I am Sasquatch.

In case you haven't heard of it, Sasquatch is a pretty big deal. It's the annual three-day music festival held at the Gorge Amphitheater Memorial Day Weekend. This will be the first year I have the opportunity to attend, and, needless to say, I'm stoked.

As an outlet for all my post-Sasquatch excitement, I'm going to try my best to use the (much-neglected) blog to talk about Sasquatch bands I'm excited about. Between now and the big weekend, I'll feature artists that will be performing at Sasquatch and tell you why you should be excited about said artists.

There are a ton of bands, and plenty of them I've never heard. So, I also want to hear which Sasquatch bands other people are excited about. Who do I need to check out before I head up to George?

In the meantime, if you haven't already heard it, check out and download Mumford & Sons' cover of Vampire Weekend's (just two of the bands I'm squealing with glee about seeing at Sasquatch) "Cousins" here: http://stereogum.com/files/mp3/Mumford%20And%20Sons%20-%20Cousins%20%28Vampire%20Weekend%20Cover%29.mp3

Free Eric Hutchinson

If you've been reading our blog at all, you know we love Eric Hutchinson. If you love Eric Hutchinson too, I have good news! You can download the music video to his single "Rock & Roll" for free on iTunes. Just do a search for Eric on iTunes and enjoy!

Free Music: REI Sampler

REI is offering a free music sampler filled with music relating to winter sports. The songs can be downloaded here. It includes tracks by ten artists, a few of whom I'd heard (Persephone's Bees, Eagles of Death Metal) but more I hadn't heard of.

Half the fun of the sampler is the creative presentation. I had fun waiting for the site to load (how often does that happen?) and then found myself entranced by the gently falling snow while I sampled each track. For each track, you can read information about the band/artist, watch the music video, download wallpapers, and listen to a thirty second sample (and if you decide you like it, download the track).

I haven't listened to all the songs all the way through yet, but the ones that initially peaked my interest are "Fallen Snow (Redux)" by Au Revoir Simone, "Colorado" by The Rentals (another "the" band!), and "Bar Clearing Good Times," and instrumental track by Saxon Shore.

of course everyone knows John Mayer...

When my wife and I saw John Mayer at the Gorge a few summer's back, I told everyone I was only going to see Ben Folds open - which was partly the truth, the other part is: I think John Mayer is a phenomenal songwriter and guitarist and I'm particularly fond of his most recent studio release Continuum. Nevertheless, Ben Folds said it best when he introduced John saying, "I knew John when he was still just a chump ass". He probably still is, but I try not to judge musicians on their personalities.

Anyway, this is all to say if the only John Mayer you've heard is "Your Body is a Wonderland" or "Bigger Than My Body" or even "Waiting on the World to Change" - basically anything they play on the radio - you're missing out big time. You might not believe me when I say I think John Mayer has more in common with Norah Jones than Britney Spears; and I think he's more jazz and blues than pop. Have a listen to these tracks, one from each studio album:







Then there's the John Mayer Trio (John, bassist Pino Palladino and drummer Steve Jordan) whose album Try! is just awesome. Recommended tracks are: "Wait Until Tomorrow", "Gravity" and Ray Charles cover "I Got a Woman".

Free Music: Brooke Waggoner

Almost a month ago I received an anonymous tip on this very blog to check out Brooke Waggoner. (Excuses about how busy I've been aside) this week I finally did and let me pass this tip along to all of you: go to brookewaggoner.com and download her 6 song EP Fresh Pair of Eyes for free - this may be the best free music you get (legally) for some time.

Brooke's sound is simultaneously delicate and lush, with piano driven melodies, I think it will appeal to fans of Kate Nash, Sara Bareilles or Vanessa Carlton. Her songs are wonderfully arranged (mostly with strings and various percussion) and they brilliantly and organically flow between sections - I just love songs with multiple melodies and time changes ("Hush if you Must"and "So-So" are particularly sprawling and beautiful).

I've been told one reader said our blog is costing him a lot of money because we keep introducing him to new artists - well, here's a freebie for everyone and a fantastic one at that.