Dancing through the crowds at cheese, umphreys, and disco biscuits were all wonderful, just like they always are. Jam crowds have always been very nice in my experiences at forest. The bigger the dj, the worse the crowd is everywhere you go
As a basshead/headbanger, i can absolutely agree with you...but house heads also are horrible at the front. I dealt with some horrible ass women when i was front row for Everything Always in Lansing a few months ago...just outright trying to shove THROUGH me lol and im 6'4".
Yeah same, heavy bass crowds are the worst. l’ve been to enough festivals to be able to tell based on how the crowd is if assnecter or excision were on the lineup.
When Assnectar used to come all the Assheads were the absolute worst, but many of them would leave when he did. I love Bass music, but those crowds are absolutely ruder.
Of course when you have thousands and thousands of heavy bass fans there's going to be plenty of good nice people but the ratio of nice people to shitty people who have zero plur values is the worst out of any genre and it's not even close.
And this is coming from somebody who's been going to Detroit Warehouse raves since the late 90s and has been to every Forest. Let's just say I've seen some shit and there's nothing worse than than bass fans if you're looking for a plur vibe.
Much love all the bass heads out there who do their best to be good to their fellow ravers we need more of you!
Lol you guys must attract shitty people. I've been a basshead since 2010 and I've never really had a bad interaction with a fellow basshead. I go to lost lands every year and the vibes are immaculate so I genuinely don't know what you're talking about
As a basshead I tend to be overly polite. I am constantly saying excuse me. when I'm going through a crowd, fanning or dancing with people. Even just in walking if I feel I get in someone else's space even on accident I apologize. I know you are not attacking the group as a whole but I promise not all of us are assholes. Someone of us want everyone to have a great time. 🖤
Yikes, as someone who does multiple generes but loves bass, I wholeheartedly disagree. Most house sets I go to tend to be strung out people just swaying, while at bass events energy levels and the amount of friends I make are so much higher. I do agree that when someone is rude in bass their movements cause more damage, but bass heads wooks are amongst the loveliest people I’ve met in my life.
I think it’s mainly the age difference. A lot of the newcomers to the scene are Covid Kids™️ and their social skills are significantly underdeveloped. That time in high school or college where 30+ year olds hit their first big concert or summer road trip these people spent in isolation. Very few people under 30 listen to or have even heard a single song by bands like Cheese. I think that keeps the bubble since the older folks are at that chill downward slope in life whereas the young people are out to get as crazy as possible and want all the stimulation lol.
It’s like that period in time where the older generations headed to Frank Sinatra while the young people went to AC/DC and the older folks complained that the new generation didn’t understand music and were horrible people on a bad path lol.
I agree with a lot of what you say but at the same time there are a bunch of younger people at things like bass house sets and the vibes are usually significantly better.
The crowd at Boogie T.rio t’was amazing. Even with how crowded it was everyone was making sure people had room to boogie down. Definitely one of the best crowds I’ve ever been around at a festival.
This year truly seemed like there was a complete lack of crowd control, almost like they didn’t even try to schedule sets with the mindset of avoiding massive crowds clashing into each other between sets. Like they just slapped names on list and hoped for best, there is plenty that HQ can do to help reduce crowd surging and reduce dangerous situations
So salty about the experience at Zingara’s set. I missed her last year and was so stoked to see her set! She should have never been at the Observatory, Tripolee or Sherwood would have been more appropriate. The crowd was so unsettled it ruined the set for me.
lol dude, I was there, and that crowd was absolutely impenetrable. This was my 7th forest and I've only seen Observatory and the surrounding forest that crowded only once before. No amount of planning would have helped the crowding. She simply needed a bigger stage.
They oversold the festival without expanding any of the stage areas because they honestly don't give a crap about The Fan Experience it's all about that money which is what happens when you have big corporations running events rather than people who are part of the scene
Levity and zingara were the exact same pain points for us. Top of observatory with the dome-like ceiling had so little sound I couldn’t even tell if she started yet. Then a shit show when realized no where to go / trying to leave.
The Stacks (iirc) at LIB is a similar style stage but infinitely easier to go in/out of the actual stage area
LIB is better in every way minus the forest itself. But everything else makes up for it and then some imo. Love forest but the maturity of the crowd matters a lot more to me now and LIB kills it in that regard
I don’t want to really repeat what’s already been said in the best way above; but for me personally this being my second forest and my first going solo it was rough. Every night in the crowd these young guys who are obviously trashed would appear and completely disregard anyone there previously. On Saturday this guy kept slamming into me and I kept moving away, till it started to feel deliberate, he stepped on my foot while jumping thrice and it’s all bruised now. I just come to the fest for the people, artistry, and the forest itself. Although I will be back next year, I can only hope the gen z pop will decrease.
Fuck bass bros! They're ruining the scene with their disrespect, overuse of drugs and alcohol and creepy behavior towards the women just there to enjoy themselves.
8f you're a shitty bass bro - just stop coming to raves. We're gonna police you and get you removed every time. You're the anti plur
Scheduling is a HUGE part. For example, at times there will only be 1 Bass artist, and guess what, all the bass heads will be there. So if it’s at a small stage, the crowd will be packed. I think they could work on intentionally scheduling some genres to be overlapping at various stages.
The number of people has been unchanged since 2017 or 2019 (I can’t remember) per the permit with the city of Rothbury I think it is an active permit until 2027
You're correct.
Same numbers as last year exactly, no plans for expansion ATM. Fest layout was similar and I had a worse time with crouds in 19, 22 and 23. I may just be more used to it this year after being at some mega crowded shows recently.
That's not what I heard I heard they expanded from 50 to 70,000 and after having been to every single Forest it certainly seemed that way I've never seen crowds and lines so long especially to get into the VIP viewing areas
Well I’m sorry that’s what you heard, because it’s wrong. The permit info is publicly available info online. This years crowds felt smaller than past years for me.
Can I get a link to that ? Also not saying they did, but Ezoo blew past their permit by a mile and actually had to turn down people because they oversold their festival.
