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Photo by Ross Field.
A world of soul, jazz, funk, rock & roll at Electric Forest, Weekend 2.
#EF2018
By Ross Field, Contributing Writer.
ROTHBURY — With over 100 shows over the course of the next four days, the Electric Forest Festival’s second weekend is a fantastic gift to the musically adventurous.
And while over half of the bands are sub-genres of electronic dance music, there are still plenty of other acts that offer up a huge smorgasbord for music fans. Following are my “can’t miss” picks for the weekend.
Thursday night starts out with a 1-2-3 punch of funk and world music at the Jubilee stage. Cory Henry & The Apostles of Funk were a revelation of funk last weekend, and their 6:30p.m. show will be a huge dance party. The next band up is The Nth Power, a powerhouse band with New Orleans roots and the incredible Nikki Glaspie on drums. Glaspie toured the world with Beyonce for five years before joining Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk. Following The Nth Power will be Xavier Rudd, the Australian folk rocker who combines reggae beats with aboriginal instruments to create an intoxicating whirlwind of sound.
You can start Friday night out at the newly expanded Observatory stage where the Michigan Rattlers perform at 4 p.m. The Michigan Rattler’s roots-rock music was an anti-dote to EDM last weekend, and their late show at the small Grand Artique stage was magical. The Afro-beat music of Toubab Krewe follows at 5:45 p.m., and then Portland, Oregon’s Fruition will perform a masterful mix of pop, rock, and funk at 7:30 p.m. Leave this show a little early in order to get over to the Ranch Arena for The String Cheese Incident at 8 p.m.
Saturday is full of conflicts, the main one being the String Cheese Incident at the Ranch Arena at 7:30 p.m. and Seattle’s The Dip, an electrifying seven-piece rhythm and blues band, which plays at 8:30 p.m. My advice: never miss a String Cheese Incident show, and never, ever miss their Saturday Night Big Shebang. If you have to take a break from the String Cheese Incident, though, London, England’s modern jazz band, Sons of Kemet, are at the Carousel Club at 10:15 p.m. Led by saxophonist Shabaka Hutchings, Sons of Kemet are the forefathers of a burgeoning jazz scene in London.
It is back to the Jubilee on Sunday for the powerhouse pop, rock, and funk sounds of Big Something at 4:15 p.m. Two late-night sets are also highly recommended. The Main Squeeze first came together as a party band at Indiana University, and their mix of soul, hip-hop, funk and rock will be featured at 11 p.m. The last “can’t miss” show of the second weekend is Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe. Denson is a masterful saxophonist, and he is just off a recent European tour with the Rolling Stones. Denson’s six-piece band is one of the best live bands on tour these days, and their mix of jazz and funk will be a fine way to wrap up the 2018 Electric Forest.
This story is copyrighted © 2018, all rights reserved by Media Group 31, LLC, PO Box 21, Scottville, MI 49454. No portion of this story or images may be reproduced in any way, including print or broadcast, without expressed written consent.
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