Festival season is a time when all else in the world stops and music fans get to enjoy their getaways from real life. In dance music, we are blessed to have endless options all over the world with lineups featuring names ranging from the heaviest hitters, to the smallest up and comers. Event coordinators spend all year tirelessly planning their production and doing all they can to make the weekend go as smoothly as possible. These events are large scale machines, and even the slightest slip up can cause outrage from fans. There are few events that can retain a reputation of success for many years. Events like Ultra Music Festival, Electric Daisy Carnival, Tomorrowland, and others top the list as the full blow Mecca's for EDM fans. Another festival that sits high in the ranks with these is the revered festival of Electric Forest.
Every year at the end of June, festival goers from all over the world take their treks to the site of Electric Forest located in Rothbury, Michigan. Tickets tend to sell out for this event, and with so much hype around the 2016 edition, tickets sold out even quicker than they did last year. This year, tickets officially sold out on December 29th, leaving over six months of anticipation for fans to struggle through. However, as the month has turned from May to June, Forest is close enough to taste, and for many it's the sweetest part of the summer.
There are many reasons why Electric Forest has gained the prestige it has over the last few years. Arguably the biggest is the fact that they boast a near perfect lineup every year. This year is no exception, as 2016 features headliners such as Major Lazer, Bassnectar, and three individual sets from The String Cheese Incident. The rest of the lineup is packed with talent from big names like Porter Robinson, 12th Planet, and Flosstradamus, to small up and comers with huge talent such as Anna Lunoe, Bleep Bloop, and What So Not. Our favorite part of the lineup however, are this year's curated stages. Stages will be curated by Griz's label All Good Records, Above & Beyond's Anjunadeep, the legendary forward thinking bassheads at Bassrush, boundary pushing duo Soul Clap, and AC Slater's bass house project Night Bass.
As much as Electric Forest is an experience, it is also a collaboration to help promote sustainability and efforts to help take care of the site where it is held. This is a huge thing that separates Forest from other festivals, is that they truly care about the earth we live on and want to keep it alive for as long as possible so Forest and other experiences like it can continue to exist. Their Electricology program is a centerfold in their attempts to secure a positive impact on the world. The program is reward based, and has the goal of helping to keep the festival as green as the forest it's located in. By recycling and doing other helpful tasks, attendees can redeem points and win prizes for their work. On top of that the festival is running their collaborative food drive with the non-profit organization of Conscious Alliance and is offering the first 1500 donators (whether it's food or a monetary donation) a free Electric Forest poster, but only if the food they give is low-sodium and on the healthier side. Finally, Electric Forest works closely with public school in Michigan and donates thousands of dollars as well as instruments to the local music programs in the area. It is clear that there is a reason the vibes are so positive in Rothbury, there's a lot of good karma in the air.
All in all, we could not be more excited for this year's edition of Electric Forest. At the end of this month we can look forward to good vibes, good music, and thousands of new friends to meet. We tip our hats to those who have organized this wonderland year in and year out for us, and will do our best to help give back and keep Forest as special as it is.
