Tents are packed. The stages are likely coming down and soon, week nine of spring term will be in full swing. But that doesn’t mean you can’t relive the last day of this year’s Sasquatch! Music Festival. Softer indie-rock acts like Phoebe Bridgers and Big Thief joined high-energy bands Tune-Yards and Anderson.Paak and the Free Nationals for a busy third day.
Here are the Emerald’s highlights from day three of Sasquatch! Music Festival 2018. Photos by Sarah Northrop and Dana Sparks below.
Phoebe Bridgers appeared on the Yeti Stage earlier than anticipated, leaving time to interact with the crowd and joke around. Her bandmates wore simple white button up t-shirts and black ties while Bridgers wore a thin, shimmery black dress, two simple necklaces and sunglasses in which the crowd could see themselves reflected back. Magenta lights streamed through her blonde hair during the first song, “Smoke Signals,” and eventually turned blue as she went into “Funeral,” both songs from her debut album “Stranger in the Alps.” There appeared to be technical difficulties during the first few songs that drew worried looks from the guitarist toward the sound operator. Despite the issues adding shrill feedback among the otherwise sweet, melancholy sounds, Bridgers continued on, unbothered.
Too Many Zooz played the Bigfoot Stage. The self-described “brass-house” band got its start as a busking band in New York City and gained popularity after a video of the group went viral on YouTube. Frontman Leo Pellegrino captivated the Bigfoot audience with his footwork and dance moves, which involved sensually pelvic-thrusting his baritone saxophone.
Alex Lahey, also on the Yeti Stage, came all the way from Melbourne, Australia, to play songs from her 2017 album “I Love You Like a Brother.” She played in the high, afternoon sun, bouncing in and out of the harsh light and into the shadowy stage as she played guitar and sang. Lahey talked about being far away from home and sharing a photo of the gorge with her mom before her set, expecting her mom to say how proud she was of Lahey only to receive mom-wisdom: don’t forget sunscreen.
tUnE-yArDs was on the main stage in an oversized, black-and-rainbow striped dress with a white, cord-like scarf. She switched between playing a ukulele and banging a drum pad with gusto for songs from “I Can Feel You Creep into My Private Life”. Switching between several instruments and vocals, she produced a wide array of sound, delivering softer tunes to sway to and then heavy, electronic beats from the experimental indie-pop band.
Noname was as sweet as her voice was smooth. She asked the audience to help her out by singing the “adlibs”, but the audience kept coming in a little too early making Noname laugh. She performed songs off her album “Telefone.”
While Japanese Breakfast is a Philadelphia band, the lead singer Michelle Zauner is from Eugene, referring to herself as a “Pacific Northwest girl”. Zauner noted that she’s been waiting for this day all year long. She covered “Dreams” by The Cranberries before ending with “Everyone Wants to Love You” from the “Psychopomp” album.
The four-piece band, Big Thief, pulled songs from its sophomore album “Capacity,” released last year, and another one shortly before, “Masterpiece.” Lead singer and guitarist Adrianne Lenker’s hair has grown out significantly since appearing with a shaved head in the music video for “Mythological Beauty.” The crowd swayed slowly with Big Thief playing into the setting sun. Small plumes of smoke and mist rose from the audience under the droning, alt-rock sounds of Lenker’s beautiful heartache. During one of her opening guitar solos, even her bandmates closed their eyes, seemingly lending themselves to the music too.
TOKiMONSTA’s Jennifer Lee captivated the audience with her most recent album “Lune Rouge.” The album was created amid her recovery from a life-threatening brain disease called Moyamoya disease that took away her ability to interpret and create music, as well as walking and talking. Despite the challenging health circumstances she has faced, she looked radiant and brought only good vibes to the El Chupacabra stage.
Anderson .Paak and the Free Nationals took to the Bigfoot Stage shortly after EDM artist What So Not started at the El Chupacabra Stage nearby. Many people stayed after TOKiMONSTA to see What So Not. While the DJ drew in additional people to those remaining, it didn’t last long. Within the first few songs of his set, people sought out Anderson.Paak’s voice, leaving What So Not at the El Chupacabra Stage with seemingly half the audience he had minutes before. Anderson.Paak looked out over the crowd, wearing a denim jacket and beanie, with lights twinkling behind him like the night sky and said, “I have a feeling I’m never going to forget this night.”

Gallery • 6 Photos

Dana Sparks

Phoebe Bridgers playing “Funeral” from her album “Stranger in the Alps”. A weekend to remember, the Sasquatch! Music Festival wraps up on May 27, 2018. (Dana Sparks/Emerald)