Forest Family Reunites at Electric Forest 2025

As the venue opened at the Double JJ Resort in Rothbury, Michigan, thousands of festival-goers practically sprinted into the forest that they call home. The first two days of Electric Forest brought the magic everyone knows and loves back to Sherwood Forest.

“Happy Forest” could be heard throughout the festival grounds as the Forest Family reunited with longtime friends and welcomed first-timers with open arms, creating groups of friends that will never forget the magic of Electric Forest.

Even Mother Nature couldn’t dampen the mood. Light rain started shortly after gates opened, but seasoned Electric Forest veterans know the drill, especially those who had fun in last year’s weather. Thankfully within the hour, the drizzle cleared without having to evacuate the venue and a familiar magic began taking hold across the festival grounds.

Veteran attendees sometimes say the real headliner of Electric Forest is the forest, but the venue and festival would be quiet without the music spanning from jam bands to house music and beyond. The first two days of the festival revealed plenty of unexpected sets paired with fan favorites.

The first day of Electric Forest fell on Juneteenth, which felt apt given electronic music’s roots and history in Black culture.

House and techno music began as disco was losing popularity in the early 1980s. The music we all know and love began in Chicago, where Bronx-based DJ Frankie Knuckles had a residency at the Warehouse in Chicago.

Detroit also became a hub for a new style of electronic music — Detroit techno. Electronic music gained increasing popularity from these influential Midwest cities to the worldwide popularity we see today.

From the beginning, electronic music was accepting of people from all backgrounds, making it a safe space for many and lending itself to amazing festivals like Electric Forest, where people are free to be themselves. 

Electronic music is one item in a long list of creations we owe to the Black community and the many innovators, inventors and geniuses within it.

On Thursday, house-turned-bass DJ Seth David played on the Observatory stage in a back-to-back set with “old school” dubstep DJs Smoakland. His track “Kryptonite” went viral on TikTok, launching him from the underground to a more mainstream space in EDM.

On the other side of the musical spectrum, the alt-pop duo Haute & Freddy featured Lance Shipp as percussionist and instrumentalist. Lance and his co-creator, Michelle Buzz, combine Baroque style and ’80s synth to create a unique and captivating sound.

Their stage personas, the eponymous Haute and Freddy, are runaway carnies, and at one point during the performance a message from the Queen came commanding them to sing. 

The pair played three new, unreleased songs, giving the audience a taste of what’s to come for the creative carnies.

Thursday’s Justice set delivered a show that reminded audiences why the French duo remains electronic music royalty. Their Grammy-nominated “Hyperdrama” album came to life through signature visual production and gritty electronic soundscapes that have defined their two-decade career.

Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay transformed the festival stage with cutting-edge light displays and the kind of immersive experience that draws comparisons to Daft Punk.

The performance showcased both classics that spanned their entire discography and fresh material from their highly anticipated comeback.

French producer Dombresky brought the kind of house music that brought the crowd at Honeycomb together into one big house music community. 

His carefully structured set demonstrated a cinematic approach to DJing, building narrative tension through groove and melody rather than relying on drops or peaks.

The producer’s jazz-influenced house sound created moments of genuine musical connection, showcasing how electronic music can maintain intimacy even in festival settings. His performance emphasized that house music can be funky, soulful and full of energy all at the same time.

As the sun set, Vintage Culture took the stage at Ranch Arena, representing the South American wave reshaping global house music. He curated a set that hit hard and heavy and brought in elements of bass house, tech house and melodic techno. 

The performance drew from his chart-topping 2024 album “Promised Land,” blending tech house with Brazilian rhythms in ways that exemplify cross-cultural electronic music innovation.

The weekend’s musical diversity truly emerged on day two. British jungle revivalist Nia Archives brought her “emotional junglist” approach to the forest, showcasing tracks from her critically acclaimed 2024 album “Silence Is Loud.”

The 24-year-old producer’s ability to blend chaotic drum patterns with pop-influenced melodies demonstrated why she’s leading jungle music’s mainstream resurgence.

