According to The Festive Owl and a few inside sources, the team behind Electric Forest has turned in signed permits for back-to-back weekends in The Forest. The beloved Rothbury, MI event now looks like it will expand, as the local city council is currently discussing the permit and are leaning towards approval.
Permitting issues have been a constant distraction for promoters and fans since the site was first used as Rothbury in 2008, when the festival was still owned by independents. Now, as original owners Madison House Presents and Insomniac Presents have been purchased by industry giants AEG Live and Live Nation, respectively, it seems that the festival has seen its luck change, and we can now expect multiple weekends of magic at the Double JJ Ranch next summer.
This report creates a handful of questions. Will the String Cheese Incident headline Friday, Saturday, and Sunday on both weekends? Will the lineups stay the same from weekend-to-weekend, or will each one be unique? Will Bassnectar become king of the second weekend, as the new resident artist of Electric Forest? Will we see a return of Rothbury as a more jam and classic rock-heavy event, with Electric Forest moving more and more into the realm of dance music? Stay tuned for more information as it’s provided.