‘Mind-blowing’ West Michigan festival led by String Cheese Incident and Bassnectar creates ‘strange wonderland’ starring select regional acts, with Grand Rapids’ Rick Chyme set to join The Accidentals on stage. See the performance schedule for Michigan bands.
Wild Costumes,Energy and ‘Deep Communication’: Electric Forest returns to Rothbury this weekend. (Photo/Anthony Norkus)
For all of the accolades, performances and experiences that The Accidentals have absorbed the past two years in the Traverse City trio’s travels across the United States, nothing really compares to the thrill of getting a chance to play the dazzling and prestigious Electric Forest festival this weekend in Rothbury.
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Exciting Summer: The Accidentals also played Local First Street Party. (Photo/Taylor Mansen)
With more than 40,000 ultra-enthused music fans from around the world expected to descend on the tiny West Michigan community of Rothbury for the sold-out event, the 19- and 20-year-old members of The Accidentals plan to make the most of their hectic performance schedule at this year’s festival.
“Our minds are a little blown by it, to be honest,” says multi-instrumentalist and singer Savannah Buist. “It’s nerve-wracking but also exciting to share our music with new people at every show. It’s definitely important to expand our audience, but I think it’s even more important to establish a real connection. We’re excited to add people to the family that festivals like this help cultivate.”
Indeed, The Accidentals – Buist, multi-instrumentalist Katie Larson and drummer Michael Dause – will get plenty of chances to cultivate new fans because they’re playing five times over four days on three different stages. When Electric Forest organizers got wind of the folk/rock/gypsy jazz trio’s growing popularity, more performances were added to the schedule.
Epic Light Displays: The scene from one of String Cheese Incident’s 2014 sets. (Photo/Anthony Norkus)
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“There will be a lot of people there who don’t know us, so we want to make a good impression. We’ll have a few tricks up our sleeve to make our sets even crazier than usual,” vows Larson.
One of those “tricks” is bringing Grand Rapids hip hop artist Rick Chyme up on stage with them, though the timing of those guest appearances has yet to be announced or finalized. (For that, keep an eye on the band’s Facebook page.)
As one of only a few Michigan bands selected to perform at this year’s Electric Forest – Ann Arbor’s The Ragbirds and Detroit’s Flint Eastwood are two others – The Accidentals are sure to stand out amid the cavalcade of big-name electronic dance music and jam-band acts such as String Cheese Incident, Bassnectar, Skrillex, Big Gigantic, Datsik, Lotus, Yonder Mountain String Band and EOTO. (Detroit DJ Freddy Todd is also on the Forest Stage bill.)
“We had no idea that we were one of the few Michigan bands at Electric Forest. We’ll try and make The Mitten proud,” Buist says. “The more we talk to people, the more excited we get.”
Adds Larson: “We’ve never played a festival like this before. Sav (Buist) keeps saying this will the first and last time we’re on the same bill with (international EDM star) Skrillex.”
As part of the four-day festival, The Accidentals also will join an ensemble of musicians from different bands led by conductor and musician Matt Butler. Dubbed the “Everyone Orchestra,” The Accidentals will perform with the group during a Friday afternoon set.
“I’ve never done anything like it and I’m so excited to see what happens,” Larson says of the improvised performance with members of Motet, Papadosio, Lotus, The Werks and KC Roberts & The Live Revolution.
‘AWESOME OPPORTUNITY’ IN FRONT OF ‘HYPER-CHARGED’ FANS
The Accidentals – who open things at 6 p.m. Thursday on The Observatory stage and play their final set at 3:15 p.m. Sunday on the Jubilee Stage – aren’t the only Michigan acts expressing exuberance about being part of Electric Forest.
Jax Anderson of Flint Eastwood calls it “an awesome opportunity … to see some awesome bands and dance like crazy while playing music in a forest.”
Standing Out in a Memorable Way: The Ragbirds will their second Electric Forest.
The Ragbirds note it’s the largest event they’ll play this year, so represents a splendid and rare chance to reach a wider audience.
“I’m excited to bring something unique to this diverse lineup, which tends to feature more electronic music because I think we will really have the chance to stand out in a memorable way,” says percussionist Randall Moore of The Ragbirds, who also play the Lowell Showboat Sizzlin’ Summer Concerts series in downtown Lowell on July 23.
The folk-, world music- and pop-hued Ragbirds – who’ve played Electric Forest once before – will perform three different times over the weekend for what they expect will be a “hyper-charged, music-loving crowd. … The Ragbirds’ shows are always very high-energy and danceable, but it’s folk-rock at the heart of it, inspired by music from all over the world.”
He insists The Ragbird’s world rhythms create a “symbiotic vibe” with beats unleashed by DJs and EDM acts at the weekend festival.
Inspiring: Sherwood Forest (Photo/Anthony Norkus)
Randall insisted there’s “an exchange of energy and deep communication” at the event, praising Electric Forest for a “fully immersive” experience that combines music, artwork and “epic light displays. The audience participates by dressing in wild colors and costumes, creating a sort of strange wonderland.
“It is inspiring to enter into this sort of creative world and bring our music to this audience.”
Follow Local Spins on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and return to LocalSpins.com later in the week for Electric Forest coverage and photos.
Check out the full Electric Forest lineup and schedule at electricforestfestival.com.
Click here for photo galleries and recaps from 2014’s Electric Forest.
VIDEO: Electric Forest 2014
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