Electric Forest 2024 friends and family all gathered from thousands of miles away to experience the magic that resides in the middle of the woods in Rothbury Michigan. The festival ran from June 20 to June 23 but people gathered days before this to set up camp and embrace the full forest experience.
Early arrivers got treated to pre-party sets at the Evolve Afters stage where performances by Super Future and Tripp St. wooed the crowd. Their experimental bass music gave people the perfect hype to kick off this festival weekend.
Day 1 – Welcome to the Forest
First time Forest attendees and vets quickly entered the grounds the first day in a heavy anticipation of what the festival had in store for them this year. Art installations encompassed the scene including beautiful murals, interactive games, light installments, huge statues, and more. So many people are seen embracing their creative spirit from checking out vendor shops, to watching live painting, and exploring the art spread across the trees.
The heat was booming which made The Observatory stage set in the middle of the trees the place to be. It also helped that international electronic producer CloZee’s Odyzey label was doing a stage takeover. This featured performances from Dixon’s Violin, Redrum, Zen Selekta, Super Future, Tripp St., Zingara, and Marsh.
Zen Selekta’s energy at the Observatory was insane. She knows exactly how to handle a crowd and leave them wanting more. Her music intertwines dark vibes with ethereal melodies and ethnic influences.
Over on the Ranch main stage though DRAMA had a soulful performance. This multicultural collaboration is between producer Na’el Shehade’s chic house-infused production style and vocalist Via Rosa’s inspirational delivery. Their dynamic is so complementary it plays on patterns of hip-hop and bossa nova.
Back at the Observatory Zingara made her return to Electric Forest, but this time with a night time set. Fresh off of her Code of Dreamz tour, she gave the crowd tons of new music and remixes to listen to. She performed her tracks, “Unlock Your Keys,” and “Up is Down.” Seeing a Zingara set transports music through the mind and body in a unique way.
The Observatory stage had a round of insane performances from some of the most talented producers. After countless artists played, the electronic rhythmic figure CloZee came on stage for a secret set. She shared she always wanted to play at this specific stage but with her status now it became difficult with the available capacity around that area. This made her secret performance even that much more special and intimate for the lucky fans who got to experience it.
Day 2 – Bass Rush
It’s a Forest tradition that on the second day bass-heads camp out at the Tripolee stage for the numerous dubstep artists that throw-down hard one after the other. People brought out their chill-bos and flow toys for the hard-hitting tunes.
Up and coming artist Canabliss kicked off this day with her pink visuals. She plays on funky beats and is constantly remixing booming tracks. Canabliss even remixed the latest Irish hit “The Spark” making people go crazy. She did mix in some of her own tunes including “Saudade.”
More talented women steam-rolled the crowd with their high energy. The bass that day was flourishing to say the least. Dubstep producers Level Up and ALLEYCVT each had a set that was unbelievable. Level Up brought Subtronics out for their latest collab they’ve been working on together.
ALLEYCVT’s visuals and pyro took her performance to the next level. This was her debut at Electric Forest and it did not disappoint. Headbangers were going wild during her set and moshing at any chance they got. Many people left her performance immediately wanting to see more.
Later into the night Pretty Lights had their comeback performance at Ranch Arena. After 10 years Pretty Lights came back to the fields in Michigan and they left zero crumbs. They brought their own fusion of electronic beats, poetic samples, and modular synthesizers. This musical project is transformative and definitely leaned into more of a jam experience in the Forest.
Back at the Tripolee stage though the late-night dubstep DJs were still giving hard-hitting performances. Boogie T, ATLiens, Wooli, and BTSM finished the round up. BTSM closed out the stage with their mesh of heavy bass and techno. Lately they have been performing with their new anime visuals from Attack on Titan and watching that from the crowd is insane to see.
Day 3 – Rain Rain Go Away
Okay maybe it’s not the rain so much as the storms that Forest goers had to undergo this day that needed to go. Many started off their day at the Brainery getting in their daily dose of positive affirmations and good vibes. All week different classes were held there including meditation, yoga sessions, and shuffling courses.
Others who entered the festival grounds early attended a party at the Chapel where people got to celebrate their freaky unique selves. And if some attendees got there at the right time special wedding ceremonies would take place.
