Electric Forest Festival — a four-day, multi-genre event with a focus on electronic acts and jam bands — returns to Rothbury, Michigan this summer for its sixth consecutive year. Once again, tickets sold out in record time, well in advance of the lineup announcement. Now the wait is over, as on Tuesday, Phase One of the lineup was released in a unique fashion. Instead of dropping the entire roster at once, event organizers teamed up with fans on Reddit so they could share the lineup throughout the day.
Subscribers to the subreddit r/electricforest applied to receive the official announcements via mail, and this week they received sealed packages holding coveted artist information that they then shared on social media using the hashtag #EF2016Reveal. Over the course of the day, the announcements were aggregated on the subreddit, allowing fans to rejoice as they saw their favorite acts being added to the lineup.
An Electric Forest lineup unveiling invitation for Porter Robinson and Beats Antique. (Photo courtesy of Matt Scodellaro)
This year’s Electric Forest hosts festival staples such as The String Cheese Incident, Bassnectar, and The Preservation Hall Jazz Band, as well as newcomers like Fetty Wap, DJ Jazzy Jeff, and Kamasi Washington. Michigan artists listed on Phase One include GRiZ, Greensky Bluegrass, Scott Grooves, and Carly Bins. The lineup is also filled with Movement regulars such as Egyptian Lover, Justin Martin, Josh Wink, Mark Farina, and Soul Clap.
Though this is only the first phase of the lineup, there is a staggering number of artists to explore before the festival in June. For those who are lucky enough to have a ticket, stay tuned for more artist announcements including curated events, the Discovery Project, and Silent Disco lineup. You can get more information and updates at the official Electric Forest website.