Electric Forest Slideshow + Review / Double JJ Resort (Rothbury, MI) / Day 1-2
Published: July 8, 2013
Photos and story by: Esther Rubyan
Another year has rolled around and the Sherwood Forest opened its arms up for year three of Electric Forest Festival. Located in Rothbury, Michigan, Electric Forest is infamous for its artistically designed, supercharged Sherwood Forest—but also for it’s killer curated lineup. Hosted by Insomniac Events and Madison House, the festival brings in thousands of attendees who are both ready to rage, but also ready to spread love while romping around the festival grounds. This year’s festival was easily one of the most anticipated events of the summer.
DAY 1
Upon entering the festival grounds, your eyes were already in for a treat. This year, one of Electric Forest’s more notable highlights (other than great music of course) was its amazing stage design. All five stages were beautifully designed with intricate detail. Each stage created it’s own atmosphere. By day, the stages were adorned with beautiful graphic illustrations on fabric, and by night, beautiful lighting enhanced the imagery. All through out the festival, something beautiful was to be seen, and something kickass was to be heard.
The first night kicked the festival off in so many great ways. The first day’s lineup rocketed attendees deep into the Forest as soon as possible. Some highlighted performances included two back-to-back performances by Ana Sia and Michal Menert on the Tripolee Stage. Ana Sia dropped fresh music that revved up the crowd, preparing them for Menert’s undeniably amazing live set that followed. As always, Michal Menert filled the air with his magical beats and high-vibing energy. His presence made the crowd feel nothing but love. Menert never fails to bring people in with his compositions, while keeping the crowd moving to his soulful music.
Meanwhile, at Sherwood Court, The Werks kicked off the festival with an amazing jam. The Werks lured in those attendees who got an early start to their beloved festival. Following their performance, again, an amazing back-to-back performance happened simultaneously to the Tripolee stage. EOTO and Lotus tore through nearly perfect performances, each of which included tripped out visuals and lighting. The Sherwood Court was a one-stop for anyone who was down for feeling good and dancing to jam-infused tunes.
At the end of the night, the last stop that festi-goers made was over to the infamous Silent Disco. As you walked toward the entrance, nothing could be heard, other than the swift movements of dancing bodies. Hosted by Elm and Oak, a Colorado based art and music collective headed by Alex Botwin (Paper Diamond) and Berk (Raw Russ), attendees had the chance to experience am exclusive and intimate performance by both founders. Though the space was small, Thursday night’s Silent Disco killed it!
As a special treat for the Good Life campers, Gramatik played a secret set at the VIP tent, showcasing one of his side projects—xMag. Lucky for the Good Life campers, they got an exclusive performance from the rare act. The night ended right inside of that little tent, and fans raged all night with Gramatik and his crew.
DAY 2
With an amazing first day already in the books, the festival was only just beginning. The next day, fans started hanging up their hammocks deep in the Sherwood Forest and resting from the awesome first night that they had. The Sherwood Forest is something that cannot be taken lightly, especially if you are entering it for the first time. Walking through the Forest is like entering a new world of color, light, sculpture, and good energy. Everywhere you turned your head, lights were shining through the trees and sculptures created by talented visual artists hung from the trees. By day, the Sherwood Forest was a peaceful resting space, but as the sun set and the night began to crawl in, the Sherwood Forest turned into psychedelic stomping ground for fans to inhabit.
Day 2’s daytime lineup was pretty relaxed, but as the sun went down, the energy began building up for the long-awaited super-set of Big Grizmatik. The Big Grizmatik super group included GRiZ, Gramatik, and Big Gigantic, all of whom have their own thriving fan-bases. From the front of the Sherwood Court stage all the way to the entrance of the Sherwood Forest, people were crammed shoulder to shoulder in hopes of witnessing electronic music history. Looking out into the crowd, it felt as if the Beatles were playing at Red Rocks. Close to 25,000 fans were screaming and cheering as the melodic sounds of all three artist groups blasted through the festival grounds. Each member of this super-group brought their own flavor to the set. If you didn’t catch this set, you definitely missed out on something special.
Even though the Big Grizmatik set was without a doubt the best performance of the night, there were other performances that had levels reaching a high level of appreciation. Passion Pit closed out the Sherwood Court stage and played some of their hall of fame worthy songs. The band’s hour long song was clearly not enough time for them, because the crowd was left wanting to hear more. Day 2 was out of this world, but with only two days left, there was still so much more to see!
