Sasquatch Return; Playing Planet Desert Rock Weekend VII & Mojave Experience Festival
In what’s sure to be good news for heavy rockers across the international underground, Sasquatch have returned. The ostensibly Los Angeles-based trio — also with roots in Pennsylvania and Boston, Massachusetts — haven’t been absent all that long in the grand scheme of the universe, but if you felt existence shift toward the positive in the last however-many hours, no doubt their resumption of activities is why. Currently they’re slated to appear at Planet Desert Rock Weekend VII in Las Vegas (Jan. 28-31) and Mojave Experience 2027 in Joshua Tree, CA (March 19-21).
The band, whose most recent album is 2022’s Fever Fantasy (review here) — self-released through drummer (and Kind vocalist, also Roadsaw and others) Craig Riggs‘ Mad Oak Records imprint — toured internationally to support that record, and never really announced they were ‘done,’ or taking a hiatus, etc., but the two-plus years they’ve been absent from stages foreign and domestic have felt long. While guitarist/vocalist Keith Gibbs has been quieter, bassist Jason “Cas” Casanova toured last Fall with High Desert Queen and earlier this Spring with Nebula, both in Europe, playing festivals and more, and Riggs built out a new Mad Oak Studios and traveled with Kind to Las Vegas for Planet Desert Rock Weekend VI (review here) back in January.
No doubt other shows will be announced, but the addition of Sasquatch and to Mojave Experience and Planet Desert Rock Weekend strengthens two already-killer lineups. What the rest of 2027 will hold for the three-piece, I won’t speculate, but they’re coming on 22 years since their self-titled debut (reissued by Mad Oak in 2021) and they certainly don’t owe anyone anything in terms of road-time. The hope is the band feel refreshed after the break and that they continue on from here at whatever level of intensity they want. For now, that would seem to mean ‘select appearances’ along these lines. Beyond that, new material? More touring? There’s time for all this to take shape as it will or won’t. I’m just glad to know they’re active again.
This is normally the point where I’d turn you over to PR wire text in blue, but I don’t have any. The confirmations came direct from Mojave Experience, and Casanova noted when I bugged him about it (on a holiday, no less) that they’ll do different sets at each fest to cover the “full extent of the back catalog.” Given the catalog in question, there’s just about no way that isn’t a win.
Sasquatch are:
Keith Gibbs – guitar/vocals
Jason “Cas” Casanova – bass
Craig Riggs – drums
www.sasquatchrock.us
store.sasquatchrock.us
www.instagram.com/sasquatchrock
www.facebook.com/sasquatchrocks
Good things do happen on Monday!