My weekly installation in the Capital News:

After months of patiently waiting, gazing at my lovely pre-sale tickets, and stocking up on numerous pairs of sunglasses, Sasquatch is finally here. In two days I’ll be making the drive down to the stunning Gorge Amphitheatre in the heart of Washington.

Although the festival is held in the U.S., you’d be surprised at the number of Canadians crossing the border to attend the festival. Last year, it seemed as if my camping spot was surrounded mainly by Canadians playing ‘Beersbee’ and listening to Sam Roberts. The Canadians came out, but where was all the Canadian talent? Fortunately, this year I won’t have to ask myself the same question.

After a noticeable lack of Canadian artists last year, this year is quite the opposite.

Here’s a little snapshot of some of the amazing Canadian artists and bands that I’ll be rocking out to at Sasquatch this year:

Japandroids: This garage rock duo from Vancouver put on a great live show. Although there’re only two of them, they make enough noise to make up for any missing members. Japandroids will be playing a great line-up of festivals this summer so no matter where you’re going, you won’t miss them. Favourite jam: “Wet Hair”

The New Pornographers: Also from Vancouver, The New Pornographers are made up of eight members (including the lovely Neko Case). Best described as power pop/indie rock, released their fifth album Together on May 4th—their best in my opinion! Favourite jam: “Your Hands (Together)”

Jets Overhead: This group from Victoria provides great ambient indie rock to the masses for free! You can download their first studio album Bridges off their website because, as a band, they decided with all the copyright infringement, peer-to-peer networks, etc, etc, that it was easier to provide the music for free (with the option to pay what you want of course-pre Radiohead!) Favourite jam: “No Nations”

Caribou: This is definitely another great year for Daniel Snaith, the electro musician from Dundas, Ont. After changing his stage name from Manitoba to Caribou in 2004 (some lawsuit nonsense), his career lifted off and since then has released and re-released 11 albums and also won the 2008 Polaris prize for his album Andorra. Favourite jam: “Odessa”

Broken Social Scene: BSS has been deemed an indie rock musical collective. The group has had anywhere from six to 19 members (most of them from around the Toronto area) including Kevin Drew, Bendan Canning, Leslie Feist, Jason Collett, and Emily Haines just to name a few. Forgiveness Rock Record was just released in May and it’s everything I hoped it would be and a little bit more. Favourite jam: “Anthems For A Seventeen Year-Old Girl”

Other Canadian artists playing at Sasquatch include Deadmau5, Patrick Watson, Tegan and Sara, and City and Colour.

Apart from the mass pilgrimage that will be crossing the border on Friday to get to the festival, it’s great to have a Canadian presence up on stage. To all those staying at home—check out the bands I mentioned and rock out to them on a sunny evening. To all those heading to Sasquatch—see you on the hill!