For me, the single most important event of every spring is the Sasquatch music festival on Memorial Day weekend. Sure, I may have more fun at other shows and I may hang out with cooler people on other weekends, but Sasquatch is so big and so much a part of music culture in the Northwest that it must take the grand prize.

This year’s lineup is exciting, if not groundbreaking. There are more really huge classic “alternative” acts than in years past, including R.E.M., the Cure and the Breeders. Performing on the smaller stages will be many young local acts, including Siberian, the Blue Scholars, The Cave Singers, the Cops, “Awesome” and the Fleet Foxes.

Conspicuously missing are any international electro/hipster bands like Justice or Crystal Castles, but there are still a few weeks to announce more bands. But, after all, the Northwest is traditionally inhospitable to slick electronic pop. We are still the flannel, telecaster and greasy hair capital of the United States.

A few nationally known bands to watch out for are Battles, The Little Ones and Ghostland Observatory. Battles constitute technically brilliant post-tribal prog-metal that sometimes, gloriously, breaks into straight-up jungle beats. In the interest of full disclosure, I should note that I happen to be related to one of the members, meaning I get into Sasquatch free this year.

The Little Ones produces desperately fun L.A. retro pop that sounds like equal parts ‘80s new wave and punk — inoffensive, yet not completely naïve.

Ghostland Observatory is Austin’s answer to cowboy prog-disco. The band eloquently mixes Italo-disco synth lines with mescaline-infused desert rock jams. This rare breed of steer could only be born in Austin, Texas.

For those who have never been to Sasquatch, it’s worth describing the general situation. First, the venue holds tens of thousands of people. Secondly, most of those people are between the ages of 18 and 30 and are pleasantly intoxicated for three whole days straight. Thirdly, the natural setting of the gorge right on the cliffs, overlooking the Columbia River in George, Wash. (located in central Washington). As the sun sets over the Cascade Mountains, the bands play epic sets on the largest nature amphitheater in the western United States.

The whole event is very exposed to the elements. Last year, strong winds canceled the last afternoon of shows. The year before, a hailstorm beat down on the assembled crowd of 40,000. Mother Nature is very much involved in the weekend’s events.

New to Sasquatch this year is the comedy tent. This might go very badly when drunk Capitol Hill kids face off with Spokane suburbanites over the content of some trashy Dane Cook-esque joke.

This year, Sasquatch will take place May 24, 25 and 26.

The worst thing about Sasquatch is the price. As of March 10, tickets are $66.50 per day. The week of the festival (beginning May 19) tickets are $76.50 per day, if still available. Feel free to purchase the pair of premium three-day passes for $1,500.