It's finally here.
After months of anticipation, the second annual LIVE at Squamish music festival is ready to invade the Loggers Sports Grounds and this year's event features a star-studded two days of more music than you can shake a stick at.
"The 2011 festival is shaping up to be even better than last year," said Paul Runnals, brand.LIVE's senior vice president of production. "We have an amazing line up of artists performing at this year's festival, and being set against such a beautiful backdrop, the weekend promises to be something really special."
Gates open at 1 p.m. on Saturday (Aug. 20) for VIP ticket holders and 2 p.m. for regular ticket holders, with the first act being contest winners The Proper Villains on the Garibaldi Stage starting at 3:30 p.m.
But there will be plenty to do before the acts hit the stage. Brand new for this year will be the Silent Disco, where party-goers can listen and dance to their favourite songs on over 200 wireless headphones. There's also the Bellmont Barbershop, which gives festival attendees the opportunity to cool down and get a haircut at the festival's barbershop. Vancouver's Rich Hope will perform acoustically in the barbershop along with local favourites Kuba Oms, Kim Churchill, Kate Morgan, the Zolas and several other surprise performances. Fans can also chill out at the Virgin Mobile Cage, which will feature acoustic performances, and surf the web on a laptop.
There will also be an artisan village featuring local art, several vendors and, of course, merchandise stands for picking up a souvenir or two.
But for many people it's all about the music and Saturday should not fail to disappoint with a star-studded lineup. The Garibaldi Stage will feature a handful of talented performers including rapper Kyprios at 6:20 p.m. and hip hop artist Shad at 7:10 p.m. It will also feature a unique acoustic performance by Metric's Emily Haines and James Shaw at 5:15 p.m.
Girl Talk, who will close the stage with a performance starting at 9:40 p.m., and the John Butler Trio, who will precede them at 8:20 p.m, will highlight the Stawamus Stage on Saturday.
The action starts early on Sunday (Aug. 21) with Henry Mah and George Osei playing the Stawamus and Garibaldi stages respectively starting at 1 p.m. The Garibaldi Stage will also feature emerging artists Guilty About Girls at 5:15 p.m. and conclude with the collaborative dance music project known as Major Lazer at 10:45 p.m.
The Stawamus Stage on Sunday is highlighted by Metric rocking out at 8:20 p.m., finishing up with popular American alternative band Weezer at 9:40 p.m.
In total, close to 30 different acts will hit the stages over the two days and tickets will be available at the gate - $199 for the two day pass and $110 for a single day.
For more information and the complete schedule from the festival, visit www.liveatsquamish.com.