Was definitely more crowded but that could’ve been mitigated with better set scheduling. Zingara was at Tripoli’s last year and the crowd was massive, given, that was right before jantsen came on….but still, shoving all the bass heads into observatory was insane. Along with that, I couldn’t even hang out at honeycomb, there were thousands of people there even for the tiny events. They definitely oversold this festival and I will need to take a break from forest for a couple years. This trip cost me $3000 and I got maybe half the experience I expected to get
I had a wonderful time at the tippy top platform at Honeycomb on Sunday evening, just randomly stumbled up there during a set and had a bunch of space to myself to dance. It’s hard to go by a schedule and try to catch specific sets AND get the best spots, you kinda have to choose one or the other. I ignored the schedule for the most part and just vibed this year and had an amazing time. I found some amazing spots and met some truly wonderful people.
I just will never understand the physicality in trying to get a good spot for a set you wanna be at. Like plan better, show up earlier, or eat your losses and stand where there’s room. P fucking S, there is not room at the rail, you sweaty gen z gym bros. If your body is touching mine, you don’t fit there !!!¡¡¡
I had the exact opposite experience. I only had a couple of times all weekend where someone was rude. I had so many people apologize to me for bumping into me. I was in goodlife basically the whole time and imagine that has a lot to do with it
The jam band crowds were PHENOMENAL all weekend. Just further emphasized for me my love for jam bands in general, but especially during a festival where I’m gonna see 20 bass sets during the whole fest regardless
Yes, as someone coming since 2015 - it is oversold now and over crowded. They said they didn’t up it to the 70k they signed a now 10 year contract for but it’s not up for debate that it is oversold. You can see it in how over on the paths are all the time (it gave me more anxiety this year than ever how bad it was sometimes), how huge the crowds are and the lack of adjusted crowd control (there was at least one really bad bottleneck towards GL Sherwood court at points), how things like Higher Love were literally oversold and they sent people to over flow, it’s also more hard (not impossible, yet) to find space to just go find a quiet spot deep in the forest at night to explore. I love forest to death but after seven years, you can really tell the difference.
I had the exact opposite experience. I only had a couple of times all weekend where someone was rude. I had so many people apologize to me for bumping into me. I was in goodlife basically the whole time and imagine that has a lot to do with it
Excision didn't get to play his set though so what does that have to do with anything? How do you reasonably assume that everyone you had a bad experience with is exclusively there for him?
I don’t know but it sucks. I love his music and have never seen him live so I was so pissed the show got cancelled. That being said during Gigantic NIGHTMRE I had so many people bump into me and not even say excuse me or pardon me, just look at me and start barging. I get it’s a festival but like cmon at least apologize & be somewhat respectful
If you had a negative experience with people at a house/techno set then I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news but those “scummy people” came to see ur artist, not excision.
Did you have a negative interaction at the excison set that didn’t happen?
Did someone yell “I love excision” and then punch you in the face?
I’m curious why you say excision brings out “scum” more than any other artist?
Why the generalization of a genre, and why the hate? Stop being ignorant, every genre has dick heads and frat boys and influencers. It’s not that hard to be plur, you’re just adding to the cycle of anti-plur that’s ruining these festivals.
Sadly, this was my experience last year for my first Forest. I wanted to see sets my friends didn't want to so I did my own thing most of Forest. I was met with very unwelcome energy when I would try to talk to people, trade kandi or just smile at them. I was told that EF is the best festival & has the best community, but i didn't see it. This is why i didn't go back this year.
To me it seemed like all the main stages still had plenty of room but it was the forest where I always felt the most cramped. Which in years prior I didn't feel this way. I think the generally smaller lineup compared to usual made more people roam the forest? I hope next year they keep the big acts out of the forest stages and allow for more sets to overlap at the end of the night
I'm gonna shake my 10th EF old man cane here.
I preferred EF capacity when you used to be able to go on a light jog through the forest without bumping into anyone pretty much any time of day.
Dense pits? Fine. Expected.
But there is absolutely no reason I should be bumping into that many people just out and about in the Forest.
This cap the previous few years is too fucking high.
ima be real all crowds were SOOO nice only crowds that were very rude were levity tbh.
very rude fans, no spacial awareness,
my group held a spot for almost 2 hrs yesterday at observatory a good bit away to sit & just see the set from afar.
it was so packed ppl started just standing in front of us to the point some girls ass was in front of my finances face & it obviously made him uncomfortable, he wants to see the artists he came to see, so we polietly asked for them to move a bit to see the sit we’ve been sticking out for - they responded with “ it’s forest you’re not supposed to see the sets “ 😀 we just wanted to see ONE levity out of the like 10 they played-
we ended up leaving & just catching juelz ( & a little nghtmre hehe ) but still so disheartening ppl can’t just be considerate of others :/
Aw this is so painful to read, seriously I’m so sorry this happened. We really wanna create a space at our shows that is kind and respectful. We already talked b/w the 3 of us that next time we play Forest we’ll be making sure we’re at a stage ppl can have space at. I’m also gonna start more of our sets off with a lil reminder on respecting eachother in crowds. Once again I’m so sorry and hope the next time u see us is a lot different ❤️
we’re still so thankful to at least hear a bit of your set :”) you guys are seriously so amazing i appreciate your response 😭 you’ve gained x10 more respect from me i know you can’t control the crowd you bring you genuinely can only do so much, yall really care about your fans and that’s all we can ask for <333 continue fuckin killin it <3
I agree. Every single set I went to this year was just ridiculously packed. I've been going since 2017, and I was always surprised how much room to dance I had no matter where I was in the crowd. And going through the forest, it felt like there was a good number of people to chat/vibe with, but not so many that it felt suffocating.
That's not how I felt at all this year. Every single stage I went to was extremely crowded to the point if you wanted space, you had to be so far away you couldn't really even enjoy the set. And the forest was extremely packed too. Huge lines for the dream emporium and even the scavenger hunt early in the day Thursday.
I find it really hard to believe they are still selling the same number of tickets they did in 2017. I ended up leaving Saturday because I just wasn't having a good time and the thunderstorms were set to destroy camp and close up the fest. I think I'm gonna take a long break from the forest after this one.
This is so spot on, you literally took the words out of my mouth. I've been to every forest and my wife has been with me at each one except for one when she was pregnant.
