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Break out those hula-hoops, the animal headgear and jam-band hippie garb because the Electric Forest festival is, indeed, returning to Rothbury in 2012.
The String Cheese Incident, Bassnectar, STS9, Thievery Corporation, Girl Talk, Santigold, Steve Aoki and Ghostland Observatory will star in the June 28-July 1 event at Double JJ Ranch, Madison House Presents announced today.
Tickets – which start at $229 plus fees – are on sale now at the Electric Forest website.
With a lineup heavy once again on jam bands and electronic music artists, the second year of the Electric Forest – following two years of the inaugural Rothbury festival – is liable to draw the same sort of fun-loving, hard-partying, built-for-camping crowd it has in previous years, as my video from last year’s event shows.
Other artists in this year’s overflowing concert lineup include Wolfgang Gartner, Richie Hawtin, The Travelin McCourys (with Keller Williams), Dada Life, Big Gigantic, Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk, Das Racist and dozen more.
Diehard devotees of jam band faves the String Cheese Incident will certainly feel groovy and happy: The group — sort of the house band at Rothbury and Electric Forest — will give three performances during Electric Forest; STS9 will perform twice.
(By the way, fast-rising electronic music hero Steve Aoki, one of Electric Forest’s headliners, is playing Grand Rapids’ Orbit Room on Feb. 26. Details here.)
This year’s festival also boasts something called “curated events” at various locations within the sprawling Double JJ resort. Get details online at the festival website.
Last year’s inaugural Electric Forest was more compact and a bit more subdued than Rothbury, a festival which drew more than 30,000 people in 2008 and 2009.
Read my story about the kickoff to last year’s Electric Forest here.
And why not? Check out these warm-and-fuzzy videos from Rothbury, which now seems like a long, long time ago in a fun-but-not-so-far-away place.
Email: jsinkevics@gmail.com
