Into The Woods: Electric Forest 2017 First Weekend – Photos & Review
By Tim McGuire Jun 26, 2017 • 1:20 pm PDT
Words & Images by: Tim McGuire
Electric Forest – First Weekend :: 06.22-25.17
Double JJ Ranch :: Rothbury, MI
Double JJ Ranch :: Rothbury, MI
This past Thursday, the first weekend of the Electric Forest festival in Rothbury, Michigan opened to cool temps and sporadic rain showers. The String Cheese Incident had two sets in store as part Thursday’s action. SCI’s first set concluded with a funky cover of Maroon 5’s “Moves Like Jagger” within “Colliding” and the band delivered a second set that included a stellar “Beautiful.” There was a weather warning that delayed several performances including one by Canadian electronic duo Bob Moses. Opening day also featured impressive sets from a number of jam acts including NOLA rockers The Revivalists, jamtronica supergroup [Br]eaking [Bi]scuits and Philadelphia’s Lotus.
Friday, Matisyahu told the crowd of how Vince Staples inspired him to perform a new live version of “King Without A Crown” for the first time in years. The String Cheese Incident treated the EF faithful to three sets including a “Sound Lab” set featuring a bevy of sit-ins. Eric Krasno helped SCI kick off the second set with “Let’s Go Outside,” “Sugaree” and “Unconditional Love.” Later, Kamasi Washington and Snarky Puppy percussionist Robert Searight helped with “Soul Shakedown Party” by Bob Marley and “Zombie” by Fela Kuti within “Impressions.” Matt Hill from The Floozies added to SCI’s debut of a funky love song they collaborated on and a stellar, guest-less cover of “The National Anthem” by Radiohead closed the second set.
Later that evening the Eric Krasno Band had Nigel Hall up for a stunning “Curse Lifter.” The Everyone Orchestra came together twice during the weekend with a diverse crew that included members of the Disco Biscuits, The Revivalists, Spafford and Consider The Source, among others. Lettuce closed the Jubilee Stage with a funky set. They brought out Matisyahu for “Welcome To Jamrock” > “Exodus” and ended the set with a latin-tinged version of “Phyllis.”
On Saturday, TAUK got folks moving with several new songs. My Morning Jacket delivered a powerful sunset performance that included a career-spanning collection of originals along with a few choice covers. Bassnectar drew a huge crowd on Saturday night and also treated fans to some new material. Denver’s The Motet played two sets Saturday and ended the night on a funky note with “Superfreak” by Rick James.
Sunday’s action included a set from the Infamous Stringdusters who provided a rootsy version of Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky” within their performance. Papadosio played the Ranch Arena Sunday and gave the crowd a powerful set while the audience enjoyed a light rain shower. Totems were still in high fashion at the Forest this year and ranged everywhere from a balloon on a string to intricate led lights and mirrors. Moderate temperatures and light rain didn’t dissuade festivalgoers from rocking provocative attire.
Big Gigantic closed the Sherwood Court Stage backed by a three-piece horns section including vocalist/trumpeter Jennifer Hartswick. It was a decidedly hip-hop heavy set. They dropped some Kendrick Lamar, “Swing” by Savage, Macklemore’s “Can’t Hold Us” and performed several tunes produced by GRiZ who headlined the previous year.
The closing set for the weekend came from EOTO who surprised with a feature from New Orleans trumpeter Russ Liquid and left the crowd eager for next weekend.
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