Saxsquatch, the Bigfoot Who Blasts on Saxophone, Will Save Your Sanity
Normally, Saxsquatch — that’s the saxophone-playing sasquatch, obviously — can be found in his native habitat, the woods and mountains around Chapel Hill, North Carolina. But he’s just finished a stint on a five-day cruise festival, The Rock Boat, that took him from Miami down to Belize and Honduras. On the ship, he befriended headliners Walk the Moon, who apparently weren’t fazed to meet a cryptid with a talent for reinterpreting everything from Usher’s “Yeah” to The Police’s “Every Breath You Take” in a silky smooth style. He even had the chance to jam with them.
“Awesome guys,” Saxsquatch tells Rolling Stone. (This is the only name he goes by in the press.) “That was probably one of the greatest sit-ins.” Surprisingly, the tropical climate didn’t pose any great difficulty to a guy covered head to toe in fur. “No, I’m totally used to it,” he says. “And I do have some stage fans that help a lot. I feel like in some of the summer festivals, maybe the audience is hotter than I am.”
The Rock Boat was only the start of a busy year for Saxsquatch. He’s about to set out on his most ambitious national tour to date, the Footprints Tour, and he’s already sold out nine of 32 shows, including the first five dates. It’s sure to be a triumphant run from a musician who started to make a name for himself on social media during the pandemic (he now has well over 3 million followers combined across platforms) and has worked hard to translate his viral videos into a live act that captures their infectious joy. The sets incorporate both his sultry covers and original songs, both of which are built on electronica loops he creates with multiple instruments.
“Last year, I did a tour called the Bigfoot Rave tour, which was kind of introducing a lot of the concepts of the show,” Saxsquatch says. Footprints, he thinks, will have even greater impact: “The production is bigger, the music is better, and I’ve gone through a lot in the past year, a lot of growth.” The spectacle is important, of course, because even a famous creature can’t rely on celebrity status alone. “I got my laser license, I’m running my own lasers from the stage,” Saxsquatch says. “And I got these geode rocks that I cut in half, and I’m going to be giving them to someone in the front row at each show. I also have visuals from my friend Moe Angelo in Colorado, who does a lot of visuals for Red Rocks.”
Exactly how, you may be wondering, does a sasquatch — typically thought of as roaming far outside human civilization — wind up in the music scene? According to Saxsquatch, performance is part of his DNA. “I come from a musical family,” he explains. “You know, my grandfather was Gigfoot, he played the guitar, and my sister was Bigflute.” His life-changing encounter with the saxophone came when he heard the Foreigner song “Urgent,” which includes a tenor sax solo from Motown legend Junior Walker, on a local radio station. “When I heard the sound, it was a very spiritual thing,” Saxsquatch recalls. “I was just like, ‘What is that?’ Found out it was a saxophone. Went up to the mountains, to a pawn shop, got a saxophone. Was just obsessed with the saxophone ever since — kind of like, I need to do this.”
Indeed, when you watch his blissed-out videos in beautiful forests, you’ll feel like Saxsquatch is a crucial part of our ecosystem, a beacon of joy in a dark time. His native state has certainly come to see him this way: in Chapel Hill, he’s started an event called Cryptids with a Cause, during which a city street shuts down for a rave party where, as Saxquatch says, “everyone dresses as something they believe in, and we donate to our local food drive.” His contributions to North Carolina culture are recognized as far away as Asheville, where he appears in a mural at the Foggy Mountain Brew Pub. If you’re curious about what a bigfoot eats at such an establishment, it seems that sandwiches are a favorite. “They have the best bánh mi you’ll ever have,” Saxquatch notes. “And the Cuban is unbelievable.”
Though for this shaggy fellow, getting out of his usual habitat and on the road again means a chance to see the other kinds of natural wonders this country has to offer, making his way from one show to the next in a 2004 Chevy Express van that bears a “SQUATCH” license plate. (Contrary to stereotypes about sasquatches being elusive, this one is rather hard to miss.) While it’s a lot of driving, loading, and overall work, the fans make it worthwhile. “I’m excited to meet people,” says Saxsquatch, who adds that one of his favorite parts of a concert is when the venue opens and people walk in already smiling.
It could be that there’s something spiritually cleansing about seeing a large, hairy hominid play sax with genuine soul. As one YouTube commenter put it: “Life is a struggle for a hundred reasons at the moment. But every time I put Saxsquatch on, he takes me away from the hardships for a brief time.” He gets tons of messages to similar effect, and finds a recent one to read aloud. “This is from Amanda,” he reads. “She says, ‘I just want to say thank you for saving my life, for giving me something positive to look forward to.’” How does he answer such heartfelt correspondence? “I mean, my response is, thank you for sending me this,” Saxquatch says, “and I hope that you can share the love and connection with the next person, and hope to see you around.”
It’s hard to imagine any negativity in the room when this gentle giant sets foot (size 24 shoe, he claims) on stage. And he wants to give the good energy back by continuing to stretch himself as an artist. “It’s nerve-wracking, because we’ve been growing so fast,” Saxsquatch admits. “You always feel kind of like, ‘Oh, crap, I’m not used to this.’ And then the second you get used to it, we take it again to the next level.” The risks are exciting, however, and the hope is that in the end, nothing is too big for bigfoot. “I’m really like a vessel, if you will,” says Saxsquatch. “It’s not about me, it’s about everyone. Let’s all believe in each other.”
