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It's Electric!

Electric Forest. It is held every year in late June/early July in Rothbury, Michigan at the Double JJ Resort. The music here is very similar to Miami's Ultra, Chicago's North Coast and Las Vegas's Electric Daisy Carnival. It is one of the biggest festivals held in Michigan with over 45,000 attendees.  Double JJ resort is a three hour drive away from Detroit, Ann Arbor and Chicago making it very accessible to many different cities. There is a near by airport available too with direct flights from Chicago if you're feeling impatient. Otherwise, there are official Electric Forest shuttles offered from all surrounding major cities.

From Front Gate Tickets

This festival is for people who like to camp. A majority of the attendees arrive in their cars, park them, then venture off into the forest to find their home base for the weekend. For those who aren't about the nature life, can stay in hotels which are about 8 miles away from the festival grounds. Camping is a large part of this festival and something that some people say is their favorite part. This 10x10 tarp becomes a home, a kitchen, a bedroom, a party and most importantly shade. The EF Complete Guide recommends that attendees find a place where there is shade because in the morning the summer sun can get real hot. The guide also recommends to bring anything you would typically need for a home: a broom, chairs, tables, lanterns/lamps, trash bags, eating utensils and of course some type of entertainment like a speaker or card games.

The experience really is electric. The festival is literally in a forest with magical looking trees. When people set up their campsites they also love to decorate them with tie dyes and vibrant colors, so walking through the forest is entertaining in itself. A large part of Electric Forest is about spending time with the people you came with and meeting new friends. There is a decent amount of downtown depending on the amount of shows someone wants to go to so during those times a lot of people hula hoop, play sports or take a much needed nap. Another entertaining thing to do is just to walk around and explore. The festival grounds are very large and spread out so be prepared to walk a lot!

From Electric Forest

Electric Forest is similar to Coachella and Austin City Limits in that it lasts for two weekends. However, the difference is that the schedule varies a little bit between both weekends. There are a few artists that will remain the same (mostly headliners) and a few will be switched up. The lineups for 2018 include: The String Cheese Incident, Bassnectar, Griz Live Band, Rufus Del Sol, Zhu, Bonobo, Chromeo, Cut Copy, Louis the Child, Malaa, Marian Hill, San Holo, The Glitch Mob, and Xavier Rudd. Galantis will be performing the first weekend and Marshmello will take their spot for the second weekend.

There are seven different stages across the grounds. Each stage plays the same type of music because the festival is one big EDM concert. But each stage does have its own theme. For example, the tripolee stage represents the past and future whereas the observatory stage is Asian themed. The shows start playing around noonish and go till 11 pm just like any other festival. But the actual grounds open on midnight on Thursday and close at noon on Monday, allowing time for people to pack up their things and clean.

From Pinterest

From Camp Trend

Since Electric Forest is an EDM festival, the fashion is similar to other raves like Ultra and North Coast. The trends are very futuristic and alien like, incorporating a lot of silvers, bright colors, jems and sparkles. I couldn't find an article that documented the best trends at the festival from last year, but I did find an Etsy page that sells all things rave.

Festival tip: Bring a canopy and/or hammock for all the times you need to take a rest, the sun is hot and tiring!
Location: Double JJ Resort, 5900 S Water Rd, Rothbury, MI 49452, USA

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