That’s it, guys. The Virgin Mobile Squamish Valley Music Festival is over, out with a supermoon bang for another year. Three days, 70 bands, 81 acres of packed grassy valley, endless stranger high-fives and guitar riffs reverberating off looming purple mountains. Read our recap below for details to remember till next year.
the look: On Day 1 of Squamish I decided to go somewhat big, by which I mean big pants. I call them my Hepburn pants (Katherine and Audrey) and bought them at Kitsilano Kitty’s Closet, which is this vintage boutique that is neither in Kitsilano nor run by anyone named Kitty but loaded with cool finds (I scored my Deighton Cup outfit there, and everything’s really reasonable). I like the bright blue, the ultra-high waist and the slightly “awkward” length—they’re different. But on my first night camping I wadded them up and used them as a pillow so, for the rest of the festival my look was minimalist: you know, black shorts and a v-neck.
summer essentials: Every morning before heading to the festival grounds my friends and I ritually passed around our Hawaiian Tropic Ultra Radiance. It smells so good, something about that archetypal summer-adventure coconut smell—just one of those things you remember from every sunny, grassy moment you’ve ever had. Also, we’re not even sparkles girls but the really subtle sheen was awesome, we kept pointing out to each other how glowy we were.
top act: My friend and I went to our first Arcade Fire concert when we were 13, so seeing them headline this year was a decennial head-trip. They’re so high-energy, and Reflektor tour sees all these fun additions, like jokey Bryan Adams covers by the band’s paper-mache likenesses and a mirror-ball dancer ascending over the crowd. It was incredible to hear song after evocative song by them, each one recalling a memory of growing up, hanging out in the high school art room, listening to them while walking to class at university. It was incredible and intense.
A beautiful show in a beautiful space, and Squamish Fest just keeps getting better—we can’t wait to see what next year has in store. —Adrienne Matei
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