Lost in the Forest, Found in the Moments [Event Review]

(photo credit above: Infamous PR/ Electric Forest)

This is an article by contributing writer Candese Charles

Few festivals have managed to evolve without losing the identity that made them iconic. Electric Forest is the best stroke of genius to help ignite the flames of sorcery that live within Sherwood Forest. The more than a decade-old festival has the amazing talent of combining music, art, and community to implement something that is always harder to define: a feeling. After spending four days wandering through cloud-scraping pines, discovering hidden sets and brand-spanking new experiences, and exchanging kandi and “Happy Forest” shrills with strangers, it became clear that while the Forest continues to evolve, so does the community that calls it home. 

Electric Forest has served that ever-evolving community for almost 20 years (20th is next year, y’all!!). This year, an estimated 40,000 to 50,000 people attended the four-day camping and music festival that took place at the Double JJ Resort in Rothbury, Michigan, from June 25 to June 28. 

 For me, it was my third year, but a long time coming for a momentous return. 

Experience Design Remains Electric Forest’s Greatest Headliner

Getting to the magic of Sherwood Forest does indeed come with challenges. Now an out-of-towner, the journey to Rothbury, Michigan, came with a lengthy plane ride, a rental whip, and a journey into the beautiful unknown.

(Photo Credit: Infamous PR/ Electric Forest)

Electric Forest is one of my favorite festivals to attend because of the amazing art installations, production, and, of course, iconic musical acts and moments. I mean, who wouldn’t want to see GRiZ tear it up on the sax in the middle of his set, not once but twice in one weekend, while nature and the lights of dozens of lightening equipment and the sun dance around you??

Amongst the unforgettable, jam-packed weekend of music, art, and community was a noticeable upgrade to sound and production across all seven core stages. As I happily exchanged “Carls” with explorative attendees and new friends, I was dipped into a world of booming EDM genre-spanning music, hidden pop-ups, and emotion-wrecking art installations. Beyond the art at every turn, I was met by mesmerizing characters and the most random of discoveries. 

Random conversation exchanges, neighbors helping neighbors in the campsites, and moments of reflection at places like the new Tea Sanctuary are not only a part of the appeal but a strong stamp of the PLUR vibes that the festival appears to intend to continue to emit. 

On the way to one of many secret sets (the Forest always provides! AMEN!), I stumbled upon the Library, where one of the festival’s new additions lived. Providing attendees with a peaceful escape from the nonstop pace of Electric Forest, the Tea Sanctuary was filled with cozy seating, calming scents, and herbal teas. It was the perfect place to take a breather and recharge with new and old homies of the Forest. 

(Photo credit: Infamous PR/Electric Forest)

Surprise Programming Creates Value Beyond the Lineup

The Forest is meant for wandering souls, and one way it rewards such curious natural inhabitants is with secret sets. This year came with multiple hidden surprises just waiting to be discovered! Including an illuminating set from Illenium at the Honyecomb stage, LSDream at The Observatory, and a stroke of ascension from Claude VonStroke at the Grand Artique, which held more than one surprise performance at the memorable earth-shattering stage. The Detox Unit also took up the reins at the stage for a memorable yet unexpected shining moment. 

But, for me, as I’m sure for the thousands of attendees in the ranks at the Sherwood Forest that momentous weekend, everything felt slightly unexpected. That, my friend, is indeed the magic of the Forest. 

The newest of the new activations included the Wander Whirled and Center Stage. It was on day three that I took the plunge into the new experience that replaced the Dream Emporium, an Electric Forest staple that was missed but somehow still captivated in the spirit of exploration that the new Wander Whirled simulation displayed. 

Upon entering the widely talked about new experience, I ran into another widely talked about surprise. Sullivan King is notorious for hiding in plain sight at music festivals, and I somehow managed to run right into him! After smiles, brief exchanges, and awesome pics its was time to voyage into the unknown that is the Wander Whirled. Through the swirls and twirls that is the maze, I was met by interactive encounters, inviting characters, and gifting unexpected events. Right smack in the middle of it all was the new Center Stage, which replaced the Carousel Club. I had the pleasure of catching the Detroit Party Marching Band at the new stage, and they did not disappoint. 

