“And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul”
I read “Happy Forest” on a sign waving at me from the vintage green van in front of me while bubbles were pouring out to greet the cars behind it. As Peyton and I entered the camp grounds, we joined more cars blasting music and people on top of their cars letting their freak flags (and physical flags) fly. Complete strangers smiling at one another for making it to the camp grounds after long days of traveling. Excitement fills the air as everyone is anticipating what lies ahead these next five days.
Electric Forest isn’t just like any other music festival. It challenges you to think, to expand, to dance, to be yourself and so much more. I always saw photos of Electric Forest and wondered if I would ever be able to make my way to the forest. When the lineup came out, I told myself I would do whatever it would take to make it to the forest. What I manifested for myself reaped tremendous rewards. 2 flights, an hour car ride and 1300 miles later I came upon the forest in Rothbury, Michigan filled with magical treasures. 5 days of camping and 4 days of music later, I understand why this festival has some of the most loyal attendees I’ve ever encountered.
I’ve been to my fair share of festivals and there is nothing like Electric Forest. I have never received so many smiles and shared many conversations with complete strangers before. The forest family is the most diverse and eclectic group of people I have ever met. All races, all ages, all united through the music and the magic of the forest. As a first timer I was immediately welcomed with open arms and learned the ways. Saying “happy forest” as I high fived other attendees in the security line felt unnatural at first, but by the end I couldn’t stop saying it to anyone as I passed by (even at the airport). I had no idea who or what Carl was but by day 4 I found myself shouting it as I entered the forest. You learn the ways of the forest until it’s time to leave, but you’ll carry it with you forever.
Day 0 when we arrived on Wednesday for early arrival I learned real quick I had entered a whole new world where people were unapologetically themselves. I was uncomfortable at first because all the tips and forums didn’t prepare me to embrace the real me from the moment I entered the gates. Not that I pretend to be someone I’m not, but I knew this would be a safe place for me to explore who I am. We arrived, made it through security and set-up camp in the span of two hours, met our neighbors then ventured around the main campground area. You could sense the relief from others as they walked around the campgrounds that they had made it either back to the forest or were about to embark on their first forest experience. The main street area was filled with vendors, food, a 24 hour cereal bar and countless activities for attendees. After grabbing the ever so famous island noodles for dinner, we joined a game of bingo. To this day we still didn’t know if that bingo game was put on by staff or other attendees who just wanted to play bingo. Peyton and I both won games and I picked out a prize of a stuffed animal that was a bacon strip. We named him Benny. Bellies full from dinner we made it back to camp and went to sleep anticipating the next day.
The Forest
We went into the festival an hour before our first set on Thursday to get a lay of the land. From photos and videos I had this festival layout backwards. I thought you entered through the umbrellas which leads to all stages. You are first greeted by Tripolee where I spent most of my time. Keep walking and you pass by the giving tree where you can leave something and take something. I exchanged a flower crown for a pretty kandi. Vendors, a candy shop, and food lead the way to Ranch Arena where the main headliners played. It is then you will enter the forest which you can enter two different ways. Peyton and I messed up and entered to the left and missed the umbrella entrance (we went back and redid it to capture that moment of walking under them for the first time). When I saw the “Sherwood Forest” sign, I knew I had made it. From there I could see the amazing art installation of a floral heart hand sign saying “Electric Forest” in front of me and in my peripheral could see the magical elephant I had seen in so many photos before.
The forest held many treasures from various hammock areas, a chapel, fairy houses, trading posts, a maze, a library, art installations, a piano, two stages and more. I had to walk various routes of this forest to see everything and even then I still think I probably missed out on seeing some things. Various characters walked throughout the grounds. These were unlike any characters I’ve seen at Beyond or EDC. THERE WERE SPACE COWGIRLS RIDING FLOWERS CASTING SPELLS FOR FESTIVAL GOERS TO HAVE A MAGICAL FOREST LIKE WHAT. There were southern belles waving fans frivolously in dresses with fans. All Peyton and I were wondering was what that meeting must’ve been like to dream up these characters. They never once broke character and brought a special vibe to the festival.
