Finding something worth believing in can be tricky. While institutions might fail us, a belief in the humanist power of art is enduring and ever replenishing, a ballast against the ills of the world. Saxsquatch understands that power better than most. A towering, long-haired humanoid with a distinctive penchant for bandanas, brightly colored sunglasses, and the earnest wail of the saxophone, the multi-hyphenate cryptid has been spreading his patented sentiment of rave-like hope one bass-pounding, laser light-blasting performance at a time for nearly 10 years, a seismic trajectory that has taken him from playing alone in the wilds of National Forests for an eager online audience to collaborating with legendary musician John Oates on a cover version of “Maneater.” Yet beyond all the fame and acclaim, the message Saxsquatch is bringing with him to New Orleans on April 8 as part of his 2026 “Party Animal Tour” is a simple one: people need something to believe in, even if it’s just themselves.
“Growing up, I was obsessed with the saxophone, but I just wanted to be a star. That’s when I started to understand that music is actually about connection with other people and making other people feel like the star,” said Saxsquatch. “Now, when I’m onstage with an audience, I consider us complete equals. They’re as much part of the vibe as I am.”
Raised in a musical family, Saxsquatch spent much of his adolescence as a self-described “jazz snob” until discovering the work of the legendary EDM duo Daft Punk, which cratered his preconceived notions about what music could be. For him, context became foundational to his love of music; finding the poetry between the waveforms that could not just create energy but funnel it into a feeling that spoke to him, because if it spoke to him, chances are it might speak to another person and perhaps even thousands more.
“I had a dream to make Saxsquatch a thing in the world, even if I failed or ended up old and performing in some dive bar all alone,” Saxsquatch said. “I wanted to show that believing in other people can make us better versions of ourselves, because that’s what the people coming to shows have done for me. That energy is inspiring, and all I can do is give it back as best that I can.”
Whatever kismet was channeled through Saxsquatch’s saxophone has certainly found purchase, leading to a string of sold-out tour dates across the country and collaborations with everyone from Billy Ray Cyrus to Here Come the Mummies, an eight-piece funk band made up of fully bandaged 5,000-year-old Egyptian mummies. Having fulfilled a sizable dream of establishing the “Bigfoot Rave” in 2024, Saxsquatch knows that stagnancy is the death knell of meaningful artistry and has continued to evolve his performance style beyond the novelty it began as into something intangible, welcoming, and decidedly undeniable, riding a tidal wave of goodness in the face of real-world hate that is needed now perhaps more than ever before.
“Hate doesn’t resonate with my morals and my values. The only reason hate is spread is for money and views; that’s just the society we live in,” said Saxquatch. “I encourage everyone to make more art because the more funny, peaceful stuff that’s out there, the more it will grow and spread. Peace and love, that’s the way we can all support each other.”
Music can be a place of solace for the weary and the forgotten who might share the same melancholy of a wayward cryptozoological creature just hoping to be seen, appreciated, and loved. That’s a power worth harnessing, that of community, of jazz, of EDM and rave culture, even if its anomalous herald is a saxophone-wielding skunk ape. And why not? Some legends turn out to be true and, as Saxsquatch would be the first to proclaim, “it feels really good to be believed in.”
