Sasquatch Music Festival has officially closed its gates for good.
This morning in an email, founder Adam Zacks confirmed that Sasquatch would be ending it’s 17-year run.
“Today we take a bow and bid fond farewell to Sasquatch!,” Zacks announced. “I will no longer be producing the Festival, nor will it take place in 2019.”
Sasquatch began in 2002 when its founder moved to Seattle. Making its home base at the famed Gorge Amphitheater, the first edition featured names like Dave Matthews Band, and went on to host some of the biggest rock acts in the world.
The festival was one of the first to start booking larger electronic acts for their previously predominantly rock festival, and that trend exploded onto the mainstream likely due to the giant success of the idea. Deadmau5 headlined the festival in 2009 for one of the most talked about sets of the festival’s history, and in years since we’ve seen such acts as Skrillex, The Glitch Mob, Boys Noize, Rusko, Pretty Lights, and so many more.
Here is the full statement, from an email acquired by Willamette Week.
[well]
28 June 2018
“‘Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.’ – Theodore Geisel
Today we take a bow and bid a fond farewell to Sasquatch! I will no longer be producing the Festival, nor will it take place in 2019. The Festival began 17 years ago on a hunch, greenlit on nothing more than a name and instinct there was space for something with a uniquely Northwest flavor, on Memorial Day weekend, at one of the most beautiful locations on Earth – The Gorge. 17 years is a long time to do anything. The Beatles lasted a mere 8 years, a fact so astonishing it is difficult to believe.
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. My humblest gratitude to all of you. May the spirit that made Sasquatch! so special live on. Onward to the next adventure.
– Adam Zacks”
[/well]
We’ve reached out to Sasquatch for additional comment, and will update this article accordingly as we learn more.
We’re gonna miss this beautiful festival, and we hope to see something equally as awesome at the Gorge to follow…or maybe someone new picking up the mantle?
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