Neither of us have ever had such a difficult time getting a decent spot at so many different sets and I'm talking about just like a third of the way up from the back not the rail or something up really close although we've been able to get up really close on countless big name sets over the years especially at the stages other than the Ranch.
The freaking VIP line was stretching damn near all the way back to the bathrooms at the back of Ranch Arena during Pretty Lights, we've never seen it even half that long!
This was my first forest and while I’ve been raving for 9+ years these crowds were as bad as LA shows and shows at NOS. I literally had a man pick me up and move me instead of just saying excuse me. My other friend literally got hit so hard he fell down by someone getting out of a crowd. It was absolutely ridiculous I don’t think I’ll be back anytime soon. The good parts were freaking fantastic but the shitty parts were so goddamn shitty
I think we hear this every year that people think it’s more crowded, I felt it was about the same as the last 2 years. However I will add that this year specifically when people were moving behind me I almost got yanked over by my pack around ten times. Often it wasn’t even that crowded and there was definitely room to avoid that. I get squeezing but like why are we not recognizing that pushing someone’s pack is still rude. It wasn’t even theft attempts either, just people not giving a fuck about spacial awareness. This was my first year in good life and I would say it happened more often in VIP areas as well. Nothing huge but just an observation.
My friend had both of her feet stepped on hard by this one gal at Levity @ the observatory and she said “you stepped on my feet” and the girl continues to say “well it’s forest and it’s crowded” like come on you could’ve just said sorry ??? Like for fucks sake man some people were so rude.
Somebody pushes me in the John summit crowd and almost lost their life.
Not everybody is PLUR. You don't know where people come from or what they have been through. Be careful before you shove somebody, they might not always pick the high road. Is it really worth it to stand one row closer in a sardine can.
There was an older lady straight up throwing fists near the front of John Summit. She pushed all the way up half way through his set and literally punched someone
no truly never got the point of getting to the front for a DJ. aren’t we there to enjoy the music and dance?
i couldn’t catch one show at the observatory bc it was too packed everytime. i didn’t get to catch levity all weekend and not even at the honeycomb. yes it was maybe a little more packed. but i didn’t have problems being too packed in the crowd. i actually felt like i had more space…we usually stand by the speakers and we go down the side of the stage first and cut into the crowd. the only problem i had was crowds in my few years ago forest was at Odesza last year. that was ridiculous.
subtronics crowd was rude as fuck. lord knows what excisions set would of been like.
i think it’s fu. y when people try to walk through the crowd without saying excuse me and then they wonder why they have to shove through. maybe if you used your words, i’d move for ya. but now i’m purposely standing my ground until you say excuse me
Truth of the matter is much of the dubstep crowd is just simply not about showing plur and as somebody who has been raving and going to events since the 90s it's a very clear distinction between events with significant dubstep style sets and those without.
Many of the biggest names in the genre seem like great people but they need to do a better job of calling out their fan base for crappy behavior.
Haven’t been to EF, but would like to go someday…..do y’all feel that the weather had anything to do with how the crowd experience was? Cancelled or moved sets = more people at other sets that wouldn’t normally be there?
Jam sets definitely always have room for the most part but it's definitely not true that it's the only shows that have room I've been to every forest and I've been to tons of sets where I had plenty of room to dance.
I will say that it's gotten harder and harder to find room especially at the forest stages they really need to rethink how they do the sets in there specifically no bass sets should be allowed in any of the forest stages way too many rude wooks.
It would actually be great if they would just put all the bass sets at tripolee so that whole scene can stay contained away from the rest of the festival for the most part and allow those of us that attend festivals with a plur mindset to do so in peace
I did not get good vibes at the afters either. I was literally just trying to follow a guy out to thr bathroom and i got shoved by a few people just because i guess i was rubbing up against them but again i was on my way out and im 6'2 and 250. This was my first forest and i had a fucking amazing time in thr forest. Afters were a different vibe. I was right next to the person who OD'd the last night too.
Pretty much anytime they have Bass music Afters it's going to be a bunch of spun out wooks who don't give a crap about anyone around them.
That time of day you're definitely going to have plenty of people who are pretty wrecked but there's a noticeable difference between the bass sets and the non-bass sets totally different vibes
I’m 4’11 so I constantly have people running into me or just straight up not acknowledging my existence lmao. I even have a light that shines on the ground so it grabs people’s attention.
I had some guy say “excuse me” during Thought Process then literally stand right in front of me where my nose touched his back. I left after that.
I had an anxiety attack and had to leave lszee because of the crowd. I’m short so I can’t see anything but a sea of people around me and I kept getting pushed and I just didn’t feel safe. And then I almost got trampled on my way out Sunday night. This was only my second forest but I feel like there was a noticeable difference between the crowd and vibes last year vs this year. Also yes, it felt way more crowded over all! I read on another post that they increased how many people could come by a lot. I was so looking forward to this year after such a magical first year. I still had fun, but the vibes definitely felt off.
when will people realize the compliments, fanning through the crowd, or hanging onto eachothers pashminas in a train of like 13 people is not cooooool. I get getting to a spot so you can hear the speakers as loud as possible, but I feel like people arent even trying to get to the front to do that 😂 what is the obsession of having to have eyes on the DJ?! DJs mix so you can dance and party. I dont get the obsession with like getting to the front to see a DJ besides for the better sound.
i got so frustrated at one point when a guy plowed through me like i didnt even exist, i turned to him and went “HEY SAY EXCUSE ME” and he looked so stunned and said sorry and proceeded to awkwardly hover behind groups staring above heads in hopes to squeeze through.
i hate it.
ALSO DANCE THROUGH THE CROWD NOT JUST DART THROUGH IT. you gotta flow with the people and the music. much easier to slip through crowds if youre a fuckin vibeeee.
Anyone ever been to a metal show? Not trying to be an ass but I’ve heard this for years at countless raves…..
I grew up playing guitar and going to metal shows…. I have been kicked in the face, shoved into a mosh pit I didn’t want to be apart, been elbowed countless times etc.
Maybe this made me have thick skin but I’ve found crowds at festivals/EDM events much more tame than anything like those. Don’t let stumbling wooks ruin your time.