Another year has rolled around and the Sherwood Forest opened its arms up for year three of Electric Forest Festival. Located in Rothbury, Michigan, Electric Forest is infamous for its artistically designed, supercharged Sherwood Forest—but also for it’s killer curated lineup. Hosted by Insomniac Events and Madison House, the festival brings in thousands of attendees who are both ready to rage, but also ready to spread love while romping around the festival grounds. This year’s festival was easily one of the most anticipated events of the summer.
DAY 1
Upon entering the festival grounds, your eyes were already in for a treat. This year, one of Electric Forest’s more notable highlights (other than great music of course) was its amazing stage design. All five stages were beautifully designed with intricate detail. Each stage created it’s own atmosphere. By day, the stages were adorned with beautiful graphic illustrations on fabric, and by night, beautiful lighting enhanced the imagery. All through out the festival, something beautiful was to be seen, and something kickass was to be heard.
The first night kicked the festival off in so many great ways. The first day’s lineup rocketed attendees deep into the Forest as soon as possible. Some highlighted performances included two back-to-back performances by Ana Sia and Michal Menert on the Tripolee Stage. Ana Sia dropped fresh music that revved up the crowd, preparing them for Menert’s undeniably amazing live set that followed. As always, Michal Menert filled the air with his magical beats and high-vibing energy. His presence made the crowd feel nothing but love. Menert never fails to bring people in with his compositions, while keeping the crowd moving to his soulful music.
Meanwhile, at Sherwood Court, The Werks kicked off the festival with an amazing jam. The Werks lured in those attendees who got an early start to their beloved festival. Following their performance, again, an amazing back-to-back performance happened simultaneously to the Tripolee stage. EOTO and Lotus tore through nearly perfect performances, each of which included tripped out visuals and lighting. The Sherwood Court was a one-stop for anyone who was down for feeling good and dancing to jam-infused tunes.
At the end of the night, the last stop that festi-goers made was over to the infamous Silent Disco. As you walked toward the entrance, nothing could be heard, other than the swift movements of dancing bodies. Hosted by Elm and Oak, a Colorado based art and music collective headed by Alex Botwin (Paper Diamond) and Berk (Raw Russ), attendees had the chance to experience am exclusive and intimate performance by both founders. Though the space was small, Thursday night’s Silent Disco killed it!
As a special treat for the Good Life campers, Gramatik played a secret set at the VIP tent, showcasing one of his side projects—xMag. Lucky for the Good Life campers, they got an exclusive performance from the rare act. The night ended right inside of that little tent, and fans raged all night with Gramatik and his crew.
DAY 2
With an amazing first day already in the books, the festival was only just beginning. The next day, fans started hanging up their hammocks deep in the Sherwood Forest and resting from the awesome first night that they had. The Sherwood Forest is something that cannot be taken lightly, especially if you are entering it for the first time. Walking through the Forest is like entering a new world of color, light, sculpture, and good energy. Everywhere you turned your head, lights were shining through the trees and sculptures created by talented visual artists hung from the trees. By day, the Sherwood Forest was a peaceful resting space, but as the sun set and the night began to crawl in, the Sherwood Forest turned into psychedelic stomping ground for fans to inhabit.
Day 2’s daytime lineup was pretty relaxed, but as the sun went down, the energy began building up for the long-awaited super-set of Big Grizmatik. The Big Grizmatik super group included GRiZ, Gramatik, and Big Gigantic, all of whom have their own thriving fan-bases. From the front of the Sherwood Court stage all the way to the entrance of the Sherwood Forest, people were crammed shoulder to shoulder in hopes of witnessing electronic music history. Looking out into the crowd, it felt as if the Beatles were playing at Red Rocks. Close to 25,000 fans were screaming and cheering as the melodic sounds of all three artist groups blasted through the festival grounds. Each member of this super-group brought their own flavor to the set. If you didn’t catch this set, you definitely missed out on something special.
Even though the Big Grizmatik set was without a doubt the best performance of the night, there were other performances that had levels reaching a high level of appreciation. Passion Pit closed out the Sherwood Court stage and played some of their hall of fame worthy songs. The band’s hour long song was clearly not enough time for them, because the crowd was left wanting to hear more. Day 2 was out of this world, but with only two days left, there was still so much more to see!
![Top 10 Backwoods at Mulberry Mountain Must-See Sets [Page 2] Preview](https://www.theuntz.com/media/news/7/0/1/7012/top-10-backwoods-at-mulberry-mountain-must-see-sets-page-2.jpg)
