Sasquatch Festival

Gorge backdrop was amazing. Much cooler during the day than Coachella. Would definitely recommend spending the extra $ 150 to stay at the Wildhorse campgrounds. So much cleaner than the festival grounds, a great restaurant, and hot showers.
Was a bit disappointed in the sheer amount of garbage that builds up everywhere, especially the lawn at the Gorge. It really is disgusting. By the end of the day you cannot find a clean place to sit. There was no-​one picking up garbage during the day, and everyone seemed to think it OK to drop their beer cans, plastic bottles, half-​eaten food, etc, directly on the lawn.
That and all the people dressed in animal costumes. Eh.

Don’t let the 3 stars fool you – I always make it my personal mission to have an AMAZING time at this festival. And I did again this year!
The problem I take with Sasquatch every year (and this was my 9^th year, I think. I’ve only missed 3 of them since the festival originated), is the limited resources available to festival goers. There were only 2 water refill stations. Livenation, you think that 2 water stations is going to cut it for the 10,000ish people that attend Sasquatch? Y’all must like dumping money into the Emergency Medical Response staff’s pockets, with all the dehydrated drugged-​out kids running around the amphitheater.
And what’s up with NO recycling bins on site? A ridiculous amount of canned beer being consumed by festival goers, and not a single recycle bin? Shame on you.
A couple of +‘s:
– I liked that they had the 2^nd largest stage at the opposite end of the main stage this year. This forced festie-​goers to check out the lesser known bands at the 3^rd largest stage, which was situated in between the two.
–I never feel bad skipping the gym the day before a trip to the Gorge, because the hike up from the stage pit ain’t an easy one! My shin splits, WOOF.
–They lowered the price on bottled H20 a few years ago. $ 3 isn’t bad at a large scale festival like Sasquatch.
–Food options have greatly improved in years past. I enjoyed a delicious marinated tempeh wrap and didn’t feel like I’d just swallowed a calorie bomb.
That’s about it. I’ll be back next year, as it’s continually been my favorite festival since I was a teenager. Probably because it most closely resembles a concert, and not the raging festivals these days where kids just need an excuse to party.
Fix the recycling and H20 situation though! Geez!

I have a rich infatuation with music festivals and have been to Austin City Limits. Coachella, Bonnaoo, SXSW, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, and Kerrviille Folk Festival.
This was my first year to Sasquatch and it did not disappoint.
It definitely is unlike any festival I’ve ever been to. It’s unique in the sense it’s in THE GORGE so no frills are really needed like at Coachella. (By frills I mean large art pieces, yoga class in the morning, dodgeball tournaments, etc.) The Gorge does it all on its own and I am glad they didn’t try to top Mother Nature.
Camping was relatively well organized. If I were to give you one piece of advice it would be to get to the festival after it starts on Friday… Why? The overflow camping site is the best spot! Maybe a 3 minute walk to the festival gates and the portapotties were by far the cleanest in this area. The only downfall is that the showers and food stands were a good 20 minute walk where the general camping was.
I kept reading a bunch of posts about how hot it got during the day. There was one day I needed to be wearing a tank top because the sun was so intense but I do wish I would have packed more layers. Speaking of layers, be sure to pack multiple pairs of socks to layer on at night or you might think you’ll loose a toe from the frigidness.
Food is 2 stars for me. Healthy options are pretty nonexistent. Don’t get me wrong, I had some good french fries at the festival but lived off granola bars I brought in because my body couldn’t handle all that is Sasquatch with burgers and fries every meal.
There was a few spots to get coffee. The general store coffee was OK but there was an organic coffee stand that was delicious. For a caffeine junky like me, I got a cup of drip coffee to drink while waiting 10 minutes for an americano or lattee.
The sound quality at the main stage is amazing and there is not a bad spot to sit and have a great view of the stage (and The Gorge). The top half is inclined which made it hard to sit for long periods of time. I recommend the middle, more flattened out section.
Put Sasquatch on your bucket list, I’m glad I did!

