I’m writing my first festival round up of the season in a state of mind that can be best described as Sasquatch withdrawal.
For anyone who has been to the now four-day music pilgrimage, it is heaven on earth for music junkies.
It had been a couple years since I’d been down to the Gorge and I have to admit I woke up this morning wishing I was getting ready for another day of music mayhem.
My crew skipped day one of the festival, which featured Girl Talk, Of Monsters and Men, Beats Antique and Shambhala headliners Pretty Lights.
As a journalist headed down to the festival I had a game plan in mind. My focus was Canadian musicians, particularly those that have made stops in Nelson.
Some of the Canadian acts that took the stage at Sasquatch included The Walkmen, Metric, Said the Whale, Coeur de Pirate and Hey Rosetta!
In the midst of enjoying numerous bands and singer/songwriters, I had the opportunity to interview Tyler Bancroft, Nathan Shaw, Spencer Schoening of the Juno award winning band Said the Whale and Tim Baker of the Newfoundland band Hey Rosetta!
As both a fan and a music writer I will say that both bands made Canada proud showing true talent, energy and enthusiasm for music.
“Don’t f**ck up!” was the first thing that came into Schoening’s mind as he stood in front of the crowd at the Bigfoot Stage.
“Also, ‘holy shit this is real,’” said Bancroft.
“It was just amazing to see how many people were there,” said Schoening. “It exceeded our expectations.”
Said the Whale have played Nelson on past tours and are now playing festivals that hold three times its population.
“It’s completely different but also totally the same,” said Bancroft about the difference of playing smaller Nelson-like shows and huge festivals like Sasquatch.
“It’s like a bag of Skittles,” said Schoening. “They all taste a little different but they are all awesome.”
Throughout the weekend I began to notice other trends emerging besides the strong presence of Canadian music.
The female musicians who were showcased on various stages this weekend showed that girl power is alive and not just well, it’s thriving.
From Feist to Emily Haines of Metric and Ritzy Bryan of The Joy Formidable, the women were strong and talented.
One of many goosebump moments occurred as I was standing in the crowd at the Sasquatch stage listening to The Head and the Heart sing Rivers and Roads.
Charity Rose Thielen belted out the chorus “Rivers and roads, rivers till I reach you” and you couldn’t help but think, ‘That girl has some serious pipes!’
The weekend also showcased the revival of folk, country and bluegrass music in mainstream music. For the full write including highlights, lowlights, bands to listen to and more visit our blog.
