The Sasquatch! Music Festival was founded in 2002 by Pacific Northwest-based concert promoter Adam Zacks, then at
House of Blues. Prior to the inception of the festival, Zacks booked and managed shows at the Roseland Theater in
Portland, Oregon. After moving to
Seattle to be closer to friends and family, Zacks began considering the creation of a music festival in the Pacific Northwest. In an interview with
Seattle Weekly in September 2007, Zacks described the birth of Sasquatch!: Sasquatch was an idea born on a hunch that there was untapped demand for a certain kind of festival that catered to the eclectic tastes of music enthusiasts. It started in 2002, which was shortly after a number of the touring festivals (
Lollapalooza,
Lilith,
Horde) had petered out and the beginning of the wave of regional festivals that started with
Coachella and now is a dominant force on the music landscape, with Bonnaroo, Austin City Limits, etc. In 2014, Adam Zacks decided to expand the festival to two weekends due to the high demand for tickets in 2013. On March 21, 2014, the
Independence Day Weekend of Sasquatch was cancelled. Jeff Trisler, President of Live Nation, released the following statement upon the announcement: "The Sasquatch! community has spoken. They continue to support the traditional Memorial Day Weekend event with great enthusiasm," Jeff Trisler, president of Live Nation Seattle, said in a statement. "Unfortunately, the second weekend was not embraced. We felt it was better to cancel the new event now and give everyone time to make alternative plans for the Fourth of July weekend. Going forward, Sasquatch! Music Festival will be at the Gorge Amphitheatre on the weekend the fans want: Memorial Day Weekend only." On June 28, 2018, Zacks officially announced that Sasquatch! Music Festival would cease operation indefinitely and would not be returning in 2019. == 2018 ==