Electric Forest: Mugginess, throngs, uplifting music

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The first-day salvo in Rothbury boasted massive crowds and memorable sets from Disco Biscuits, Lettuce, Everything Always & more. Photos, video and Local Spins on WYCE radio show podcast.

Opening Salvo: Venues were packed on Friday at Electric Forest. (Photo/Anna Sink)

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Even a single afternoon at Electric Forest turns festivalgoers into believers.

“People are really nice. I love it,” said first-time Forest attendee Russ, 28, of Portland, Ore., who said he’d heard about Rothbury’s Electric Forest for years from those who swore that “this is the one” music festival that’s a must to attend.

By late afternoon on Thursday amid West Michigan’s sweltering Double JJ Resort, he’d confirmed that assessment along with fellow Forest newbies and pals from California and Georgia.

Explosive Music: It was everywhere at Double JJ Resort. (Photo/Eric Stoike)

Indeed, the 40,000 to 50,000 music mavens on opening day hailed from locations as disparate as Canada (Montreal), Texas, South Carolina and Traverse City, all of whom raved about Electric Forest’s positive vibes as opening electronic music salvos by Levi Double U and Brandi Cyrus thundered through the Michigan woods — along with violin magic from Ann Arbor’s Dixon Violin, who traditionally kicks things off on the Observatory Stage in the middle of the art-laden Sherwood Forest.

Dixon said attending his first music festival changed his life a decade ago, convincing him to leave his “corporate” job and devote his life to music.

“A festival offers you possibilities,” he told a cheering crowd of Forest fans simmering in the blazing sun. “Be open to new experiences, because it can be transforming.”

That transformation clearly takes place in a Forest of diversity: While this festival is still mostly a young people’s game, it attracts fans of all ages, all races, all cultures and, yes, every imaginable costume and attire imaginable. It’s place where festivalgoers let go for four days, enter a new, fantastic world and often don’t tell their employers what they’re up to for the weekend.

“Because of the unique location in Michigan, you have so many people who are local and so many people who travel here from all over to be in the woods like this … and you get such a diverse crowd here,” said Jake from Muskegon, who cites Electric Forest as the first music festival he ever attended — and has since volunteered and attended the festival for several years.

Colorful Attire: A common sight in the Forest. (Photo/Chelsea Whitaker)

And while many festival veterans had never attended an Electric Forest as hot, humid and sweaty as the weather that greeted festivalgoers on Thursday, no one seemed bothered by the conditions, instead reveling in the congenial atmosphere and artistic charm of the sprawling celebration.

Kennedy Kibbey, of Traverse City, who was hula-hooping near the sun-splashed Sherwood Court stage, said it’s all about “how kind everybody is” at Electric Forest, which she was attending for the second time.

“Everyone here is, ‘How can I help you?’ It’s awesome,” she said. “Everybody from around the world coming to one spot, and it’s Michigan!”

(One minor issue: Some festivalgoers waiting in long lines wondered why there weren’t more 21-and-older wristband stations, though they also conceded it gave them ample time to meet and chat with fellow Foresters.)

That diversity extended to many of the sets on Thursday. While Electric Forest teems with electronic music powerhouses — such as Everything Always (Dom Dolla and John Summit) which closed out Ranch Arena for a massive, partying crowd — the array of stages also ignited ebullient dancers for funk assaults courtesy of New Orleans’ Dumpstaphunk and Boston’s Lettuce, the jam-band vibes of Eggy and world-beat pop of Nelly Furtado, keeping fans twirling and bobbing deep into the night.

“So well lit tonight,” Furtado declared to an approving horde at Ranch Arena. “Electric Forest, you’re beautiful.”

SOME FIRST-DAY HIGHLIGHTS

• The Disco Biscuits electrified and mesmerized fans with their psych-rock-infused, electronic wizardry at Sherwood Court — long jams enhanced by groovy video backdrops that morphed from one dynamic crescendo to another. Definitely a smile-inducer.

• One of the biggest surprises may have been Grand Rapids’ own Super Future, a DJ who unleashed beats for a wildly enthusiastic, overflow crowd at the Observatory — a mob of Forest-goers so thick it was nearly impossible to squeeze into the fray to even get a look at Nick Rowland, aka Super Future, who plays a couple more sets in various locations this weekend.

Celebrating Everything Always: Fans at Ranch Arena. (Photo/Eric Stoike)

• It’s easy to forget that Chicago native Green Velvet (aka, Cajmere) had two massive records almost 30 years ago with “Percolator” and “Flash,” and it was his seasoned and steady hand that had the Ranch Arena jam-packed early on opening night.

• West Michigan native and Irish on Ionia headliner Sean Boney (aka SNBNY) dropped bassline after bassline during a pop-up set within the Gingerbread House installation deep within the Forest.

• The Tripolee stage hosted Australia’s Cassian, with the crowd roaring during his redux of the early ’80s hit “Great Summer Land” by fellow countrymen Icehouse.

• The aforementioned Everything Always took the crowd on a tech-house inspired journey of Dom Dolla and John Summit’s respective catalogs, before closing with a pair of drum-and-bass tracks where the style and tempo shift only further solidified their diverse production ethos.

Electric Forest continues today (Friday) through Sunday. As part of Local Spins’ coverage of the Michigan festival, Local Spins on WYCE — which spotlights local and regional artists at 11 a.m. Fridays and 5 p.m. Sundays on WYCE (88.1 FM) and online at wyce.org — showcased tracks by three artists performing this weekend: Dixon’s Violin, Super Future and Flexadecibel. The show also featured music by Toby Bresnahan, The Smokin’ Dobroleles, Distant Stars, Nathan Kalish, St. Sinner Orchestra, Annie Bacon & Her Oshen, G-Rex, Rachel Brooke and Laith Al-Saadi. Scroll down to listen to the podcast.

VIDEO: Electric Forest 2024 – Day 1