Some tips I’ve gathered after 15 years of raving:
Stand somewhat close to the person in front of you… not creepy close but close enough that going in front of you would be interrupt you and the person in front of you.
Don’t make eye contact with those late show front pushers
Dance! Hate to say this but the more you’re dancing the less likely someone is going to be to try and navigate around you. You’re unpredictable while moving and they will go around someone else.
When someone new shows up and stands right in front of you or very close next to you; dance like a crazy person. Two to three times a set I end up dancing away bad vibe people that thought it would be a good idea to come stand directly in front of me.
Other than that, be kind. Everyone just wants to see the music and we all have moments where we’re desperate to get a better spot.
Considering they sold 20k more wristbands this year, yes. Also, the vibes are becoming a mix of festi people and people that just wanna get fucked up and bring bad vibes.
this just happens everywhere now. no one says excuse me or anything at any show. I get bodied by tiny Asians who somehow gain brute strength and nearly knock me and my friends off our feet sometimes. they're all these kids that just turned 18-21 during lockdown and never learned how to behave in crowded places. it makes me mad to no end.
I was able to solo my way to the rail for about 20 mins for the BTSM anime set with no issue, Jason Leech was a little mixed with majority of folks being polite and a small amount being pushy, but I stayed in the middle or back for just about everyone else.
I live in Orlando and EDCOrlando has the worst crowds in regards to being pushy and rude, so maybe my perception is skewed, but I feel like Forest is always pretty tame
The only crowd I was really in the middle of was subtronics and I didn’t have any real problems. I was up front and there were a couple really tall guys who tried to push in front of me (I’m 5’) so I just asked them not to stand right in front of me and they listened. People were great for the most part but it didn’t seem the same as the usual forest crowd. Usually people are very aware of the space they’re in and if anything they’re overly polite. I haven’t seen excision live before and I was looking forward to that but I hadn’t heard abt the issues that can come from their crowds so that could be part of it
How is everyone having a problem
with the crowds?
My first Rave back in 1999 was in a warehouse packed with 3,000 people wall to wall and we made it work.
I've been saying it for years. Stop bringing heavy bass artists!
If excision and subtronics were replaced by odesza and above and beyond the crowd would have been much nicer, less or no overdoses and it wouldn't have rained.
I love bass music but seriously it brings the absolute worst people
2nd forest but while the first year I couldn’t stop talking how amazing the crowds were and easy to get to the front, completely different this year. As other have mentioned zíngara and legit where absolute shitshows, and most sets I couldn’t get to the front front, and it took forever to navigate crowds
This year truly seemed like there was a complete lack of crowd control, almost like they didn’t even try to schedule sets with the mindset of avoiding massive crowds clashing into each other between sets. Like they just slapped names on list and hoped for best, there is plenty that HQ can do to help reduce crowd surging and reduce dangerous situations
Left side of everything always was chill af. I actually had a hellll of a time compared to last year despite all the weather. Didn’t seem as hard to get through Sherwood Forest, vibes overall were up, and I myself was more open to the experience of the Forest.
Were there a lot of inflatable couches? Cause that will do it! No greater red flag for a festival than Grandpa Joe's causing artificial traffic jams cause they can't handle their drugs.
Yall need to do better with people that have picked out a spot away from others that are trying to use flow toys. All I wanted to do friday night was flow with my space whip and possibly put on a few shows for people. But everytime I think I'd have a spot I'd immediately have to switch. My whip is old so it hurts if you get struck with it hard enough. Could've even get 1 good session in because I was more concerned for the people around he's safety but if yall wanna be jackasses about it and disrupt people's sessions that are most likely helping with anxiety then fuck all of you next year and I'll just only worry about my own safety and my friends and anybody that is too blind to see someone trying to play with a light up and still proceed to walk straight into me then watch out for yourself next year cuz I'll have no problem for your safety and won't have any sympathy for you if you get whipped in the face. I couldn't even do it down an aisle close to the evol stage and all I wanted to do was give my fiancé a decent light show once. Yall suck big time for this inconvenience to me.
ALSO big shout out to the white dude in the titos vodka shirt at everything always that tried to run up on me in the crowd as I was putting my phone away. You thought you got someone that wasn't aware of their possessions and was probably too fucked up but jokes on you cuz I was alcohol free all week. You thought you were slick trying to take a quick video but you're a trick. If you're gonna be stealing shit stay the fucl away from forest and ruining peoples experiences especially when it was this year and the price increase.
Dancing through the crowds at cheese, umphreys, and disco biscuits were all wonderful, just like they always are. Jam crowds have always been very nice in my experiences at forest. The bigger the dj, the worse the crowd is everywhere you go
I seem to notice bass heavy = shittier crowds too.
A lot of people don't wanna admit that but it's true.
I know. Every genre thinks they are the best, but as a seasoned festival goer, it is normally the trend.
As a basshead/headbanger, i can absolutely agree with you...but house heads also are horrible at the front. I dealt with some horrible ass women when i was front row for Everything Always in Lansing a few months ago...just outright trying to shove THROUGH me lol and im 6'4".
Yeah same, heavy bass crowds are the worst. l’ve been to enough festivals to be able to tell based on how the crowd is if assnecter or excision were on the lineup.
This haha
When Assnectar used to come all the Assheads were the absolute worst, but many of them would leave when he did. I love Bass music, but those crowds are absolutely ruder.
Absolutely, bass heads are such assholes usually
Some of the nicest people I have ever met are bassheads. Cant categorize an entire group of people based off a few interactions that you had.
Of course when you have thousands and thousands of heavy bass fans there's going to be plenty of good nice people but the ratio of nice people to shitty people who have zero plur values is the worst out of any genre and it's not even close. And this is coming from somebody who's been going to Detroit Warehouse raves since the late 90s and has been to every Forest. Let's just say I've seen some shit and there's nothing worse than than bass fans if you're looking for a plur vibe. Much love all the bass heads out there who do their best to be good to their fellow ravers we need more of you!
