Rothbury Michigan is home to a few hundred country folk, but for 4 days a year for the past 4 years it plays host to Electric Forest Music Festival, the most unique music festivals in the Midwest if not the entire US. Don’t let the name fool you, this is not an EDM only music festival which automatically puts it in a different category than Ultra, EDC and our own Spring Awakening. The lineup will not blow you away if you only listen to EDM, as jam bands, hip hop acts and a mesh of electronic/psychedelic rock bands (STS9/EOTO) fill up a good part of the festival lineup. This might not sounds like it’s for you, but believe me each artists is so well thought and have such a great following that you’ll find yourself walking away from bass drops just to see what all the fuss is all about a few stages over.
My First Electric Forest experience was in 2012 and in this short amount of time the production and experience was increased for the better dramatically. You won’t find the most intricate stages here, or the largest crowds (this year’s totals were around 35,000) but what you will find is a great sense of community, acceptance, and freedom and of course Sherwood Forest, the main attraction.
It sounds redun
dant, you’ve probably already heard and read all about it online but nothing compares to experiencing it in person. No picture can do it justice as well (not even ours). The entire forest is transformed into a wonderland. You feel as if you fell down the rabbit hole with Alice. If you walk too fast you might miss an art installation that might move you. If you come at a specific time you can catch some of the unscheduled performances by the hoop troop, geishas or other performance artist. You can escape to the silent disco or solon for some off music choices. You can literally spend a majority of your 4 days inside the forest and not have the same experience twice. If you own a hammock or choose to buy one, your experience gets more festive, you’ll know what I mean when you look at our photo gallery.
Below find the first EForest impressions of WhySoChi’s team members Cathy and Iza. Stay tuned for our photo gallery. See you in the Forest!! -Marcin
Electric Forest can simply be described as the time of my life. As soon as you enter the grounds of Electric Forest it’s clear you aren’t at your average summer festival. Within minutes of entering this fairytale like adult playground, you know that you have found yourself a whole different you. Electric Forest is a virtual 180 from other festivals like EDC, Spring Awakening, Coachella, or Ultra, especially when it comes to the people. People here seriously share the love everywhere you look; everyone cares for one another, respects each other differences, and in a very NON- cheesy way stands for the ‘real PLUR’. Zed’s Dead, Zedd, Steve Angello, Kygo, Destructo, Glitch Mob, Moby, Cashmere Cat, Grandtheft, Dirty Phonics, and Cash Cash all blew my mind into pieces with their out of this world performances! Magic is the only word I can use to describe this experience. This mythical environment filled with TRUELY good people is what left me thirsty for more of Electric Forest. May the forest be with & will we ever find Carl?! – Cathy
I would be lying if I said that my opinion about Electric Forest has changed throughout my time at the fest. Since this was my first year attending, upon arrival I was not really excited for how the next couple of days would look like. Depending on when you got to the camp ground, the entrance to the fest could have been a long walk for some. The stages were pretty cool, and everyone seemed nice. After experiencing MysteryLand in New York, this was not as great. However, once I stepped into the forest on Thursday night, I was amazed. I finally began to understand what the hype was about. The whole forest was a playground for us. There were so many visual effects from lasers and disco balls, so many different people dressed in costumes, and so many art displays. I wanted to go everywhere and see everything – I didn’t want to leave the forest. All of the artists I got a change to see did a phenomenal job with their sets. By the end of the festival I realized that Electric Forest is one of a kind. It cannot be compared to any other festival….not with all of the lights, lasers, people dressed as animals and Smerfs and geishas, the art displays, trees and hammocks, and experiences. My recommendation? Go see it for yourself! You will be amazed with what you will find. – Iza
