Electric Forest: When a Festival Becomes More of a Reunion

Written by Don Idio

Electric Forest will take place June 23rd through the 26th at Rothbury, Michigan. With tickets selling at a record time this year, we can expect another fun-filled adventure. This will be my 3rd year going to Electric Forest and it is starting to feel more like a reunion among friends.  We all have our careers and live in different states, so we don’t get to see one another often.  Of course, we talk at times during the year and occasionally creep on each other’s facebook pages; but being able to spend 4 to 5 days together allows us to truly connect again.  I love how collectively this festival is chosen as a priority to go to every year.  

So why did we choose this festival? Well among several things, its because of the people you meet. Like all festivals, you always end up friending your neighbors just because you have to warn them how weird your group gets.  Other times it’s just lending a hand to your neighbor to set up tents. (Seriously though, setting up tents can be frustrating.) Being at festivals makes people step out of their comfort zone, but Forest has something in the air where the interaction is more abundant.

Head to Sherwood forest day or night, I bet you can make a friend there by just silently sitting down looking up the at the trees.  The amount of compliments you hear that people to say to one another as you walk through Forest or stage to stage is amazing.  Among all the festivals I have been to, Electric Forest has one of best vibes you can experience. Resulting in a bigger festival family.

Another thing to mention is the beauty of all the art and structures you see at Forest. Every year, no matter what ,you will always find yourself saying, “Wait… what is this” or “Can someone take picture of me with this?”. The amount of hard work that these artists put in, makes you appreciate it more.

The design changes of stages and addition of new stages last year, gave us a satisfied surprise. The hanger stage itself caused so much excitement.  I mean… who doesn’t love a ‘get weird’ old-school photoshoot or receiving buffing massage? In all seriousness, our favorite stage is still the Silent Disco.  Who doesn’t love noticing other people raging their butts off while you can’t hear a thing on the outside?

Lineups will always have an impact on your decision going to a festival but with Electric Forest, it sold out this year before a lineup was released. Foresters already know they will have wide array of artist to see, so there is something for everyone.  You can definitely catch our group trapping out to Flosstradamus, Nghtmre, Slander, Keys & Krates, and others.  But also catching the chill with Duke Dumont, Rufus Du Sol, Soul Clap, and Louis the Child. Last but not least, we will boppin our heads to String Cheese Incident and STS9. We will be exploring depending on our moods, so checking out artists we don’t know is always a must.

And for anyone who has yet to experience the Forest, make sure you get ready with us here.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *