Having recently moved to Vancouver from Toronto, I was starting to get music festival envy. It seems like Toronto has an amazing lineup of acts, performing in some beautiful grassy park, basically every other weekend. And while Vancouverites can make the annual pilgrimage to Washington for Sasquatch, that’s not always doable. But this year I went to the Squamish Valley Music Festival, which took place this past weekend in Squamish, BC, and is an easy hour-and-a-bit drive away from Vancouver.
Only in its fourth year, Squamish Fest is already becoming a must-do for BC residents (and heck, all western Canadians). The three-day festival not only brings some amazing local and international talent to its stages, but it’s also very affordable as far as music festivals go. Oh, and it’s got an incredible view of the mountains. When you’re watching your favourite band play with a view of the Chief mountain right beside you, it’s hard not to feel extreme glee.
One thing that makes Squamish Fest stand out for me is its emphasis on local talent. Whether it was a big name like Dan Mangan or a smaller act like Ballantynes, the schedule was stacked with BC’s best and brightest musicians (plus amazing other Canadian acts like Diamond Rings, Dragonette, and A Tribe Called Red). There were also great headlining acts like Band of Horses, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, Vampire Weekend, and Childish Gambino, making for a line-up that was the perfect mix of rock, pop, and electronic. Also shout-out to the Reel Mac and Cheese food truck for giving me the best food I’ve ever eaten at a music festival. Seriously thank you for not serving me hot dogs or mystery burritos.
Highlights for me included Deap Vally, Diamond Rings, A Tribe Called Red, Jurassic 5, and Madeon, to name a few.
It was recently announced that the festival’s capacity is being bumped up to 35,000 next year (from this year’s 17,000), so it’s clear that this summertime music celebration is on the steady rise. And frankly, it’s not hard to see why.
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