How Electric Forest continues to shine in a crowded festival market: 'It's kind of like choosing your own adventure'

Samantha liked that his appearance at Electric Forest required some planning – that it wasn't one of those festivals that one just attended on a whim.

“You can't just buy tickets the night before and decide you're going the next day – it's more complicated than that. There’s camping, there’s traveling, make sure all the LED lights in your outfit have the right batteries and are still working from last year,” he said with a laugh.

In the 12 months between Electric Forest 2023 and 2024, which ran from June 20-23, Samantha (not her real name) left a “toxic” relationship and was involved in a serious car accident that required intensive physical therapy that made her very difficult. walking or standing for long periods of time.

“Knowing that I had to heal my body to attend my tenth Electric Forest is what led me to my physical therapy,” he said. Advertising sign. “After the year I had, there was no way I was going to miss the festival.”

Samantha was one of more than 50,000 fans who attended this year's sold-out Electric Forest festival in Rothbury, Mich. Produced by AEG and Insomniac at the Double JJ Ranch, the 13-year-old event has remained the biggest camping festival in the jam and electronic music scene, an impressive feat in a market crowded with smaller, low-cost options aimed at casual fans.

“Our success begins and ends with the community of fans and supporters who make Electric Forest a regular part of their lives,” he says. Alicia Carlinvice president of world tours and talent at AEG Presents, which serves as talent buyer for the festival.

This is impressive considering how far the festival has moved away from the Electric Forest model. A decade ago, festivals like Coachella and Bonnaroo were forced to offer camping because attendees needed a place to stay for three days. But the shift to urban centers and the rising cost of providing bathrooms, showers, garbage collection and access to medical care for tens of thousands of fans has made the cost of camping prohibitive for many event organizers.

Electric Forest, on the other hand, is 99 percent camping and located in a fairly remote part of the state—the town of Rothbury, which hosts the festival, has a population of less than 450. Attendees bring everything they need for the festival – from camping gear to food and luggage, undergo rigorous security checks and drive up to 500 miles each way.

And while most festivals rely on their headliners to move tickets, this year's festival featured Pretty Lights, Subtronics, Excision, The Disco Biscuits, Umphrey's McGee and two sets from String Cheese Incident. In addition, Electric Forest sells most of its annual tickets before the line-up is announced.

“We have 10 stages and a huge creative team and cast,” says Karlin Advertising sign. “The agents and managers we work with trust us to put their artists in the best possible light, and we've gotten to a point where a lot of artists black out the entire weekend to play the festival and then take the show the rest of the week.”

Two of Electric Forest's biggest offerings are Sherwood Forest and the Dream Emporium, each enhanced with actors and volunteers and hundreds of props and custom art displays that change from year to year.

Many of the artworks featured in Electric Forest were commissioned by the festival, he explains Brad Limanproduction manager and creative director of Electric Forest, who said the event receives more than 60 commission requests a year and accepts about 5 new pieces, including a new eye organ delivered for 2024.

Sherwood Forest separates the main festival stages and campsites with dozens of different areas and hidden pockets waiting to be discovered, from a field full of hammocks to a small wedding chapel and aisles decorated with hundreds of Thai umbrellas.

The festival's intricate lightning and laser design is managed by Felix Lighting of Los Angeles, while the festival experience – the Dream Emporium, is managed on-site by a team of creative professionals led by Susan Down.

“It's a choose-your-own-adventure kind of thing,” explains Down, who welcomes guests to the Dream Emporium into a small lounge set up for UFO karaoke in a mirrored overflow tunnel designed to look like a 1970s car wash. .Guests wander the maze-like complex and stumble upon an ice rink available for rent, an indoor lake with yachts, and a punk dive bar that doubles as a wrestling ring.

Many artists get their start at Electric Forest by playing one of the open-air events, Karlin explained, or even playing one of the camp's late-night parties that often draw thousands of fans.

“There's always something to discover wherever you go, and our fans tell us they really enjoy and appreciate the opportunity to discover something new every year,” explains Karlin. “That's what motivates us as well. There's a huge amount of time and resources put into Electric Forest, but hearing these positive stories from fans every year really puts it all into perspective.”