UPDATE: As of Dec. 28, Squaw has postponed the Last Chair Festival until further notice. Their official statement can be found here.
Squaw Valley will be rocking during the Last Chair Festival this January. With music from headliners like Jurassic 5, The Flaming Lips, and Matisyahu, lectures and film screenings, and the expanse of Squaw to shred all day, the resort is striving to create “the premier music-meets-the-mountains festival.”
Last year was the debut of Squaw’s Last Chair festival. This year organizers are applying the lessons they learned by having fewer DJ sets and more live bands — catering to the North Shore’s affinity for live bands, according to organizers — and increasing the overall size of the event.
Sean Kristl, Squaw’s marketing manager, has been a driving force behind the festival. “We want to give a festival that’s not just a plug-and-play festival,” he said. “It’s a whole experience that includes skiing, inspirational talks, and some mind-blowing performances at night.”
The shows kick-off at around 3:30 p.m. with performances from smaller bands like local favorite Jelly Bread. The music will keep grooving well past the last chair, and well past midnight. Kristl said Squaw also plans to schedule film screenings and speakers during the après hours, focusing on topics like professional skiing and snowboarding, and the music industry.
“We wanted to create something that the artists appreciated, too,” Kristl said, referring to the fact that Squaw gives the performers lift tickets, ski lessons, and village accommodations. “They can take in the culture of Squaw Valley and interact with the scene before they go on stage.”
Kristl expects the Saturday and Sunday shows in January to sell out like last year. And while the festival is only in its second year, Kristl has high hopes that it will continue to grow.
“The vision I really have is that this thing is going to become something that people say, ‘I was there in 2014 when it was fresh and organic.’ Get on the ground floor and help us create something huge.”
Here’s Squaw’s video announcing the festival line-up, featuring “Do You Realize??” by The Flaming Lips:
