HERE FOR A GOOD TIME, NOT A LONG TIME: BASSCOAST 2011
This past weekend I had the opportunity to attend the final day/night of the Basscoast music festival located in beautiful Squamish, BC. I wasn’t able to make the entire weekend, so I was absolutely thrilled when I got a call Sunday morning from a friend working the event informing me that a guest pass was available to me. I rallied the troops, gathered up the necessary supplies and we hit the Sea to Sky for a much needed adventure outside of the city.
The beauty that lies just beyond Horseshoe Bay never ceases to amaze me (not that there isn’t beauty this side of the Bay!). It’s a great reminder of how quickly you can escape the city and indulge in the epic landscapes that BC has to offer. And that’s exactly what we would be doing at the Basscoast festival site. Located on the very edge of the glacier fed Squamish River, you could not ask for a more perfect setting for an outdoor festival. White sand beaches, mountains towering above you and more stars then I’ve ever seen in my life!
We arrived at the site around 7 and managed to find a spot to set up camp amongst all the festival goers who had been there all weekend. We finished just in time to catch Ali B mash up all sorts of funky tracks at the Slay Bay stage. He came recommended from my friend Indigo who caught his performance at Africa Burn this year. He did not disappoint and it was perfect way to kick off the night. After his set we caught a bit of the video competition, then went on to explore the rest of the festival site.
Coming across the main Basscoast stage was quite a surprise. It resembled a Scooby Doo-like haunted house with all sorts of crazy images being projected onto it and a window which opened up to the DJ booth. Always a fan of taking the live musical experience to the next level, I was super impressed with the work that had been done at the site.
We caught some of the deep sounds of The Librarian’s set which was cool to see since she is one of the founders/organizers of the festival. Sorry to hear she messed her ankle up, but she looked to be all smiles and enjoying herself. The rest of our night was primarily focused around the Slay Bay stage where we enjoyed the likes of Neighbour, Max Ulis and Isis Graham. However it was Mr. Jacques Greene’s set that really did it for me. Seamlessly blending house with sultry R&B, his whole vibe and sound was distinctly his own.
Come sunrise around 6am we decided to call it a night. However, once we got back to the camp site it seemed futile to go to sleep, so we had a quick bite, packed up our tent that(we never set foot in) and decided to hit the road to avoid the inevitable bottleneck of people leaving on Monday. It was somewhat surreal as we rolled out of the site having only arrived 12 hours earlier. The ultimate “swoop in, swoop out”.
I want to thank all of the organizers of this event for having the vision to cultivate a festival like this and extra thanks for the day pass! It was a great showcase of Canadian talent in an absolutely beautiful setting. I will for sure be returning next year and cannot wait to spend the whole weekend up there! Chalk up another wrist band and another incredible musical experience in 2011.
