Heard It Here First

The return to Electric Forest has been long-awaited pending the pandemic and the magic that developed within each of us in those years away could be felt as a collective in the forest this year! The surprises are never-ending and the forest keeps giving. This year was the tenth Anniversary of Electric Forest and all of the patrons were tapped into this celebration!

A Little Bit About The Forest

For those who have never been to Electric Forest, the venue lies deep in the woods of Rothbury, Michigan at The Double JJ Ranch! This location allows for the community to deeply connect with themselves and others in the true spirit of mother nature as you are surrounded by a plethora of trees, lakes, wildlife, bugs, and of course art exhibits. The Forest has so many things to do inside that you could never be bored, as you are completely immersed in the magic of life and our artistic community at all times!

In the forest, you will find six main stages – Ranch Arena, Sherwood Court, Tripolee, Carousel Club, The Observatory, and Honeycomb. Each of these stages came fully equipped with top-of-the-line sound and production, leaving no room for any soul to be disappointed by the performances. Amongst all of the beautiful stages, you’ll find art installations basically anywhere you look.

Ranch Arena featured acts like GRiZ (twice), Louis The Child, The String Cheese Incident, and Porter Robinson. Sherwood Court showcased uber-talented artists such as LSDREAM, Blu DeTiger, CloZee, and Lab Group. Tripolee was stacked all weekend with renowned bass artists like Potions, Wreckno, MIZE, Of The Trees, and, of course, Subtronics. The Carousel Club was a roofed, quaint, beach stage located past The Hangar with immaculate vibes featuring artists Rainbow Kitten Surprise, Franc Moody, Lettuce, and even an extra set from CloZee! The Observatory was probably my favorite, equipped with an amazing overlook above the amphitheater-style stage, showcasing some of my top sets from the weekend from A Hundred Drums, Tsuruda, Khiva, and Supertask.

Eight Of Our Favorite Sets From The Weekend

GRiZ ~ Chasing The Golden Hour Set

This set occurred on the last day of the festival at 5:45pm in the field of the Ranch Arena. The time, place, and weather could not have been more perfect! GRiZ delivered indescribable healing vibes to send us all back out into the real world through his beautiful selection of tunes, featuring many from his Chasing The Golden Hour albums and EPs.

Lab Group

This was hands-down my favorite set of the entire weekend as well as to tons of attendees across the bass scene. Lab Group has been working hard in the studio with their collaboration of some of the most talented artists in the scene, and all of that hard work truly shined through during their performance at Sherwood Court on Sunday night. Potions, Supertask, Ruku, and Tiedye Ky all showcased their amazing strengths to work together and create something beautiful and magical on stage.

Whethan

Shortly after sundown on the first day of the festival, Whethan delivered a perfectly-curated set featuring new and old tunes of all original music at the Tripolee stage. Playing in front of a completely packed stage, every single face was ecstatic to be there. Midwxst joined the stage to perform for the pair’s newest collab, “LOCK IT UP,” and brought an insanely hype energy to the party. Whethan’s music moved the minds, bodies, and souls of everyone around.

KHIVA

Leave it to this extraordinary gal to keep things deep, dark, and dangerous. Khiva performed a beautiful deep bass set with vocals of her own to top it off. The Observatory just after the golden hour was the perfect setting to ease you into the last night of the festival, featuring the sublime sounds of HIHF favorite Khiva.

A Hundred Drums

WOAH – that is all I have to say for this one. This artist has been taking the bass scene by storm and her energy was unmatched at The Observatory Stage. The intricate sounds of A Hundred Drums deep dubstep tunes echoed through Sherwood Forest as the crowd danced out of their spirits while this artist delivered powerful, soul-shaking beats!

Smoakland

This West Coast duo performed mid-day Thursday at Sherwood Court, opening up the stage for the weekend, and pulling a MASSIVE crowd doing so. The sun was shining bright, but the attendees did not care! Smoakland curated an amazing set for a fully-packed stage of smiling faces and delivered vibes that set high anticipation for the rest of the weekend. You can listen to their full set here: SMOAKLAND LIVE @ EFOREST

Clozee

The Queen of worldly bass music blessed us with not one, but two beautiful sets at Electric Forest! Due to some minor sound issues during her first set at Sherwood Court, she was granted a redemption set at Carousel Club where she came back with booming energy that created an electrifying vibe amongst all. The first set from CloZee was deeply moving to say the least, and the second set was transcendentally out-of-this-world. You can watch her second performance here: CloZee @ Carousel Club EFOREST 2022

Supertask

Without even saying a word on the microphone, Supertask delivered one of the most perfectly curated downtempo bass sets of a lifetime. The energy of this set was captivating, nurturing, and inspiring from the LAB GROUP founding member. The sounds were fresh, deep, and dug right into your soul. The vibes from the overlook at The Observatory stage for this set were truly unmatched will forever live in my heart.

Looking Forward To next year

We’re so overwhelmed with joy from the magic and growth that occurred in the forest this year! Electric Forest is truly special and we cannot wait to see what art, music, and inspiration comes into the forest in 2023. Will we be seeing you at Electric Forest next year? Let us know in the comments below and be sure to let us know your favorite set too!

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