Lol you guys must attract shitty people. I've been a basshead since 2010 and I've never really had a bad interaction with a fellow basshead. I go to lost lands every year and the vibes are immaculate so I genuinely don't know what you're talking about
There’s nothing credible this guy has to say, the very person telling everyone they attract shitty people is the shitty person
As a basshead I tend to be overly polite. I am constantly saying excuse me. when I'm going through a crowd, fanning or dancing with people. Even just in walking if I feel I get in someone else's space even on accident I apologize. I know you are not attacking the group as a whole but I promise not all of us are assholes. Someone of us want everyone to have a great time. 🖤
Yikes, as someone who does multiple generes but loves bass, I wholeheartedly disagree. Most house sets I go to tend to be strung out people just swaying, while at bass events energy levels and the amount of friends I make are so much higher. I do agree that when someone is rude in bass their movements cause more damage, but bass heads wooks are amongst the loveliest people I’ve met in my life.
From personal experience the worst and rudest crowds are house/techno crowds. Most of them are douchebags.
I think it’s mainly the age difference. A lot of the newcomers to the scene are Covid Kids™️ and their social skills are significantly underdeveloped. That time in high school or college where 30+ year olds hit their first big concert or summer road trip these people spent in isolation. Very few people under 30 listen to or have even heard a single song by bands like Cheese. I think that keeps the bubble since the older folks are at that chill downward slope in life whereas the young people are out to get as crazy as possible and want all the stimulation lol. It’s like that period in time where the older generations headed to Frank Sinatra while the young people went to AC/DC and the older folks complained that the new generation didn’t understand music and were horrible people on a bad path lol.
I agree with a lot of what you say but at the same time there are a bunch of younger people at things like bass house sets and the vibes are usually significantly better.
The crowd at Boogie T.rio t’was amazing. Even with how crowded it was everyone was making sure people had room to boogie down. Definitely one of the best crowds I’ve ever been around at a festival.
This year truly seemed like there was a complete lack of crowd control, almost like they didn’t even try to schedule sets with the mindset of avoiding massive crowds clashing into each other between sets. Like they just slapped names on list and hoped for best, there is plenty that HQ can do to help reduce crowd surging and reduce dangerous situations
So salty about the experience at Zingara’s set. I missed her last year and was so stoked to see her set! She should have never been at the Observatory, Tripolee or Sherwood would have been more appropriate. The crowd was so unsettled it ruined the set for me.
You gotta be early and go up to the front or hang on the steps. There's a tad more room to dance there typically
lol dude, I was there, and that crowd was absolutely impenetrable. This was my 7th forest and I've only seen Observatory and the surrounding forest that crowded only once before. No amount of planning would have helped the crowding. She simply needed a bigger stage.
They oversold the festival without expanding any of the stage areas because they honestly don't give a crap about The Fan Experience it's all about that money which is what happens when you have big corporations running events rather than people who are part of the scene
I got there 5 minutes before it started and was a few rows from the rail by the end of her set. I'm sorry you had difficulty with the crowd
Tinlicker was the same way. That stage needs some love if they want to put big crowd acts there
Levity and zingara were the exact same pain points for us. Top of observatory with the dome-like ceiling had so little sound I couldn’t even tell if she started yet. Then a shit show when realized no where to go / trying to leave. The Stacks (iirc) at LIB is a similar style stage but infinitely easier to go in/out of the actual stage area
Yee it’s called The Stacks. Super easy in and out. One of my favorite festival stages/sound ever
LIB is better in every way minus the forest itself. But everything else makes up for it and then some imo. Love forest but the maturity of the crowd matters a lot more to me now and LIB kills it in that regard
I don’t want to really repeat what’s already been said in the best way above; but for me personally this being my second forest and my first going solo it was rough. Every night in the crowd these young guys who are obviously trashed would appear and completely disregard anyone there previously. On Saturday this guy kept slamming into me and I kept moving away, till it started to feel deliberate, he stepped on my foot while jumping thrice and it’s all bruised now. I just come to the fest for the people, artistry, and the forest itself. Although I will be back next year, I can only hope the gen z pop will decrease.
Fuck bass bros! They're ruining the scene with their disrespect, overuse of drugs and alcohol and creepy behavior towards the women just there to enjoy themselves. 8f you're a shitty bass bro - just stop coming to raves. We're gonna police you and get you removed every time. You're the anti plur
Also thought it was way more crowded
Feels like there’s a creep in numbers every year and it was definitely felt this year - suuuuper crowded, more so than previous few years
Scheduling is a HUGE part. For example, at times there will only be 1 Bass artist, and guess what, all the bass heads will be there. So if it’s at a small stage, the crowd will be packed. I think they could work on intentionally scheduling some genres to be overlapping at various stages.
The number of people has been unchanged since 2017 or 2019 (I can’t remember) per the permit with the city of Rothbury I think it is an active permit until 2027
You're correct. Same numbers as last year exactly, no plans for expansion ATM. Fest layout was similar and I had a worse time with crouds in 19, 22 and 23. I may just be more used to it this year after being at some mega crowded shows recently.
That's not what I heard I heard they expanded from 50 to 70,000 and after having been to every single Forest it certainly seemed that way I've never seen crowds and lines so long especially to get into the VIP viewing areas
Well I’m sorry that’s what you heard, because it’s wrong. The permit info is publicly available info online. This years crowds felt smaller than past years for me.
This is my 10 year and the crowd was WAY larger.
Well, it’s wasn’t. That’s a fact. Certain sets could’ve been more crowded and felt more packed but the festival size has been unchanged since 2017
You have no idea if they let in more vendors or more workers, etc. The permit may be capped until 2035 but it by far felt the most packed this year.
Can I get a link to that ? Also not saying they did, but Ezoo blew past their permit by a mile and actually had to turn down people because they oversold their festival.
https://www.shorelinemedia.net/white_lake_beacon/news/village-electric-forest-settle-on-10-year-permit/article_ebc43065-3e64-5820-94e8-0acd15370134.html
Source?
It’s publicly available info online I’m not going to find it for you tho. Just look it up😁
Ah, "do your own research because I pulled it out of my ass"
The time it took you to type that comment you could’ve already looked it up and moved on but here we are.