First time attended: 2007
Sasquatch is NOT a major festival (but Livenation gouges its attendees as if it were such).
On-​site camping is included in the festival pass but it is the worst camping of all festivals in the nation (SEE separate review for Gorge Campgrounds). And showers are not included free with campgrounds. Apparently neither are clean facilities because there is garbage piled high enough to make you think that you are no longer in the United States of America (or any first world country).
Food is terrible. Not, it’s overpriced (it is, of course) so I am holding it to a higher standard; it’s plain terrible. Would be the worst in the nation as well but Wakarusa does not really even have food so Sasquatch avoids that badge by sheer default. The lone bright spot is that there is a shitton of free processed food their sponsors give out: 2011 had essentially unlimited amount of soyjoys bars; lots of popchips; and even more jerky of some particular multi-​national food conglomerate that I have sicne forgotten.
Line-​ups are always lacking something and it is easily explained by realising that this is not a major music festival. But if you have no way of getting to a major, this would do, I suppose.
When water refill stations break, they will post signs proclaiming erroneously that water being distributed from the hand washing spigots is non potable, thereby encouraging every bleeding heart Pacific NWer to exhort you to not drink the perfectly potable water while you are trying to ignore them and listen to the Macklemore song you are missing because it’s your turn to get water but there is no way you are walking half the festival grounds up and down inclines to fill up bottles from an unbroken water refill station.
Tip: Don’t lecture your fellow non-​major festival-​goer on the dangers of contaminated water when they are trying to listen to the one song they will miss from the phenomenal Macklemore’s set. Mind your fucking business and go back to the lounge you came from. — E

I had a great time at Sasquatch 2012. They have made some changes this year, such as no longer supplying day passes and allowing re-​entry into the venue (huge plus!). It was however significantly more crowded than in the past with an increase in the number of attendees permitted, which I would say is the only major negative of the festival at this point. Adding more stages may seem like a good thing initially but it correlates to more crowds and I noticed that the new Maine stage contributed to noise interference with those who were sitting on the lawn during certain performances at the sasquatch stage. This was their first year doing this so perhaps its will improve with experimentation in the future.
Sasquatch is a relatively relaxed festival but does a great job of providing something for everyone as the lineup is always eclectic. I will note several positives relative to other festivals:
–Before you cringe at the $ 300 ticket price, consider this: camping is included in the price and unlike some other festivals, you will not have to worry about booking expensive hotels, parking, or transit to and from the venue (you will walk from your campsite). I believe by eliminating these costs you save far greater amounts of money and besides, the $ 300 price gets you four days and 150 incredible acts of music. Not to mention, that camp life itself is part of the experience of attending a festival. There is nothing like meeting your neighbors and cooking fun camp foods together… way better than having to pay for a hotel. Sasquatch makes it easy by wrapping it all up into one little package.
–Free water! Water is a critical issue at any festival since most festivals consist of environments that dehydrate you rapidly yet make water difficult to access and expensive. At Sasquatch you are allowed to bring in unopened containers of water, or even bring in your opened containers as long as they are empty upon point of entry. The lines can get long for water taps later in the day when it gots hot but they usually move fast. 90% of the time, there is virtually no line when I retrieve water since I go earlier in the day. I bring in a 2 liter camelback resevoir, fill it, and then dont have to worry about obtaining water for the rest of the day. Whether you are taking drugs and dancing all day or merely walking around sober from one stage to another, it is important to stay hydrated and the fact that water is free and accessible at sasquatch indicates to me that the promoters are savvy and concerned with the well being of their patrons. Access to water is a safety issue that many festivals do not address well. Of all of the drug-​induced kids I have encountered who have had experiences that have gone awry, its often because at that particular venue water was either sold out, difficult to access (extremely long lines), or outrageously expensive. Thankfully, this is not the case at sasquatch.
–Food. Its a festival so you should expect expensive prices from vendors but a nice alternative is that you are permitted to bring in your own food, which is what I prefer to do. I have seen recent improvements in trying to supply healthier food options from vendors but its nice to know you can pack in your own lunch if you dont prefer typically unhealthy overpriced festival food.
–Bathrooms. Honey Bucket portapotties are numerous and regularly maintained. With that being said, they tend to get pretty messy by the afternoon but what do you expect with thousands of people using them? In general the lines are not super long to use them. My advice is to bring a small roll of toilet paper and bottle of hand sanitizer with you. I hear numerous people (females mostly) complain about the depleted toilet paper stock when the simple trick of bringing in your own will save you from this despair.
–Security. Overall they are pretty relaxed in their conduct. They will give you a reasonable search upon entry but wont fondle you. I know its about safety but I think its important to have security that isnt too strict since at past venues, I have had critical items confiscated from me (ie. water, electrolyter formulas). If you dont cause trouble then they wont cause you any trouble. Inside the venue they are tolerant to smoking of marijuana and tend to focus more on beverage enforcement and dangerous behavior. I have had a couple of friends who got busted for possession of other illegal drugs but because they were polite and respectful towards security, they had their stuff confiscated but were allowed to remain in the festival. Thats pretty darn reasonable if you ask me!

