Spring is just around the corner, and with spring and summer comes the music festival circuit. Coachella recently announced some big names with Blur, the Stone Roses, and New Order set to play the California festival, so anticipation has been high for what Sasquatch would roll out. Monday night’s Sasquatch! Launch Party ended all the speculation with the announcement of a stellar lineup, but not before kicking the whole thing off with a killer show at the Neptune Theater.

Cody ChesnuTT started off the night with his own brand of high energy soul/funk/R&B. Wearing what appeared to be an army helmet, ChesnuTT had the crowd singing along as he bounced from one side of the stage to the other, his backing band sounding incredible. After a short video from Ron Swanson estowing the virtues of the festival “Thunder Closet," it was time for the 'special guest.'

I don’t think very many people expected the show's special guest to be one of the hottest artists in the nation, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. As host Luke Burbank announced them, Macklemore came running out in the finest denim jacket the $20 in his pocket could buy him. It seemed like a hundred cell phones went up in unison trying to capture the moment. He launched into his biggest hit “Thrift Shop” and the all-ages crowd went nuts. His three song set also included his marriage-equality supporting track “Same Love," and the always crowd pleasing jam “Can’t Hold Us.” While the set was only three songs long, M&RL didn’t hold back on the theatrics; firing off confetti and letting off blasts from a smoke machine, with Macklemore walking out on the audience before trust-falling backwards into them.

After the lineup was announced, Northwest indie rock legends Built to Spill took the stage. Built to Spill’s lineup underwent a bit of a change last month, as drummer Scott Plouf and bassist Brett Nelson, each of whom had been playing with the band since the mid-90’s, have been replaced by bassist Jason Albertini and drummer Steve Gere. But as long as Built to Spill still has Doug Martsch as a frontman and guitar player, they’re still going to sound distinctively like Built to Spill, and on this night they sounded just as solid as ever. Most of the set focused on the gems from their seminal mid to late 90’s albums, with a sprinkle of unique covers. First was Captain Beefheart’s "Abba Zaba", with guitarist Jim Roth singing lead vocals. The encore found the band doing a cover of the classic Blue Oyster Cult song “Don’t Fear The Reaper” complete with a cowbell player on the edge of the stage, and the highlight of their covers was an extended version of The Smiths' “How Soon Is Now.” It was a great way to close out the night, and a taste of things to come at Sasquatch, as Built to Spill are once again in the festival’s lineup.

{Be sure to check out our inital Sasquatch lineup announcement here!}