Modular synthesist Arushi Jain brought possibly the weekend’s most unique sound, blending Hindustani classical ragas with live modular synth productions. The Indian artist’s performance showcased how traditional musical forms can find new expression through modern technology, creating ambient textures that provided a contemplative counterpoint to the weekend’s high-energy sets.

nimino delivered an epic set at Carousel Club, bringing remixes and new tracks to the stage. Continuing to build on the viral success of his “I Only Smoke When I Drink,” the British producer’s emotional dance music sits perfectly at the intersection of house, hip-hop and garage, creating a genre-bending performance that set the stage for the rest of the night in the forest.

Meanwhile, Moroccan producer Ahmed Spins took a different direction than expected, delivering a more traditional set that departed from his Afro-house releases. Casablanca-born Ahmed Spins showed his versatility by adapting his sound to the forest setting, curating the vibe for his  afternoon set at the Observatory.

Louis The Child brought their signature sounds to the headlining set at Sherwood Court on Friday night. Robby Hauldren and Frederic Kennett have been at Forest as guests or performers for the last 10 years. Their set drew from career-spanning hits like “It’s Strange” and “Better Not” featuring Wafia.

Forest creates a space for fans and artists alike to feel like they can truly express themselves, and the Louis The Child set is a perfect example of this environment that is fostered in the forest. The set at Sherwood Court was a slight departure from their usual live sets, bringing in a mix of new and old tracks, creating a blend of sounds that you won’t hear anywhere else.

Finally, to close out day two, BUNT. presented a high-energy set to keep everyone energized until the 3:30 a.m. end time.

Unfortunately, that end came dramatically when severe weather forced venue evacuation with just about 10 minutes left in the headliner sets. Even Mother Nature couldn’t fully dampen the Forest magic. Festival-goers took the abrupt ending in stride, carrying the night’s energy with them as they headed back to camp, maybe getting an early night’s rest for days three and four.

Beyond the main stages and musical performances, Electric Forest’s true magic lies in its namesake, the magical Sherwood Forest that transforms from a daytime sanctuary into an otherworldly wonderland after dark.

During daylight hours, the forest serves as a refuge from the festival’s intensity. Art installations blend seamlessly with natural surroundings, creating moments of discovery around every bend.

The transformation begins as sunset approaches. What feels like an enchanted nature walk during the day becomes an immersive journey through a digital dreamscape at night.

LED installations pulse with the distant rhythm of music, while projection mapping turns ordinary trees into canvases for moving art.

The forest’s layout encourages exploration beyond the music and scavenger hunts. Hidden pathways reveal surprise performances, intimate gathering spaces and interactive art that responds to movement and touch. Veterans guide newcomers toward secret spots, perpetuating the community knowledge that makes each Forest experience unique.

By day two, the forest had evolved even more. Paths that felt mysterious the night before became familiar routes, while new corners revealed themselves to those willing to venture deeper. 

The interaction of natural and artificial elements created a living environment that felt both ancient and futuristic, allowing attendees to fully immerse themselves in the moment.

The forest is also home to new and returning performance art and new exciting art installations from the art sponsorship program, including the Enchanted Zoetrope by Kate McSpadden, evolving each day, and the Rainbow Daydream Machine by Evan Bobo, a kaleidoscope that allows festival-goers to experience the world around them in a unique way, blurring the lines between illusion and reality.

The first two days of Electric Forest 2025 established a rhythm that veteran festival-goers know will be the start of a magical weekend. 

From Thursday’s rainy opening to Friday night’s weather-interrupted finale, the weekend clearly shows how this community transforms challenges into shared experiences.

The musical journey from Justice’s impressive performance to BUNT.’s colorful house-fusion set showcased the festival’s commitment to genre-defying curation that reflects electronic music’s evolution.

What sets Electric Forest apart isn’t just the Sherwood Forest’s visual transformation or the diverse lineup spanning continents and cultures. It’s the way more than 40,000 people create a temporary home in the Michigan woods, building connections that extend far beyond the festival gates.

As Friday night’s evacuated crowds headed back to camp with smiles despite the abrupt ending, the weekend’s foundation was already set. 

Days three and four await, promising deeper forest exploration, more musical discoveries and the kind of communal magic that only happens when people gather to celebrate the transformative power of electronic music in one of its most welcoming spaces.

Editors Note: Seama Rezai contributed to the reporting of this article