(Photo credit: Infamous PR/Electric Forest)

And that’s indeed what the big draw was all weekend: sets that DID NOT disappoint. The weekend brought stellar performances from Shpongle, who kept folks mesmerized in more ways than one, to Galantis, whose set was one of my favorites for the energy that was thrown across the stage and felt throughout the audience, to a showstopping execution by the widely-discussed DJ Diesel b2b T-Pain act that many were waiting for. For me, with the climate of today and, to be honest, the region in which the festival lives, it was an achievement worth praising. Not only did the two highlight the best they have to offer the culture, the scene, and the music itself, but they brought so many folks together, including Pasquale Rotella and Sullivan King on stage. 

The two did so on one of the most noticeably improved stages, too: Tripolee. This time, the complaints about the dispersed sound were swayed by the immersive sound quality and production, and the massive stage that was hard not to get drawn to upon entry to the festival. 

With that being said, we can’t go any further without highlighting another heart-pumping surprise performance. After performing as SIDEPIECE at Sherwood Court, the two returned to the Honeycomb stage for a midnight showcase to debut MAINPIECE. With a set full of unreleased IDs and blood-pumping mixes, it’s a project that was long-awaited. One other b2b worth mentioning was sparked by an unavoidable Electric Forest tradition: shaky weather. 

Weather Tested the Festival’s Infrastructure

After a weekend of grit and communion, the weather could just not hold out one more day. On Sunday, the cool and comfortable temperatures mixed with a familiar evening mist resulted in a stormy showdown between Mother Nature and Electric Forest. Now, weather challenges come with the territory of Electric Forest. But no one could predict that the festival would actually shut down for several hours due to it. Yet both festival organizers and attendees handled it in great stride. The festival organizers displayed signs about the evacuation on every stage, ushered folks out calmly, and allowed people to leave and return to the festival grounds without issues. 

As folks mossied about, hoping for the best, a sudden stroke of alignment hit the stars when the festival was announced open once again to round out the weekend of magic. An audible shrill of excitement could be heard throughout the campsite as excited festival goers made their way back to the festival grounds to end the weekend on a high note. A surprise performance by Illenium b2b Wooli made the cap-end reopening all the more special. 

Safety Still Demands Attention

Electric Forest has always been one of my favorite EDM events, secondly, because of the community. I met folks from every stretch of the world, from Brazil to Canada to Portland. But I have to be honest about this. The expression of PLUR feels different. It begs this question we must all ask: Is Electric Forest changing, or are we? 

While at the campsite, I was met with a mix of confusion, congeniality, excitement, and hospitality. There was also a sense of disdain, elitism, and exclusivity. Due to my nature, I was able to easily avoid the bad and take in the good. But, unfortunately, the bad still surfaced. Nearly a dozen rapes were reported, and at least three people died at the festival that weekend, including a baby that was found in a porta-potty and a black man who was found hanged not far from the festival. 

To me, it’s not only a reflection of the festival but the culture as a whole. It offers up a chance for us all to take a real look at what exactly we’re trying to do at these festivals and what the producers of the festival want to accomplish. 

Why Electric Forest Still Sets the Standard

From programming to experience design to production innovation, Electric Forest did and does remain magical, but safety remains everyone’s responsibility. The festival experience only works when attendees look after one another, and that goes for ALL festivals. We all know The Forest always provides. Sometimes it’s friends, often it’s music, and it is essentially intended to be community. Long after the final set ends, Electric Forest’s greatest achievement isn’t what happened on stage—it’s everything that happened around it. 

Maybe that’s why so many of us keep finding our way back. The music brings us to Electric Forest, but it’s the moments between the stages, the unexpected conversations, hidden corners, and little bits of magic that remind us why we fell in love with festival culture in the first place. I hope we can all remember this when we dream about the magic that was sparked in Sherwood Forest by Electric Forest.