You can never be fully prepared for your first Electric Forest.
You can study a dozen guides, watch a hundred Reels, read a thousand Reddit posts, and buy every piece of gear recommended on every checklist. You still won’t really know what it feels like until you’re in the heart of the forest.
This was my first year at EF, after years of assuming it simply wasn’t for me. Sure, I’m basically addicted to concerts, and I’ll always love camping, but I’ve never been a raver. What if they see through my disguise?
As my DJ/producer older brother replied to my first Instagram story at the gates: “Poser.” (Followed swiftly by “Jk have fun”)
But this time when I got the invite, I happened to be in a stage of life where I’m constantly seeking new experiences, desperate to log off and connect with other humans face to face. Living with more than 60,000 people in the woods for four days felt like the perfect opportunity.
Very quickly after arriving, it became apparent Electric Forest is far more than just an EDM fest. It’s also summer camp. It’s a ren faire. It’s a theme park, haunted house, immersive theatre, escape room, costume party, artist market, clothing swap, karaoke bar, arcade, yoga studio.
Turns out, it’s just about everything I love, all under one sprawling sylvan canopy.
THE PEOPLE
If you’ve been to EF, what I’m about to say is going to sound so thuddingly obvious you’re going to lose some respect: Ravers are just people.
Unfortunately, something about the underground and countercultural roots of the scene, combined with the outlandish aesthetics and casual drug usage, have created this image among the general public of endless partiers who like, I don’t know, live in the sewers or something.
As someone who’s attended multiple other festivals, I can tell you that the only difference with ravers is that they’re largely more friendly, more chill, and wearing more colorful clothes.
Yes, you will also find selfish people, and dull people, and people that put you on edge. That’s because they’re human, and in this case, there’s 60,000 of them. By nature of the scale, you’re even going to have people who do terrible, tragic things (which I’ll address at the end).
But by and large, I’ve never experienced concert crowds so overwhelmingly thoughtful and generous with each other. Metalheads are close, but not quite.
Everyone is gifting each other sprouts (cute trinkets that clip onto your hat/bag), kandi (handmade beaded bracelets), actual candy (a man was doling out sour punch straws from a llama pinata), stickers (I got a cat wearing sunglasses and bucket hat), endless compliments, and even first aid when needed.
A few more interactions I had with total strangers:
- A guy sees me bopping around and says, “I know what you need. Put them on,” handing me special glasses that instantly turn the stage into a constellation of refracted lights. After about 10 seconds he seems nervous I’m going to make an escape, and takes them back. Alright, man!
- A woman gently rubbed her hand down my sleeve before affixing a “For Rectal Use Only” sticker to my arm and twirling away. Thank you.
- I was asked to draw a Pokemon card from a deck, and unfortunately pulled Basic Energy. The gifter assured me this wasn’t meant to be a diss.
- Someone ran after me to return my sunglasses that fell.
- If one person starts yelling their friend’s name, that name immediately ripples through the crowd to aid the search.
- In the scorching oven of the sun while we all tried to exit the campgrounds, a group of strangers helped a woman with a sprained ankle—in tears from the pain—find and get to a clean porta-potty.
- Lots of fists bumps, high fives and conga lines.
I made friends with total strangers, some who I never saw again, and some I reconnected with in a moment of serendipity days later (special shoutout to Annie and Greta for adopting me into your group of Zoomers). The only reason I didn’t connect with even more cool people is because I was too busy dancing.
THE MUSIC
I came in excited for a small list of acts: Underscores, Jean Dawson, Passion Pit, and LSD Clownsystem—which is of course a clown-based LCD Soundsystem tribute band.
Having not really listened to dubstep since 2014’s Recess by Skrillex, my assumption was that I’d likely end up annoyed by all the wubs and bass drops, and would have to search for the more niche acts suited to my tastes.
Oh Josh from one week ago, you smoothbrained amateur. You don’t know anything.
What happened instead is that I struggled to stop dancing for four days and nights. Turns out, not only does EDM contain a vast array of genres and nuance that go beyond just “dubstep,” but it’s evolved to keep up with the times. Someone should’ve told me! Plus, it just sounds so much better when played over a massive sound system to an ocean of people, compared to my laptop speakers. I’m learning and listening.