Unfortunately though this day ended quite early as everyone inside the festival grounds was told to evacuate to their campsites due to severe storms coming in. The intense thunder storms lasted for hours flooding campsites with heavy rain and creating so many mud pits. Many artists didn’t get to perform their set due to this.
They didn’t open the festival back up until after midnight pushing so many artists to now overlap with one another. When the gates opened back up fans ran to the stages to get a good spot for the few late night producers who didn’t lose their set. Subtronics got to throw down at Ranch. His tesseract visuals are stunning and his mixing is top of the EDM game by a landslide. He got to play his flip of Hozier’s song “Too Sweet” and his latest single “Sploinky Dub.”
LSZEE, also known as the project by LSDREAM and CloZee, made their first ever debut as a duo this night. They performed so many unreleased songs and fun remixes. The euphoric energy these two artists brought is unmatched. The two know how valuable certain sound wave frequencies play on mood and they utilize this to take their audience on a journey. These renowned producers got to perform their songs “FRENCH DREAM” and “CHRYSALIS” for the first time as well. A night that people thought might not happen throughout the day was finished with an absolute breathtaking experience.
Day 4 – The Forest Family
Despite the third day having quite the unexpected journey, so many people were ready to fully embrace what the final day of Forest had to offer. Many who missed out on the scavenger hunt the days before went to the “Time Travel Agency” to receive their quest and start their excursion. Others went inside the Dream Emporium to watch a wrestling match, roller-skate, and even go kayaking.
An absolute highlight of the final day, if not the entire weekend, was the return of Lightcode by LSDREAM. In the afternoon at Sherwood Court, LSDREAM presented his sound healing and ambient bliss-inspired project. This meditative experience is one that no words can do justice. It truly is so transformative that it left so many people in tears. The exercise is unlike no other that sets to reopen peoples’ hearts and minds to what not only the festival, but the human experience should consist of.
Later in the day, the up and coming trio Levity performed a set at the Observatory. This group first started taking off last year at Electric Forest when the festival needed someone to cover a slot at the Honeycomb stage and one member just so happened to bring his USB. Their 2023 last minute set ended up popping off online and caused this group to get so much commotion behind their name. It truly is a full circle moment watching Levity grow from a last minute fill-in to a night time set at forest. This group encompasses what Electric Forest is all about and their performance was nothing short of eccentric.
Experimental bass artist INZO also had a performance that was exceptionally moving. He played on Sherwood Court and of course utilized his signature Alan Watts verbiage. Some tracks fans got to hear were “Overthinker” and “Drift Like a Cloud, Float Like Water.”
Into the night, fans gathered at Ranch Arena for GIGANTIC NGHTMRE. This is a project by Big Gigantic and NGHTMRE that has such heavy hitting beats. The layered sound from the drums, saxophone, and mixing on stage blends effortlessly. The trio definitely know how to pump up a crowd and provide that much needed energy boost. The pyro matched with the fun visuals and fireworks were captivating. The group also performed a good amount of riddim which is exactly what the Forest family needed.
After GIGANTIC NGHTMRE ended many gathered up for a performance from the dubstep king himself, Excision. However, this was shortly met with an evacuation announcement due to another wave of severe storms that were coming in. Unfortunately there was no re-entry after the evacuation notice and this sudden goodbye left many upset.
As much as the storms were such an inconvenience to people it didn’t ruin the Forest family’s time. You can’t control the weather, but you can control how you respond to the weather. And how people responded to it was by dancing in the rain, creating parties at campsites, and enjoying this time everyone got to spend together in the middle of the woods in Michigan.
That is exactly what Electric Forest is all about. As much as you can play out how your weekend is going to go and schedule what artists you’re going to see, you truly can’t plan for everything. Surrendering to those moments of disarray and wonder can lead you to some of the best times. “While timing is everything, the present is where true discovery lies.” Electric Forest has always provided those moments of discovering what is really important and serves as a reminder of why we’re all here on this Earth: to let go and enjoy our time together. Maybe we didn’t get to see an Excision Electric Forest set, but at least we got to dance in the rain with our friends.
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