Electric Forest

Electric Forest is a multi-genre music festival produced by Madison House Presents and Insomniac Events, with a focus on electronic music and jam band genres.
Originally named Rothbury Festival in 2008, it is held in Rothbury, Michigan at the Double JJ Resort. Rothbury Music Festival took place in 2008 and 2009 and was on hiatus for 2010.
In 2011, the event debuted under its current name, Electric Forest. The event was not held in 2020 or 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. An estimated 40,000 to 50,000 people attended the most recent festival in 2023.
The 2025 festival will be the 13th Electric Forest.
The Rothbury Music Festival took place on July 3–6. The first year saw 30,202 in attendance.
On February 13, 2008, the initial lineup was released. By February 25, four additional artists were added. Steel Pulse was added on March 13, and seven artists were added in April. On May 29, the lineup was complete after six additional artists were added, including Trey Anastasio of Phish.
The spark of the idea came from Philip Blaine and Jeremy Stein, on the side of the stage, during Crystal Method at Rothbury. Then Phil brought this vision to Insomniac. From there, Electric Forest came into existence.
The following performers played throughout the weekend:
Several members were present from their respective bands: The String Cheese Incident, Phish, Grateful Dead, and The Allman Brothers Band. Following the addition of the Kyle Hollingsworth Band to the lineup, all six members of The String Cheese Incident were present in separate bands: Bill Nershi played with the Emmitt Nershi Band, EOTO is composed of Jason Hann and Michael Travis, Keith Moseley played in the WMDs who accompanied Keller Williams, and Michael Kang played with Panjea. Three of the four members of Phish were present: Mike Gordon, Jon Fishman, and Trey Anastasio. Phil Lesh and Mickey Hart, of Grateful Dead fame, also performed in their respective bands. Two of the current members of the Allman Brothers Band, Warren Haynes of Gov't Mule and Derek Trucks, performed in distinct bands.
David Murphy, of STS9, joined the stage with the Disco Biscuits during their Thursday night set.
The Rothbury Music Festival (not the Electric Forest Festival) officially returned in 2009. The second Rothbury was held July 2–5, over Independence Day weekend. The festival's second year expanded the think-tank discussions established the first year and continued the use of sustainable technologies.
Because of concerns over the ownership of the ranch, as well as the potential sale of the festival grounds, there was originally uncertainty about whether a second festival would be held in 2009. A major hurdle was overcome when a federal bankruptcy judge cleared the way for a lease of the festival property between the bankruptcy trustee and AEG. A second hearing was necessary to determine if the lease was valid, because part of the land used by the festival was on a sheriff's deed and needed to be purchased by the trustee. Following the approval of this final hearing, WZZM reported the festival would return in 2009.
Before the official lineup was released, there were rumors of artists such as Phish and Tom Petty performing, but this never occurred.
According to an announcement made on Rothbury's official website on January 22, the festival would be "on hiatus" in 2010, but was expected to return in 2011.
Electric Forest was co-founded by Pasquale Rotella, founder and CEO of Insomniac, and Madison House Presents' Jeremy Stein, CEO. It was not "Rothbury Festival", a trademarked name. A notable change was the lack of the main "Odium" stage. In its absence "The Ranch Arena" stage became the main stage. The area where the Odium had been was not accessible to festival attendees again until 2015. From June 30 to July 3, a new and different festival was held on the same festival grounds, the "Electric Forest Festival". From Electric Forest's inception in 2011 until 2016 The String Cheese Incident acted as the host band, performing three shows each year (more than any other performer).
The lineup included
Electric Forest Festival returned to Rothbury from June 28 to July 1. Acts included
Electric Forest Festival returned to Rothbury in 2013 from June 27 through June 30.
The initial lineup, announced on February 5, included:
Electric Forest Festival was held on June 26–29, and sold out for the first time.
The lineup included:
Electric Forest Festival was held on June 23–26, 2016.
The lineup headliners included:
For the first time, the Electric Forest Festival was held on two weekends: June 22–25 and June 29 – July 2, 2017.
The lineup for both weekends included:
In 2018, Electric Forest took place across two weekends: June 21–24 and June 28 – July 1.
The lineup for both weekends included:
In 2019, Electric Forest reverted to a single weekend festival, and was held June 27–30, 2019.
The lineup for 2019 included:
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in the spring of 2020, Electric Forest considered rescheduling the event for September 2020. The Rothbury Village Council voted to reject the proposed postponement, leading to the complete cancellation of Electric Forest 2020, which would instead return in the summer of 2022.
In 2022, Electric Forest returned after a two-year hiatus, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The festival took place June 23–26, 2022 in Rothbury, Michigan.
In 2023, the festival took place June 22–25, 2023 in Rothbury, Michigan. The first wave of artists was announced in December 2022 followed by an additional wave in March 2023.
The 12th Electric Forest Festival was scheduled to take place June 20–23, 2024. The first wave of artists was announced on December 5, 2023, with an additional wave expected to follow in the spring. Loyalty tickets went on sale beginning on December 4, 2023, with tickets for the general public going on sale on December 8, 2023.
43°32′19″N 86°22′03″W﻿ / ﻿43.53862°N 86.3674°W﻿ / 43.53862; -86.3674