And to be clear, my only intoxication came from Shaq’s Blueberry Lemonade BeatBox™️ and some joints. The music was just that irresistibly danceable at every stage I went to, for the entire weekend—including the acts I planned to see coming in.
That’s one huge joy of Electric Forest: You can arrive without even looking at the setlist and just wander the woods, and you’ll constantly stumble on something fantastic. Just about every time I planned to go sit down and relax, I’d be drawn into a nearby set (pro tip: long walks and cardio are great fest conditioning).
That included surprise sets from headliners, attendees playing a piano in the woods, and even hidden stages tucked behind secret doors. There are quite a few secret doors.
THE WORLD
The forest is dense with surprises. I would constantly turn a tree and stumble into a fairy house, a multi-story art exhibition, a trading post, a tea ceremony tent, a library, a four-person see-saw maze game, and on and on.
Here are just a few of my favorite experiences I wandered into:
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The Ocular Organ is a piano in the woods that anyone can play, and all day and night you’ll find incredibly talented festgoers at the keys, surrounded by rings and clusters of hammocks left out for anyone to use. One day, I spent an hour just reading and napping here while listening to the piano. Another, I saw a couple getting engaged.
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The Chapel is a small “church” that hosts themed parties like the Wheel of Karaoke, where I saw a crowd member sing “Oops! I Did It Again” while a dancer dressed in Britney Spears’ iconic red jumpsuit did the whole routine. Another visit, I walked into a puppet show as one of them said, “Are you perverts?!” and the crowd cheered.
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Wander Whirled was a new immersive hedge maze that hid various secrets, like a small speakeasy hidden in a hedge wall, a steampunk “dentistry” where the actors actually brush your teeth, or my personal favorite: The Decay Day ritual, where a group of us were led in chants around a pillar of trash, and then laid down in coffins to be buried alive (with uncooked black beans (and it felt surprisingly comforting)) and let our egos die, before rising again.
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Gingerbread Haus is a hidden pop-up stage behind a secret door in a large “fireplace.” Admittedly, it wasn’t too hidden when they had an actor spanking every person before they crawled through, and it was amid a number of food vendors, but still felt cool.
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The Cantina was a Mexican bar and eatery that also had two TVs showing the World Cup at all times, which I thought ruled. Ball is life.
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Time Travel Agency is the massive escape room/ARG style game that involves searching the woods for clues and puzzles that lead to lockboxes, which contain stamps for a little passport, which led to a prize! I for one listened to the shpiel, got my passport, and then simply forgot about it for the rest of the weekend. But it’s a highlight for many, and that only speaks to the number of things to do.
THE CAMPING
I’ve always loved the magic of falling asleep in a tent, even if it is on a crowded campground. In fact, I think that togetherness can be a plus sometimes, making it feel like summer camp.
Even after the last sets let out at 4 AM, people are out in the camps blasting music off their own decks for some time. This is great if you still want to party, and probably not an issue if you bring earplugs, especially after a full day and night of walking and dancing and… the other things people do.
I will say, I’d heard a lot about becoming good friends with your neighbors, whereas mine were: a couple who arrived, set up a canopy, took it down, put on their robes and wizards hats, and then vanished into the ether; a couple who very kindly greeted me, then set up tapestries that closed off their tent; a group of 10 who I heard say set up their camp “for privacy,” meaning I never met them.
To be clear, there’s zero judgment from me. Whenever at camp, I was typically either immediately crashing on my cot or busily preparing for the day ahead anyway. But it is a reminder that a chunk of your Forest experience will be shaped by things completely out of your control, and to let go of your expectations.
That was beautifully exemplified Sunday night, when a storm rolled through at 9 PM and the venue was evacuated. Everyone returned to camp, but even as the rain came down and lightning cracked the sky, the partying continued.
I wandered around until I happened upon a canopy so huge I’m not sure how they got it in. They had a whole ass TRAMPOLINE.
Half the setup was a living room vibe, complete with couches, snacks, drinks, a coffee table. The other half was a dance floor (well, a dance tarp) and that’s where I briefly made some friends and accidentally insulted an Ohioan (I’m sorry, I can’t help making that face. It’s a reflex.)
