Live Nation Indefinitely Postpones Their Sasquatch Replacement Festival

David Byrne's shadows have followed me since last year's Sasquatch. Lester Black

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The End of the Rainbow is dead.

It brings me no joy to report that Live Nation's replacement for Sasquatch Music festival, an EDM-heavy weekend the promoter was calling "End of the Rainbow," has been cancelled. Ticketmaster told ticket holders this weekend that due to "unforeseen complications and key artist cancellations," the event is indefinitely postponed.

The event's website and social media accounts have been taken down and Ticketmaster issued refunds and said that "original tickets will not be honored for the new date if rescheduled," so it appears this party has died a premature death.

The Gorge is a magical place that as many people should experience as possible, so even though my coverage of this Sasquatch replacement has been, um, let's say unfavorable, (see pt. 1: "If Live Nation Replaces Sasquatch With a Bassnectar Show I Am Going to Scream" and pt. 2: "Live Nation's Replacement for Sasquatch Looks Terrible"), I am still not happy to see this festival go down in a screaming ball of (ostensibly) terrible ticket sales.

My critique of End of the Rainbow was grounded in my affection for Sasquatch and the hope that Live Nation could find a way to keep something alive in Sasquatch's slot. For 17 years, Sasquatch brought amazing music every Memorial Day Weekend to the natural amphitheater perched above the Columbia River. Shortly after last year's festival (which featured amazing performances from David Byrne, Julien Baker, Neko Case, Thundercat, Modest Mouse, and so much more), the festival's organizers announced that Sasquatch would not return in 2019. Live Nation's decision to replace Sasquatch's diverse and critically-acclaimed programming with a weekend full of mountain hippy EDM sets didn't feel right to me, and it doesn't appear to have resonated with a bigger audience either.

Hopefully someone will find a way to bring back Sasquatch next year or at least replace it with something interesting. Perhaps one of our local billionaires can underwrite a future festival? Paging Paul Allen's estate or Chris Hansen?



The rainbow hath ended. Lester Black