I’ve gone three times since 2007 and I’ll likely be back again next year. First off, I met a good group of people here and have been coming back since. So yay for that!
First off, new this year was no single day tickets as the all weekend pass totally sold out. Not a problem for me because I always bought tickets for all day, but something to keep in mind if you want to come. And the tickets ain’t cheap, over $ 300 but that also includes the camping.
Camping: Get here EARLY if you want the main campground. I came up late Friday night and missed the rush, but my friends headed up much earlier and sat in a 3+ hour line. That’s re-​donk and I hope that doesn’t happen next year. By the time I got there (11ish) we were in the overflow camp — much closer to the venue but not in the main party camp area. Also, lights go out about 2am or so don’t try to sleep early. Ain’t gonna happen. We’ve always made friends with our neighbors too, it’s a friendly kind of place.
Amenities: Can you say honey buckets? Oh yeah. All over. Inside the venue they get fricking nasty and they run out of toilet paper closer to the end of the festival. I’d definitely keep that in mind. The ones in the campsites are pretty well maintained.
Food & Drinks: Overpriced (shock). There’s quite a few options but none under $ 9 or so. Beer is $ 11 for a huge can of crap beer. I saw some people with draft beer cups but never tracked it down. Do NOT get the margaritas unless you snuck a flask in to actually have some alcohol in it. Most capped drinks are given to you sans caps because there was a problem of people chucking full water bottles at the artists.
Security: Pretty visible. They check your bags and pat you down but you’re not going to feel molested. New this year was the fabric wristbands which were awesome, except too big for my wrist, I had a 3 inch tail that you CANNOT cut off. Annoying. Also I lost my ID and it was found & turned in so that was sweet.
Also thank you angel fellow camper who found my iPhone and returned it to me (man I lost a lot of things)
Venue: It’s…the mother freaking gorge. Beautiful. Plus they have multiple stages and you’re bound to find something you like.
Overall, a well done, fun festival!
*p.s. Sorry to the guy who I threatened to throw down the hill after you squirt me in the face with water. Kinda sorry.

Beautiful venue, great bands. Totally littered up by the afternoon. Lots of rules that are all about corporate making it’s $, ie no reentry, beverage enforcement, bag checks and full body pat downs, really crappy old school unhealthy expensive no effort food. Weakest drinks I’ve ever had in the lounge, I think they watered it down or did not give a full pour, cause I’m a lightweight, and didn’t feel a thing.
Slushy drinks $ 14, are wine based, and full of sugar, no buzz at all, only guilt for drinking the thing, and paying the price.
Had not gone in over 5 years, and event is almost unchanged, they have added nothing.
The line-​up was great, and loved seeing all the imaginative outfits people wore.
It’s sad that such a great event has become so capitalist :(

We had a pretty good time at Sasquatch X but let me inform you that the following are the reasons why it was good; the venue is obviously a beautiful setting and the music we heard over the long weekend was incredible.
Now here is the bad side; No re-​entry (bullshit), Security check is so F’in random (first two days we had a full inspection; the lady dissected wallets right down to pulling out all of the money and checking between bills, as well as searching through Altoid tins and verifying that each mint was indeed a mint… GROSS) Then on the last day… they didn’t even open my huge backpack– they simply touched the bag– lifted it and said go ahead! WTF
«Beverage Enforcement» really?!? They tackled people, tazed people, and X’d people out… so lame!
The food selection sucks and the prices are so not worth it!
The port-​a-​potty area turns into a mud pit… so F’in gross… I won’t begin to describe the potty’s…(use your imagination and then think worse)
The water stations did not make any sense… they expect you to fill up your bottle and stay hydrated while they lock you in the venue without the option to leave for more than 10 hours a day and they have 3 water stations with ridiculous lines and one of the stations went out of order… seriously not providing enough water is DANGEROUS!
Having been to Bonnaroo in Tennessee which holds 80,000 people and runs top notch I though Sasquatch could run efficiently with a cord nearly a ¼ of that size… I was wrong.

