Electric Forest Festival is an eight-day, two-weekend, multi-genre event with a focus on electronic and jam band genres, held in Rothbury, Michigan, at the Double JJ Resort. The original event was called Rothbury Festival, debuted in 2008, and focused on jam bands and rock bands. The event was not held in 2010. Electric Forest, which debuted in 2011, is co-produced by Madison House Presents and Insomniac Events. The 2015 event drew an estimated 45,000 attendees.
2008
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The Rothbury Music Festival took place July 3 through July 6 and was hailed as a great success, with an estimated 50 thousand in attendance the first year. A revised figure puts the paid attendance at 30,202. This figure is based on Madison House's promise that US$2 of each ticket sold would go toward Grant Township. In an article posted in the Muskegon Chronicle, the total amount of money donated to Grant Township was $60,404.
Planning
On February 13, 2008, the initial lineup was released. By February 25, four additional artists were added to the line up. Steel Pulse was added on March 13, and seven artists were added in April. On May 29, the lineup was complete after six additional artists were added, including Trey Anastasio of Phish.
Lineup
Additional performers
The following performers played throughout the weekend:
Notable collaborations
Several members were present from their respective bands: The String Cheese Incident, Phish, Grateful Dead, and The Allman Brothers Band. Following the addition of the Kyle Hollingsworth Band to the lineup, all six members of The String Cheese Incident were present in separate bands: Bill Nershi played with the Emmitt Nershi Band, EOTO is composed of Jason Hann and Michael Travis, Keith Moseley played in the WMD's who accompanied Keller Williams, and Michael Kang played with Panjea. Three of the four members of Phish were present: Mike Gordon, Jon Fishman, and Trey Anastasio. Phil Lesh and Mickey Hart, of Grateful Dead fame, also performed in their respective bands. Two of the current members of The Allman Brothers Band, Warren Haynes of Gov't Mule and Derek Trucks, performed in distinct bands.
David Murphy, of STS9, joined the stage with the Disco Biscuits during their Thursday night set.
2009
After multiple hurdles, The Rothbury Music Festival (not the Electric Forest Festival) officially returned for a second festival in 2009. The second Rothbury was held July 2â€"5, once again placing the festival over the Independence Day holiday weekend. The festival's second year expanded the think-tank discussions established the first year and continued the use of sustainable technologies.
Controversy
Because of concerns over the ownership of the ranch, as well as the potential sale of the festival grounds, there was originally uncertainty about whether or not a second festival would be held in 2009. A major hurdle was overcome when a federal bankruptcy judge cleared the way for a lease of the festival property between the bankruptcy trustee and AEG. However, a second hearing was necessary to determine if the lease was valid, because part of the land used by the festival was on a sheriff's deed and needed to be purchased by the trustee. Following the approval of this final hearing, WZZM reported the festival will return in 2009.
Lineup
Before the official lineup was released, there were rumors of artists such as Phish and Tom Petty performing, although this never occurred.
2010
According to an announcement made on Rothbury's official website on January 22, Rothbury will be "on hiatus" in 2010, but is expected to return in 2011. But never did.
"During the past three years, all of us involved with Rothbury have greatly appreciated the tremendous outpouring of support for the future of the festival. For 2010, we have had to make the tough decision to postpone our efforts. A contributing factor in our decision is that, due to various artists’ recording and touring schedules, we now believe that timing will not allow for us to assemble the cutting edge roster that everyone has come to expect from Rothbury. The result for this year is that we are not able to move forward with the integrity and high standards that we demand from ourselves and for the festival.
Despite the 2010 postponement, we intend to move toward continuing Rothbury in 2011. This event is something very special, and we are unwilling to potentially tarnish what Rothbury is, and can become, by working under conditions that will produce anything less than a magical experience.
Rothbury is more than a festival. It is a mission intended to discover strength in community, and what it means to be a large-scale sustainable event in these times. Our efforts are certainly not coming to an end.
It is important for us to thank the people of Michigan, Oceana County, The Village of Rothbury, Grant Township, and the Double JJ Resort. Also, we thank our team members, volunteers, creative contributors, media partners, and sponsors. We have made many friendships that will last a lifetime.
To all who attended the first two years of Rothbury we thank you for the soul you gave the event. Those times entered rarified air because of your energy.
We hope you have a fantastic July 4 this summer."
2011
From June 30 to July 3, 2011 a new and different festival was held on the same festival grounds called "Electric Forest Festival". It was not "Rothbury Festival", a trademarked name. A notable change was the lack of the main "Odium" stage. In its absence "The Ranch Arena" stage became the main stage. The area where the Odium was located would not be accessible by general festival attendees again until the 2015 festival.
Lineup
2012
Electric Forest Festival returned to Rothbury, Michigan in 2012 from June 28 through July 1. According to their news post, the initial lineup has been announced. Acts are set to include The String Cheese Incident (3 performances), Bassnectar, STS9 (2 performances), Thievery Corporation, Girl Talk, Santigold, Steve Aoki, Morning Teleportation, Ghostland Observatory, Richie Hawtin, Major Lazer, Big Gigantic, The Travelin’ McCourys featuring Keller Williams and many more. Electric Forest also introduces Curated Events with ESL Music, Dim Mak, Check Yo Ponytail and Paxahau.
2013
Electric Forest Festival returned to Rothbury in 2013 from June 27 through June 30.
Lineup
The initial lineup, announced on February 5, includes:
2014
Electric Forest Festival was first year the festival sold out and was held on June 26â€"29, 2014.
Lineup
The June 19, 2014, the lineup included:
2015: June 25-June 28
2016
Electric Forest Festival was held on June 23â€"26, 2016. The announcement was made by fans and loyal members of the community. Those selected received a card in the mail with several artist names and instructed them to post on Social Media. The reddit community played a crucial role and was one of the main sources of information during the release.
Lineup
The lineup headliners include:
2017
On September 2nd, 2016, Electric Forest headquarters announced that the festival would have two weekends for the first time: June 22â€"25 and June 29-July 2, 2017.
Lineup
The lineup for both weekends includes:
Artists appearing in Weekend 1 only:
Artists appearing in Weekend 2 only:
See also
- List of electronic music festivals
- List of jam band music festivals
References
External links
- Electric Forest Official Website
- About the festival in Russian