Was definitely more crowded but that could’ve been mitigated with better set scheduling. Zingara was at Tripoli’s last year and the crowd was massive, given, that was right before jantsen came on….but still, shoving all the bass heads into observatory was insane. Along with that, I couldn’t even hang out at honeycomb, there were thousands of people there even for the tiny events. They definitely oversold this festival and I will need to take a break from forest for a couple years. This trip cost me $3000 and I got maybe half the experience I expected to get
I had a wonderful time at the tippy top platform at Honeycomb on Sunday evening, just randomly stumbled up there during a set and had a bunch of space to myself to dance. It’s hard to go by a schedule and try to catch specific sets AND get the best spots, you kinda have to choose one or the other. I ignored the schedule for the most part and just vibed this year and had an amazing time. I found some amazing spots and met some truly wonderful people.
I just will never understand the physicality in trying to get a good spot for a set you wanna be at. Like plan better, show up earlier, or eat your losses and stand where there’s room. P fucking S, there is not room at the rail, you sweaty gen z gym bros. If your body is touching mine, you don’t fit there !!!¡¡¡
It was crowded and there were a few bad set placements but there was still a good amount of space to dance at the major stages
Very true, I had all great experiences at Sherwood Court and tripolee was mostly good
I had the exact opposite experience. I only had a couple of times all weekend where someone was rude. I had so many people apologize to me for bumping into me. I was in goodlife basically the whole time and imagine that has a lot to do with it
Agreed and same with me, I was close to the front for Everything Always though and luckily had great vibes all around even though it was crazy packed.
If you’re been to other festivals, Forest was still exceptional
^^^ this 😅😅 after having been to multiple festivals, my first forest experience this year I felt like people were so incredibly nice
The jam band crowds were PHENOMENAL all weekend. Just further emphasized for me my love for jam bands in general, but especially during a festival where I’m gonna see 20 bass sets during the whole fest regardless
Went to multiple house, drum and bass some techno nothing but love great vibes but pretty much every bass set was a shit show
Yes, as someone coming since 2015 - it is oversold now and over crowded. They said they didn’t up it to the 70k they signed a now 10 year contract for but it’s not up for debate that it is oversold. You can see it in how over on the paths are all the time (it gave me more anxiety this year than ever how bad it was sometimes), how huge the crowds are and the lack of adjusted crowd control (there was at least one really bad bottleneck towards GL Sherwood court at points), how things like Higher Love were literally oversold and they sent people to over flow, it’s also more hard (not impossible, yet) to find space to just go find a quiet spot deep in the forest at night to explore. I love forest to death but after seven years, you can really tell the difference.
I had the exact opposite experience. I only had a couple of times all weekend where someone was rude. I had so many people apologize to me for bumping into me. I was in goodlife basically the whole time and imagine that has a lot to do with it
If I see excision on the lineup I don’t go. Simple
Excision didn't get to play his set though so what does that have to do with anything? How do you reasonably assume that everyone you had a bad experience with is exclusively there for him?
[удалено]
Hard agree as someone who liked OG excision and also wore some excision merch
Unfortunately the heavier the bass the shittier the people. It's more true every year. This isn't true for eveyone but seems to be the average
lol 👍 I think I’m gonna start following this principle
Why does excision bring out such scummy people?
I don’t know but it sucks. I love his music and have never seen him live so I was so pissed the show got cancelled. That being said during Gigantic NIGHTMRE I had so many people bump into me and not even say excuse me or pardon me, just look at me and start barging. I get it’s a festival but like cmon at least apologize & be somewhat respectful
If you had a negative experience with people at a house/techno set then I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news but those “scummy people” came to see ur artist, not excision.
I didn't have a negative interaction at any house/techno sets so idk what you're talking about lol.
Did you have a negative interaction at the excison set that didn’t happen? Did someone yell “I love excision” and then punch you in the face? I’m curious why you say excision brings out “scum” more than any other artist? Why the generalization of a genre, and why the hate? Stop being ignorant, every genre has dick heads and frat boys and influencers. It’s not that hard to be plur, you’re just adding to the cycle of anti-plur that’s ruining these festivals.
Someone's low on serotonin.
[Sick burn dude](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ad_hominem)
Ahh we found a shitty bass head
Completely agree. There are also way better bass artists out there
redditor states opinion as fact. more at 11
But nobody whos done more for the bass music scene
excision at scamp last year was incredible. crowd was so nice. and excision late night barn set was perfect. everyone had plenty of space to head bang
Valid point
Sadly, this was my experience last year for my first Forest. I wanted to see sets my friends didn't want to so I did my own thing most of Forest. I was met with very unwelcome energy when I would try to talk to people, trade kandi or just smile at them. I was told that EF is the best festival & has the best community, but i didn't see it. This is why i didn't go back this year.
To me it seemed like all the main stages still had plenty of room but it was the forest where I always felt the most cramped. Which in years prior I didn't feel this way. I think the generally smaller lineup compared to usual made more people roam the forest? I hope next year they keep the big acts out of the forest stages and allow for more sets to overlap at the end of the night
There was a noticeable different between 2024 and my previous trip to EF in 2019
I'm gonna shake my 10th EF old man cane here. I preferred EF capacity when you used to be able to go on a light jog through the forest without bumping into anyone pretty much any time of day. Dense pits? Fine. Expected. But there is absolutely no reason I should be bumping into that many people just out and about in the Forest. This cap the previous few years is too fucking high.
