UPDATE:  The Electric Forest Festival was announced today from June 30 – July 3, 2010, at the Double J ranch in Rothbury, MI. They have a website and facebook page. Not much detail at either place yet, but I’ll keep you posted.

—

If you’ve been following my blog for long, you may have noticed I’m a big Rothbury fan. I was lucky enough to score a photo pass to Rothbury 2009 and Rothbury 2008. It was an over the top experience musically, professionally and personally. Loved it. As many, I was disappointed when there was no Rothbury 2010, and wondered if that would be it for the music festival.

Dweezil Zappa on stage at Rothbury 2009
Dweezil Zappa at Rothbury in 2009

However… reliable sources are indicating to me that Madison House has been quietly applying for permits and other behind the scenes details necessary to make it happen in 2011. Maybe it’s just wishful thinking, but I think there will be a Rothbury 2011. For more info, here’s some links for you to learn more:

Rothbury 2011 facebook page

Official Rothbury website by Madison House

If you’d like to see Rothbury pics I took in 2010 and 2009, check this out: Rothbury Photos

Archive

Regions

Tags

Black CrowesMSS
Chris Robinson of the Black Crowes at Rothbury 2009

Chris Robinson of the Black Crowes sure does know how to rock. I saw him at Rothbury this year. It was the second time I saw them in concert and the festive summer atmosphere at Rothbury made a great backdrop for the performance.

The Black Crowes’ producer Paul Stacey, who was also the interim guitar replacement for Marc Ford,  uses the guitar effect pedals that local innovator, Jon Gundry makes at his company ThroBak Electronics, based right here in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Near midnight hidden in the woods at Rothbury.
Near midnight hidden in the woods at Rothbury.

Tucked away in Sherwood Forest at the Rothbury Music Festival is the Speak EZ stage. It’s a bit of a secret and things don’t really start to get going there until later in the evening. I wandered upon this performance when it was being set up and was glad I stayed. When it got really, really dark, a woman wearing all white danced to techno funk music behind constantly changing graphics and imagery. The effect was stunning and interesting. If anyone knows who the artist is, could you please post this in the comments section? Thanks, Ann

Click here for a link to another amazing performer who was at Rothbury this year on the Speak EZ stage as well as during The String Cheese Incident performance, you won’t believe what she can do with a hula hoop.

Running the Show at the Hidden Speakeasy Stage
Running the Show at the Secret Speak EZ Stage

Lots of my friends have been asking for more, more, more details about The Rothbury Music Festival this year. So I will give them to you! The best way I can describe Rothbury is “unexpected.” By this I mean, there’s just nothing to compare it to. The whole experience is over the top, maybe that’s why more than 50,000 people attended this year, that’s up about 20,00 from last year.

One example is at the Speak EZ Stage and bar. It’s hidden in Sherwood Forest, in fact, I didn’t even know about it until my son Ryan told me about the stage. The Speak EZ is tucked back in the woods and has a burlesque look and feel to it. Artists perform at this stage with everything from burlesque to experimental art. I took this photo as an impromptu show was being set up for a performing, experimental artist… more on that later, I took photos.

The unexpected, is expected at Rothbury
The unexpected, is expected at Rothbury

It’s hard to capture the atmosphere at the Rothbury Music Festival, but this photos comes close. Spontaneous, whimsical, and unexpected. In the category sidebar, be sure to check out the Rothbury link for more pics.

The Dead Performing at Rothbury 2009
The Dead Performing at Rothbury 2009, pictured from left to right Phil Lesh, Bob Weir & Warren Haynes

Here’s a pic of The Dead in concert at Rothbury in 2009. Tens of thousands of fans showed up for the show and they definitely got what they came for. The atmosphere here was basically like the biggest party you could ever imagine, with the ultimate band performing live. All in a hang loose, everyone’s your friend atmosphere.

On another note, the folks running Rothbury have been great to deal with, they treated us like VIP’s and were super organized.

Vibrational Sound Massage by The Conduit at Rothbury
Vibrational Sound Massage by The Conduit at Rothbury

Vibrational sound massage. Hmmmmm as a person who practices yoga, this sounded like a great idea (especially since it was free) so I gave it a try after watching this guy. There are two areas set up for this in Sherwood Forest at Rothbury and it’s very relaxing. It feels like having something relax you from inside out on a cellular level, I wish I could describe it better, but it’s interesting. The place doing this is visiting from Manchester, CT and is called The Conduit. Here’s a link to their website.