I just got back from my first-​ever Sasquatch. Overall, it was a great experience, but I was rather surprised about certain aspects of the festival.
First of all, highway construction delays added three hours to our drive. It looked like the roadwork had been going on for months, so it’s too bad that no one posted an advisory on the Sasquatch blog. We stayed at the Days Inn in Ellensburg, so I can’t comment on the campgrounds.
Maybe I am naïve, but I was really thrown off by the inconsiderate attitudes of some of the audience members. Due to the high proportion of cigarette smokers, it was impossible for me to find a clean airspace in the crowd. And, what’s with all of the litter???
The food offerings were pretty sad. For a «green» festival, none of the vendors appeared to be environmentally friendly. Thankfully we packed sandwiches just like everyone else.
Compared with other festivals I’ve been to, it seems odd that there isn’t a first aid tent. Maybe the «Beverage Enforcement» and security guys (the only staff members I saw inside the venue) have first aid training, but if so, festival-​goers need to be informed. Several areas of the venue are steep/​gravelly/​unstable, and I noticed a big rusty wire sticking out of some concrete in the ground, so I’m glad I wore sensible footwear.
Music-​wise, I saw a number of great performances, and most of the shows started on time. But, some aspects of the programming baffled me. Several of the most popular bands performed at the medium-​sized «Bigfoot» stage (with poor sightlines), often at surprisingly early times, while the main stage often seemed to be taken up by less popular bands (at least during the daytime). The most commonly heard complaint at the festival was the siting of the smallest «Yeti» stage. It was placed in an area (apparently different from last year) where there was a huge amount of noise-​bleed from the two other stages and poor sightlines. As a result, several great performances were compromised.
In any case, it was a treat to see so many of my favourite bands perform in one weekend!

Fantastically fun.
I went last year, 2009, and am going again this year without a doubt.
A few caveats:
1) Tickets are ridiculously expensive. Ticketmaster has a monopoly (is this legal?) and uses it to its obscene advantage. At least, this was the case last year — perhaps it has by now been resolved?
2) Everything is intensely expensive inside the festival. You cannot leave the grounds and come back, so once you’re in, you’re in. Definitely bring a water bottle — it must be empty or unopened (if disposable) on entry to the festival. There are water fountains inside and you can fill up for free. You can also bring snacks in.
It is significant to note that if you want to be near the front for a certain show later in the evening, you’ve got to do your time in the crowd working your way up, in fairly intense heat, surrounded by (and partaking in) rowdiness, and your staying power depends on having enough water and calories to not pass out.
3) Port A Potties. Rank, but not quite as bad as you might imagine. There can be huge lines at key times and toilet paper was getting scarce by the end, so I suggest bringing a small amount of your own.
4) There are technically showers, yes, available to the premium level campers. Assuming they don’t break and assuming you want to wait over an hour for one. Hello, wet wipes.
5) On the topic of premium camping — that’s where I was at, so I cannot speak to the regular camping. Space is still minimal — don’t expect privacy, I think it’s somewhat quieter than ‘regular’, as I heard the latter is utter chaos (ideal for some, I’m sure), and the port a potties are maintained. As a somewhat irritable grad student who likes sleep more than drunkeness, I’ll be in premium again.
Will be adding to this as the date approaches…

Sarah Silvermann said it best when she announced that the crowd smelled like a mix of patchoulli and diarrhea.
My date and I went to the festival and Saturday and had fun walking from stage to stage. It’s an awesome place to hear some of your favourite bands and also to hear new music. I want to check out stuff from several bands I hadn’t heard of before.
I’ve been to a few messy festivals in the past but Sasquatch seemed to have more music lovers than drunk party animals… that’s probably because a can of beer was 10 $.
The doors opened at 11 but the line up to get in was so long that we missed a bit of the first bands that were playing. The delay was mainly due to the fact that each person’s bag was searched before being allowed in to the festival. I had to empty everything out of my backpack.
There are tons of port-​o-​potties and there was a separate section for women only which helped speed the line-​ups. The toilet paper did run out at the end of the night and the toilets got pretty full which was super gross.
I would definitely make the loooong drive back to Washington for the festival.

The Sasquatch Festival during Memorial Day Weekend is set in the most beautiful outdoor venue in the world, The Gorge in George, WA, about 2.5 hours east of Seattle. Two smaller stages, in addition to the Main Stage overlooking the Columbia River, host a great line up of musicians, mostly of indie rock fame, but not always. Alums include The New Pornographers, The Postal Service, Thievery Corporation, The Shins, Coldplay, Decemberists, Wilco, Cat Power, Kayne West, etc. What I like about this festival is the size. It’s not nearly as packed as Coachella, or as hot. Yet the quality of the lineup is quite similar for a cheaper ticket price. The House of Blues (HOB) offers 2 for Tuesday deals where you can get 2 tickets for the price of one making the festival only $ 20 bucks. Let’s hope they continue this deal. «Camping» onsite is available, but I’d recommending **real** camping and fishing in the area.