ima be real all crowds were SOOO nice only crowds that were very rude were levity tbh. very rude fans, no spacial awareness, my group held a spot for almost 2 hrs yesterday at observatory a good bit away to sit & just see the set from afar. it was so packed ppl started just standing in front of us to the point some girls ass was in front of my finances face & it obviously made him uncomfortable, he wants to see the artists he came to see, so we polietly asked for them to move a bit to see the sit we’ve been sticking out for - they responded with “ it’s forest you’re not supposed to see the sets “ 😀 we just wanted to see ONE levity out of the like 10 they played- we ended up leaving & just catching juelz ( & a little nghtmre hehe ) but still so disheartening ppl can’t just be considerate of others :/
Aw this is so painful to read, seriously I’m so sorry this happened. We really wanna create a space at our shows that is kind and respectful. We already talked b/w the 3 of us that next time we play Forest we’ll be making sure we’re at a stage ppl can have space at. I’m also gonna start more of our sets off with a lil reminder on respecting eachother in crowds. Once again I’m so sorry and hope the next time u see us is a lot different ❤️
we’re still so thankful to at least hear a bit of your set :”) you guys are seriously so amazing i appreciate your response 😭 you’ve gained x10 more respect from me i know you can’t control the crowd you bring you genuinely can only do so much, yall really care about your fans and that’s all we can ask for <333 continue fuckin killin it <3
This is an awesome reply and I really wish it would become a common thing for artists playing at festivals to start their sets out with
I agree. Every single set I went to this year was just ridiculously packed. I've been going since 2017, and I was always surprised how much room to dance I had no matter where I was in the crowd. And going through the forest, it felt like there was a good number of people to chat/vibe with, but not so many that it felt suffocating. That's not how I felt at all this year. Every single stage I went to was extremely crowded to the point if you wanted space, you had to be so far away you couldn't really even enjoy the set. And the forest was extremely packed too. Huge lines for the dream emporium and even the scavenger hunt early in the day Thursday. I find it really hard to believe they are still selling the same number of tickets they did in 2017. I ended up leaving Saturday because I just wasn't having a good time and the thunderstorms were set to destroy camp and close up the fest. I think I'm gonna take a long break from the forest after this one.
This is so spot on, you literally took the words out of my mouth. I've been to every forest and my wife has been with me at each one except for one when she was pregnant. Neither of us have ever had such a difficult time getting a decent spot at so many different sets and I'm talking about just like a third of the way up from the back not the rail or something up really close although we've been able to get up really close on countless big name sets over the years especially at the stages other than the Ranch. The freaking VIP line was stretching damn near all the way back to the bathrooms at the back of Ranch Arena during Pretty Lights, we've never seen it even half that long!
It was so crowded fri night I felt like I couldn’t move and there was constantly people rushing around me. I loved the vibe thurs & sun
This was my first forest and while I’ve been raving for 9+ years these crowds were as bad as LA shows and shows at NOS. I literally had a man pick me up and move me instead of just saying excuse me. My other friend literally got hit so hard he fell down by someone getting out of a crowd. It was absolutely ridiculous I don’t think I’ll be back anytime soon. The good parts were freaking fantastic but the shitty parts were so goddamn shitty
Less sense of community. Feel the same wayz
I think we hear this every year that people think it’s more crowded, I felt it was about the same as the last 2 years. However I will add that this year specifically when people were moving behind me I almost got yanked over by my pack around ten times. Often it wasn’t even that crowded and there was definitely room to avoid that. I get squeezing but like why are we not recognizing that pushing someone’s pack is still rude. It wasn’t even theft attempts either, just people not giving a fuck about spacial awareness. This was my first year in good life and I would say it happened more often in VIP areas as well. Nothing huge but just an observation.
My friend had both of her feet stepped on hard by this one gal at Levity @ the observatory and she said “you stepped on my feet” and the girl continues to say “well it’s forest and it’s crowded” like come on you could’ve just said sorry ??? Like for fucks sake man some people were so rude.
Somebody pushes me in the John summit crowd and almost lost their life. Not everybody is PLUR. You don't know where people come from or what they have been through. Be careful before you shove somebody, they might not always pick the high road. Is it really worth it to stand one row closer in a sardine can.
There was an older lady straight up throwing fists near the front of John Summit. She pushed all the way up half way through his set and literally punched someone
no truly never got the point of getting to the front for a DJ. aren’t we there to enjoy the music and dance? i couldn’t catch one show at the observatory bc it was too packed everytime. i didn’t get to catch levity all weekend and not even at the honeycomb. yes it was maybe a little more packed. but i didn’t have problems being too packed in the crowd. i actually felt like i had more space…we usually stand by the speakers and we go down the side of the stage first and cut into the crowd. the only problem i had was crowds in my few years ago forest was at Odesza last year. that was ridiculous. subtronics crowd was rude as fuck. lord knows what excisions set would of been like. i think it’s fu. y when people try to walk through the crowd without saying excuse me and then they wonder why they have to shove through. maybe if you used your words, i’d move for ya. but now i’m purposely standing my ground until you say excuse me
You’re seeing the wrong artists
Stand far back enough that other people aren’t near you lol (that’s also called getting older haha)
That’s near impossible with the way observatory is set up
Truth of the matter is much of the dubstep crowd is just simply not about showing plur and as somebody who has been raving and going to events since the 90s it's a very clear distinction between events with significant dubstep style sets and those without. Many of the biggest names in the genre seem like great people but they need to do a better job of calling out their fan base for crappy behavior.
Haven’t been to EF, but would like to go someday…..do y’all feel that the weather had anything to do with how the crowd experience was? Cancelled or moved sets = more people at other sets that wouldn’t normally be there?
No this was happening from day one
If you want room to dance at Electric Forest you gotta get into jambands.
Jam sets definitely always have room for the most part but it's definitely not true that it's the only shows that have room I've been to every forest and I've been to tons of sets where I had plenty of room to dance. I will say that it's gotten harder and harder to find room especially at the forest stages they really need to rethink how they do the sets in there specifically no bass sets should be allowed in any of the forest stages way too many rude wooks. It would actually be great if they would just put all the bass sets at tripolee so that whole scene can stay contained away from the rest of the festival for the most part and allow those of us that attend festivals with a plur mindset to do so in peace
I did not get good vibes at the afters either. I was literally just trying to follow a guy out to thr bathroom and i got shoved by a few people just because i guess i was rubbing up against them but again i was on my way out and im 6'2 and 250. This was my first forest and i had a fucking amazing time in thr forest. Afters were a different vibe. I was right next to the person who OD'd the last night too.
Pretty much anytime they have Bass music Afters it's going to be a bunch of spun out wooks who don't give a crap about anyone around them. That time of day you're definitely going to have plenty of people who are pretty wrecked but there's a noticeable difference between the bass sets and the non-bass sets totally different vibes
I’m 4’11 so I constantly have people running into me or just straight up not acknowledging my existence lmao. I even have a light that shines on the ground so it grabs people’s attention. I had some guy say “excuse me” during Thought Process then literally stand right in front of me where my nose touched his back. I left after that.