Exit the forest to the right and you come upon Sherwood Court stage and a beer garden. Exit to the left and you’ll find Jubilee stage and the Hangar. I wish I would have explored the Hangar more after learning you could get a haircut from the barber, a tattoo, your hair braided, a scavenger hunt card, and a ton more. They had so many fun activities in that area that you could pass the time in. Go to the back of the Hangar and you’ll find Carousel Club that felt like an old school disco with groovy tunes.
At night time is when the forest really comes to life. They had so much lighting and visuals throughout the forest that bring the art installations, the stages and the trees vibrant and magical. Walking through the forest at night time was probably my favorite time to walk through. This is the most visually appealing and stimulating festival I had ever seen.
The thing about the forest is you never know what you’re going to find. There are so many hidden treasures in there and what you might need in that moment becomes apparent. Quotes hanging on the trees assure you you are where you need to be as well as make you aware of taking care of our planet. Everytime I walked through the forest I always found something new to discover that caused me to think. This is something so rare to find at a festival.
The Music
Between all the days, days 1 and 2 were the most packed with artists Peyton and I wanted to see and days 3 and 4 were way more laidback which was honestly nice as we continued through the long festival.
Day 1 I was truly blessed to see artists I had never seen before: Shallou, Melvv (where I MET LOUIS THE CHILD), William Black, KRANE, Space Jesus, Too Many Zooz, Anna Lunoe, MK, and Kasbo. This was such a variety filled day that was the perfect kickoff to Electric Forest.
Day 2 brought all types of vibes with seeing: CloZee, Quix, Motez, Hayden James, Bonobo, Rufus du Sol, Netsky, GJones b2b Eprom, Boombox Cartel and Jauz.
Day 3 mixed with some all time favorites and discovered new artists: Chris Lake, String Cheese Incident, Glitch Mob, Lane 8, Griz Live Band and Testpilot.
Finally Day 4 was the most perfect ending: Kidswaste, Manila Killa, Zhu, Rezz, Bassnectar and Malaa.
Every set I saw was truly amazing but here are my standout sets from the weekend.
Most Feel Good Set: Manila Killa
FINALLY seeing Manila Killa had me in such happy spirits. His vibe just makes you feel good overall. He had a mashup of Crawl Outta Love by Illenium and his song Tonight as well as Moment Apart by Odesza and Innerbloom by Rufus du Sol had me teary eyed. He played some unreleased songs that definitely have me excited for the future of Manila Killa. Definitely check out if you haven’t.
Sets that Had Me Groovin’: Chris Lake & Rufus du Sol DJ Set
Everytime I see Chris Lake he just gets better and better. This was my 4th time seeing him on Day 3 this year and this set was definitely the best. It was an hour and a half long set like how could you not have been dancing the whole time.
I was kinda bummed I missed the Rufus du Sol live set for Kasbo BUT they had an hour and 30 minute set on Day 2 that was a DJ set. When artists do live sets 90% of the time, I always try and catch their DJ sets. It’s a unique opportunity to hear them play other songs and remixes of their songs. I saw a Rufus DJ set at Decadence that I loved so much but with the atmosphere of the forest, this Rufus du Sol set made its way into my heart.
Biggest Surprise Set I Liked: CloZee, The Glitch Mob & Bassnectar
CloZee is a tribal queen hailing from France. Peyton and I had to sit in the shade for this set because of the heat but she played such a diverse set that I was surprised by. Definitely check her out and support female DJs!
I heard a lot about The Glitch Mob’s set from weekend 1 and had to check out for myself. This set was truly unique and honestly impressive. It was a different type of electronic music than I’m used to and really enjoyed it. They had a remix of White Stripes that went off in the crowd.
Of course I can’t go to Electric Forest and not mention Bassnectar. This was my first time seeing him and wow I understand why this dude has the following he has. It was something truly unlike anything I’ve seen and after talking with multiple Bassnectar fans I’ve learned the true beauty of his sets is that you never know what he is going to play. It makes sense why so many people follow him to see what set he’ll bring. I’m not one to listen to Bassnectar in my free time, but I will definitely catch his sets again and again when he’s on a lineup.
