Cover photo by Don Idio
For the last two years, Electric Forest has spanned two weekends, not unlike Coachella. Even though this allowed for more visitors to the Forest every year (or two chances to return to the Forest in one year), it also meant hard decisions between two different lineups and missing friends or fam that chose the weekend you didn’t. In 2019, we’re back to one special weekend of Electric Forest, one lineup and a united fam over four days.
Topping the bill this year is ODESZA, Kygo, the annual return of Bassnectar and finally, Zeds Dead. Think of the last time you saw these artists, or even how they perform in your wildest dreams, and chances are you’ll still fall short of the experience that awaits you in the Sherwood Forest. Beneath billowing technicolor leaves, between glowing art installations, and alongside thousands of beautiful souls over hundreds of acres of land, the forest offers a connection of music and nature that heightens the senses. Instinctually, we can’t help but return every year.
While there are more surprises in the forest each year than most can anticipate, the festival has shed some light on the specially-curated event series for 2019. Throughout the four-day weekend, these curated events are like mini-shows within the larger event. Past events at the forest have ranged from a mostly live-band showcase of members of All Good Records led by GRiZ in 2016, to 2017’s late night, underground Dirtybird house set in the earliest morning hours. This year, the highlights are bass, more bass, and a trip back in time to electronic’s most-celebrated roots.
NGHTMRE & SLANDER PRESENT: GUD VIBRATIONS
NGHTMRE & Slander kick off the weekend at Tripolee on Thursday, June 27th with a lineup handpicked for the stage by the two. Fresh out of EDC Las Vegas, Chinese electronic artist Yako will open on Thursday with Asian influenced beats that he began creating in nightclubs of Hong Kong.
The rest of the day will flow through artists with one thing in common: bass. LICK describes his music as the “dark vibe order,” with delicate, dreamy synths layered under drops of more aggressive bass. Canadian DJ Whipped Cream has already brought her special brand of bass to Shambhala Music Festival twice and is finally making her way to the forest. It’s no surprise that NGHTMRE and Slander would want to share their bass industry favorites before closing out the series with a heavy set of their own.
BASSRUSH
LA based promoter Bassrush has been driven by drum and bass since its inception in the 90s and early 2000s. A sub-brand of insomniac, the company works to be a top curator of drum and bass, dubstep and any other bass-heavy genre. According to their site, the goal of Bassrush is “to provide a platform to showcase bass music the way it should be experienced: with massive sound systems and full-scale production.”
The showcase at EF19 is doing just that. A massive production on Friday, June 28th will also take place at Tripolee with a headlining set from bass-gurus, 12th Planet. Three different sets in this showcase are b2b, showcasing double the bass talent per set with CharlestheFirst b2b Thriftworks, Digital Ethos b2b Chee and Loadstar b2b DC Breaks. If you’re hungry for bass, Tripolee will be your haven this year, both from the open lawns and especially on that special sunset ride on the flickering ferris wheel.
STUDIO 54EST
Tucked in the farthest corner of the festival grounds is a circus-themed warehouse, where, behind a curtain, sits an indoor venue in the forest known as the Carousel Club. On Friday, June 28th, the ballroom of the Carousel Club will travel back in time under the spinning disco ball and twirling lights to Studio 54, New York City’s premiere disco nightclub in the 1970s. The club was a mecca for all things disco and electronic in an era of the genres glitzy, glamorous rise.
The Studio 54est lineup will feature WhiteOwl, Yung Bae and The Nth Power Presents: Earth, Wind & Power, an undeniable tribute to Earth, Wind and Fire among other original disco acts. Alongside these artists paying tribute to the era will be, for the first time ever outside the original club, original Studio 54 DJ Jellybean Benitez. Throughout his career, Jellybean has produced and remixed Madonna, Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson among others. This legendary event will be a one-time only time trip to the roots of our beloved electronic scene today. See you there? Far out.
If you’ve got your tickets, this is step one in planning your schedule. Further schedule details will be released closer to the festival weekend on June 27th-30th. Bass heads, grab your hoods and candy. Disco queens, slather on the glitter and whip out the bell bottoms. The festival has been sold out for months, but the wait is almost over! In just a few short weeks, we’ll be going home again.
Try your luck at grabbing last minute tickets on the official Electric Forest Ticket Exchange page, and we will see you in the forest!