Charles Bradley ::: photo by Abbey Simmons

Ah, camping at the Gorge. Where inevitably your tent is always placed next to the techno RV, the drunk Canadians or the angry suburban bros prone to exposing themselves (to list my most recent neighbors) … Since you may not be getting much sleep at night, its easy to hope you could catch a little extra shut eye in the morning and not miss out too much by skipping the earliest bands taking the stage. Unfortunately, if I told you that, I’d be lying. In fact, some of the acts I’m most excited for at this year’s Sasquatch play just after the gate’s open every day. So bring your ear plugs to help you get some sleep and get in line early, these are bands worth waking up for.

Allen Stone ::: photo by Josh Lovseth

Friday – Allen Stone (5:00pm) – Sasquatch Mainstage

Alright, so you won’t have to wake up early to catch Allen Stone on Friday, but you will have to make the proper arrangements to be able to have Friday off. If you’re heading to the campground, I suggest leaving before noon (or even better, Thursday after work), so you have time to set up your camp, deal with any traffic or delays getting into the campground and not torturing yourself by just hearing Allen’s funky falsetto drifting across the Gorge. Because Stone is a performer to be seen. While you won’t find me spinning his record at home, I don’t miss a chance to see Stone take the stage. He is, simply put, a pro. Capable of keeping the attention of a Sasquatch sized crowd with not only his vocal agility, but the “greasy” charm seeping from his pores. If you’ve been confused by the hype, but haven’t seen Stone yet, I suggest you see for yourself. If you’ve seen him before, I suspect you already have plans to get there early.

Read the rest of my recommendations (more…)