By: Ashton Newton
Staff Writer

For me, the New Year means a lot; it means a new term, a chance for new accomplishments, and a lot of upcoming music festivals.

The most notable and recently announced festivals of 2016 are Coachella in Southern California and Sasquatch on the Columbia River Gorge.

Just 18 hours south of Monmouth, in the town of Indio, CA, hundreds of artists and thousands of fans will gather for one thing: music. 2016’s Coachella lineup includes bands like Guns & Roses, Ice Cube, Calvin Harris, M83, Of Monsters and Men, among others.

Coachella will run the festival twice, on April 15-17 and again on April 22-24, with identical lineups.

One of Coachella’s most notable aspects is the fashion scene. Year after year people come wearing flower crowns and outfits resembling what was commonly seen in the ‘70s.

A little closer to home, Sasquatch features four days of some of the most notable figures in alternative music, most notably The Cure. Sasquatch also features a lot of up and coming musicians, including Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats, Houndmouth, and Saint Motel, as well as other popular artists including M83, Grimes, Kurt Vile, and Florence and the Machine.

Sasquatch runs May 27-30 with a cost $350 for a 4-day pass, while a 3-day pass for Coachella will cost $400.

For both festivals, one of the most popular and memorable parts of the experience is the camping. The festivals are multiple days, and a lot of people take the opportunity to camp with their friends in designated campgrounds instead of staying at a hotel.

Sasquatch is also a good thing for Oregon music fans even if you can’t make it to the festival because Portland is bombarded with concerts before and after the festival while artists are in the area. If there were an artist you like playing at Sasquatch, it’d be smart to check up on their tour dates because there’s a good chance Portland will pop up.

Tickets for both festivals are on sale now and going fast, purchasable online at coachella.com and livenation.com.