Favorite Set of the Entire Weekend: Kasbo
Hands down my favorite set from the entire weekend that I am still thinking about was Kasbo’s set. This little Swede boy put an amazing set. I have been a fan of him for a while so seeing all my favorite songs live as well as songs from his debut album was incredible. His set was at the Observatory stage in Sherwood Forest so you surrounded by the forest that was lit up at night giving such a magical atmosphere for his set.
The Food
I rarely include this in reviews because festival food can be very generic and not really worth mentioning but ELECTRIC FOREST HAD SOME OF THE BEST FESTIVAL FOOD I’VE EVER HAD. The noodles, the dumplings the mozz sticks, the pizza, the ROOT BEER FLOATS AND SMOOTHIES LIKE WHAT!!! I never went hungry. I always get chicken tenders and fries but Electric Forest said oh no honey there is more to music festival food than that. If you go to Electric Pie, try Spicy Pie, Humpty Dumplings, Island Noodles and Big Mozz Sticks. The one thing I didn’t get to try was the Teriyaki Chicken over by Ranch Arena. That food vendor had over a 30 minute line everyday. Our best chance to get it was when we were allowed back in Day 4 after a thunderstorm evacuation and even then that line filled up quick. All the food was relatively priced.
Also in case you were wondering, Electric Forest beats EDC lemonade. Shocking I know, I didn’t think it was possible but here we are. Power ranking of lemonade are as follows:
- Electric Forest
- EDC
- Baseball Game Lemonade
- Coachella
Would I have done anything differently?
I don’t think there was anything I would have done differently either than explore more. I felt like an outsider the first couple days just feeling overstimulated and not knowing what to do or how to participate in things throughout the forest. I think I would also check out more talks at the Brainery. We sat in on a talk about Aromatherapy and I wish I would have seen more of the sessions they had there.
All in all we logistically everything went well. Doing early arrival Wednesday gave us enough time to travel to Michigan, get a rental car, pick up camping gear and food and set-up our camp. We didn’t overspend on our camping gear or food so everything worked out really well. I think if I were to have a larger group want to go next year I would look into group camping or look into the Good Life or Maplewoods camping areas.
If you are a girl with long hair, I highly recommend getting it professionally braided. I wish I would’ve done this so I wouldn’t have had to worry about it. I got my hair french braided one of the days but then the next day I showered. I wish I would’ve had braids so I didn’t have to worry about creative updos to get my hair out of my face.
Electric Forest 2019?
If you told me I could only go to one festival for the rest of my life and it was Electric Forest, I would be content. Logistically the festival was put together well. The water I refilled my Vibedration at was COLD and they CLEANED the porta potties regularly. That is RARE for a festival. Forest fam are some of the nicest people I’ve met. The music, the stages and the vibes left me wanting more. The only conflict we had was the weather being so so hot, but almost everyone said this was not normal for forest. If the weather is my only complaint (which obviously the festival can’t control), then that’s saying something. I will definitely be back next year.
The vibe of the forest are unmatched. Any negativity I experienced was instantly matched by positivity. “It’s so hot out.” “At least it’s not raining” “I have to pee why are the porta potties closed for cleaning” “At least they’re being cleaned” “Why is this line so long?” “At least you’re at electric forest”. Even when we had a thunderstorm warning, people were dancing in the rain and we were slapping wine bags waiting to get back into the gates. My mindset is feeling refreshed and expressing nothing but gratitude. At the end of the 5 days, I was happy to return to a roof over my head, A/C, the capability to shower, and my bed. I miss the forest already, but as they say you can take the girl out of the forest but you can’t take the forest out of the girl. Until next year! If you read this whole post, thank you so much for taking the time to read. You can watch my Electric Forest adventures. I will definitely have tips on how to prepare for next year!
Stay Vibey,
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