Bonus Coverage: Electric Forest 2026 – Day 1

Local Spins’ Looking for the Perfect Beat columnist Todd Ernst is diving into the electronic music wizardry on tap at Electric Forest 2026. Here’s his take on Day 1.

If opening night is any guide, you would have found me wearing a groove into the path toward Tripolee, because that’s where most of my Thursday night took place, under a waxing gibbous moon no less.

Jackie Hollander — one of my must-see picks — eased everyone in with her grinding and groovy tech house.

A detour brought us to Ranch Arena for Disco Lines at 9:45 (with an asterisk; more on that in a second), and then it was back to Tripolee for the long haul: Devault at 10:45, Westend’s first set of the weekend at 11:45, Odd Mob turning things gloriously feral at 1:45 a.m., and Eli Brown closing the stage down until the distinctly unholy hour of 4 AM.

One note on that Ranch Arena stop: with Disco Lines under the weather, Nashville’s It’s Murph slid into the slot on short notice. Not quite cape-and-tights heroics — but covering another DJs festival set, last-minute, and making the swap look effortless is the kind of quiet save that earns a round on the house. Feel better, Disco Lines; nicely done, It’s Murph.

Pace yourself — Thursday is a marathon wearing an opening-night disguise.

View Ernst’s must-see festival picks here: https://localspins.com/electric-forest-set-to-sizzle-with-griz-kaskade-shpongle-claude-vonstroke-the-year-14-guide-local-spins/

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