We fit in a couple rounds of slap the bag before the fest suddenly reopened at 1:45 AM, of course. That’s when I learned not to trust Redditors who say stuff like, “It takes all day to get 50,000 people through the gates. ZERO CHANCE they reopen.”
Even with the immense disappointment of the initial evacuation, it was a beautiful and cathartic finale.
THE CONCERNS
I know a number of people reading this are upset about a number of concerns, and if I don’t address those, I will be torn asunder in the comments. I mean, it’s going to happen anyway—mostly by people who didn’t read the article—but I might as well try.
This was my first Electric Forest, so I can’t speak for sure to how it used to be. To my understanding, it was smaller, scrappier, and in a way, weirder. What I can say is that if I compare it to the other festivals I’ve attended (Pitchfork, Mo Pop, Common Ground, to name a few), EF felt less corporate, more magical and more human.
Nearly every set I saw felt less crowded than a typical concert. I could stroll right up to the front of the biggest names just 15 minutes before. That said, if people are used to thinner crowds from past years, I get it. More space means more room to mingle, dance and flow. And we definitely need to crack down on people setting up a living room in the thick of it all.
Don't be like them.
I will just come out and say, I think complaints of overpriced food and drink are a tad overblown. Maybe I just got lucky, but all of my food was incredibly substantial and tasty, and for less than $20. At a festival?!
I’ll concede that drinks are way up there (very typical for a festival, but still). On the other hand, I imagine that pricing curbs some of the worst behaviors, and besides, you can literally drink as much as you want at camp! AND you can bring in your own weed, which in Michigan they’re giving away like kandi.
Finally, there’s the tragic incident with the newborn. I mourn the loss of this life before it truly began, but I also mourn the conditions of a society that led this poor woman to that moment. That also goes for the man who left the festival and soon after committed suicide.
We still don’t know why or how exactly these decisions were made, but what we do know is that as long as we live in a world where women struggle to get access to abortion; or to healthcare due to exorbitant costs; or to their own autonomy due to abusive relationships; or to help with addiction (rehab centers often cost money, and can be abusive themselves); or to mental health services; these decisions will keep being made, whether born out of cycles of violence or desperation.
I personally don’t view it as an indictment of a festival where I consistently saw both attendees and staff rush to the aid of others over something as small as a bloody nose, which was immediately met with tissues, nasal spray, water and fans from multiple people nearby. It’s a place with Sober Sanctuaries, and suicide prevention services, and drug test kits, and EMTs, and people who care.
It may not be perfect, but that was my takeaway from four days among the ravers (am I one now too? Someone let me know.)
There was one clear night where the whole forest seemed to watch the moon’s long arc across the sky until the festival let out at 4 AM, when it finally nestled down over the campground, huge and orange on the horizon. Everyone around me was exchanging collective awe at the beauty of it. That’s what I’ll remember.
JOSH’S GEAR CORNER
Okay, I just need to do this part so I can write it all off on my taxes.
- Coleman Sundome Tent: Super easy and quick to put up alone. What more can you ask for?
- Crown Shades Canopy: Also super easy for me to put up alone! And it was 10x10 ft, so that’s impressive.
- Coleman Cot w/ Side Table: Cot was sturdy and comfy with a memory foam mat on top, and the side table was SO nice to have as a spot for my little fan. And you’ll want a little fan.
- Lunchbox hydration pack: It’s so important to stay hydrated, and this held up beautifully even with all my irresponsible dancing, AND has the zippers on your back so you don’t have to worry at all about theft! Bit of an investment, but well worth it.
- Goodr sunglasses: They stayed on no matter how much I moved, blocked just the right amount of sun, and didn’t leave marks on my face.
- Loop Experience earplugs: I, stupidly, never wear earplugs to concerts, even when my friends correctly try to peer pressure me into doing so. And even then, I am very glad I bought these for Electric Forest. Some sets will rattle your bones.
- Old Running Shoes: I’m so glad I kept these under my bed for some reason. Bit of tread was coming off but they were still perfect for hours and hours on my feet, and I didn’t care if they got dirty. With insoles of course.
- Cheap Igloo Cooler: So, I really should have gone for one with a drain, and with better insulation. Don’t cheap out on this like I did.
- Gas One Camping Stove: It cooked my stuff and didn’t blow up even once.
My studio apartment.
