the Sasquatch music festival. Pretty hard economic recession then, and Zack/Sasquatch chose that time double+ ticket prices & require purch. for BOTH weekends... which were 6+ weeks apart. I was livid at the time - still am, actually. Especially @ the ticket price(s). But the real tell was the meh lackluster line-ups @ both weekends. The entire 2014 SMF experience was insulting & very disappointing. I was an economic boycott - i could NOT justify the tix prices in '14. I never attended SMF again after that... '13 was my last.
After '14, ticket sales & line-ups got weaker with each year until Zach called it quits after '18.
IMO, Zach/SMF have nobody but themselves to blame - 2014 was a predictable & avoidable disaster. I don't think anyone can deny that early+'09->'13 were legendary & ascendant, while '14 was a reversal in every way.
Just my two cents.
I miss the affordable, eclectic, relevant, pre-2014 'SquatchFest.
I would happily give ZA/SMF a 2nd chance in 2022. Fuck Covid. Outdoor festivals are the antidote, not the problem.