The lineup for the biggest party of the summer in Squamish has been revealed.
The Squamish Valley Music Festival announced its full line-up on Feb. 19, and more than 70 artists are set to take over the Loggers Sports Grounds and Centennial Fields from Aug. 7 to 9.
Drake, Sam Smith and Mumford & Sons headline the lineup. The trio bring with them several accolades from the music world.
Canadian rapper Drake has won a Grammy, three Junos and has more number one hit rap singles than anyone ever on the Billboard Hip Hop chart. British singer Sam Smith just won four Grammy's on Feb. 8, including new artist and record of the year for his hit song "Stay With Me." British folk rockers Mumford & Sons also won a Grammy for album of the year for their album Babel.
Some of the other artists at the festival occurring from Aug. 7 to 9 are: indie rock band Of Monsters and Men, rockers Alabama Shakes, EDM artist Kaskade, rapper Schoolboy Q and returning favourite Mother Mother.
Last year’s festival attracted a total of 105,352 over the three days and pumped more than $39 million into the province’s economy.
Squamish residents got the first chance to pick up tickets at the locals-only ticket sale event at the Squamish Adventure Centre on Sunday (Feb. 22).
Festival officials opened the doors early at 8:30 a.m. and closed the tills late, selling a total of 1,069 tickets for the day. Lines were long for the first two hours, but it slowed down to a steady pace for the remainder of the event.
Several local residents camped out for the event, including Alaina MacKenzie and Alyssa MacPherson, who were the first two to purchase tickets for the 2015 festival. The duo camped out starting at 5 a.m. on Sunday to be first in line and scooped up their tickets just after 8:30 a.m.
The final ticket was sold at 4:29 p.m., after festival officials decided to extend the sale by half an hour.
The 1,069 tickets is a similar amount to what was sold at the pre-sale event in 2014, but lines moved more efficiently due to six cashiers in service as opposed to only two last year.
SVMF officials did not confirm whether there would be a single day pass locals-only sale. One was held last year about two weeks after the locals-only three-day pass sale.
Ticket sales for the general public open on Thursday (Feb. 26) starting at 10 a.m.
Read The Squamish Chief for more coverage of everything to do with the SVMF. For more information on the event, visit www.squamishfestival.com.