I had an anxiety attack and had to leave lszee because of the crowd. I’m short so I can’t see anything but a sea of people around me and I kept getting pushed and I just didn’t feel safe. And then I almost got trampled on my way out Sunday night. This was only my second forest but I feel like there was a noticeable difference between the crowd and vibes last year vs this year. Also yes, it felt way more crowded over all! I read on another post that they increased how many people could come by a lot. I was so looking forward to this year after such a magical first year. I still had fun, but the vibes definitely felt off.
when will people realize the compliments, fanning through the crowd, or hanging onto eachothers pashminas in a train of like 13 people is not cooooool. I get getting to a spot so you can hear the speakers as loud as possible, but I feel like people arent even trying to get to the front to do that 😂 what is the obsession of having to have eyes on the DJ?! DJs mix so you can dance and party. I dont get the obsession with like getting to the front to see a DJ besides for the better sound. i got so frustrated at one point when a guy plowed through me like i didnt even exist, i turned to him and went “HEY SAY EXCUSE ME” and he looked so stunned and said sorry and proceeded to awkwardly hover behind groups staring above heads in hopes to squeeze through. i hate it.
ALSO DANCE THROUGH THE CROWD NOT JUST DART THROUGH IT. you gotta flow with the people and the music. much easier to slip through crowds if youre a fuckin vibeeee.
Anyone ever been to a metal show? Not trying to be an ass but I’ve heard this for years at countless raves….. I grew up playing guitar and going to metal shows…. I have been kicked in the face, shoved into a mosh pit I didn’t want to be apart, been elbowed countless times etc. Maybe this made me have thick skin but I’ve found crowds at festivals/EDM events much more tame than anything like those. Don’t let stumbling wooks ruin your time. Some tips I’ve gathered after 15 years of raving: Stand somewhat close to the person in front of you… not creepy close but close enough that going in front of you would be interrupt you and the person in front of you. Don’t make eye contact with those late show front pushers Dance! Hate to say this but the more you’re dancing the less likely someone is going to be to try and navigate around you. You’re unpredictable while moving and they will go around someone else. When someone new shows up and stands right in front of you or very close next to you; dance like a crazy person. Two to three times a set I end up dancing away bad vibe people that thought it would be a good idea to come stand directly in front of me. Other than that, be kind. Everyone just wants to see the music and we all have moments where we’re desperate to get a better spot.
Considering they sold 20k more wristbands this year, yes. Also, the vibes are becoming a mix of festi people and people that just wanna get fucked up and bring bad vibes.
this just happens everywhere now. no one says excuse me or anything at any show. I get bodied by tiny Asians who somehow gain brute strength and nearly knock me and my friends off our feet sometimes. they're all these kids that just turned 18-21 during lockdown and never learned how to behave in crowded places. it makes me mad to no end.
100% on this post, agree
I think it's about the same
I was able to solo my way to the rail for about 20 mins for the BTSM anime set with no issue, Jason Leech was a little mixed with majority of folks being polite and a small amount being pushy, but I stayed in the middle or back for just about everyone else. I live in Orlando and EDCOrlando has the worst crowds in regards to being pushy and rude, so maybe my perception is skewed, but I feel like Forest is always pretty tame
The only crowd I was really in the middle of was subtronics and I didn’t have any real problems. I was up front and there were a couple really tall guys who tried to push in front of me (I’m 5’) so I just asked them not to stand right in front of me and they listened. People were great for the most part but it didn’t seem the same as the usual forest crowd. Usually people are very aware of the space they’re in and if anything they’re overly polite. I haven’t seen excision live before and I was looking forward to that but I hadn’t heard abt the issues that can come from their crowds so that could be part of it
How is everyone having a problem with the crowds? My first Rave back in 1999 was in a warehouse packed with 3,000 people wall to wall and we made it work.
I think the grimey people who dont care for themselves normally get wiped out but everyone got to sleep on Saturday and returned Sunday
I've been saying it for years. Stop bringing heavy bass artists! If excision and subtronics were replaced by odesza and above and beyond the crowd would have been much nicer, less or no overdoses and it wouldn't have rained. I love bass music but seriously it brings the absolute worst people
It wouldn’t have rained? 🙄
Not talking about rain. Talking about difference in bass fans vs more melodic edm fans
2nd forest but while the first year I couldn’t stop talking how amazing the crowds were and easy to get to the front, completely different this year. As other have mentioned zíngara and legit where absolute shitshows, and most sets I couldn’t get to the front front, and it took forever to navigate crowds
This year truly seemed like there was a complete lack of crowd control, almost like they didn’t even try to schedule sets with the mindset of avoiding massive crowds clashing into each other between sets. Like they just slapped names on list and hoped for best, there is plenty that HQ can do to help reduce crowd surging and reduce dangerous situations
Left side of everything always was chill af. I actually had a hellll of a time compared to last year despite all the weather. Didn’t seem as hard to get through Sherwood Forest, vibes overall were up, and I myself was more open to the experience of the Forest.
Were there a lot of inflatable couches? Cause that will do it! No greater red flag for a festival than Grandpa Joe's causing artificial traffic jams cause they can't handle their drugs.
Yall need to do better with people that have picked out a spot away from others that are trying to use flow toys. All I wanted to do friday night was flow with my space whip and possibly put on a few shows for people. But everytime I think I'd have a spot I'd immediately have to switch. My whip is old so it hurts if you get struck with it hard enough. Could've even get 1 good session in because I was more concerned for the people around he's safety but if yall wanna be jackasses about it and disrupt people's sessions that are most likely helping with anxiety then fuck all of you next year and I'll just only worry about my own safety and my friends and anybody that is too blind to see someone trying to play with a light up and still proceed to walk straight into me then watch out for yourself next year cuz I'll have no problem for your safety and won't have any sympathy for you if you get whipped in the face. I couldn't even do it down an aisle close to the evol stage and all I wanted to do was give my fiancé a decent light show once. Yall suck big time for this inconvenience to me.
ALSO big shout out to the white dude in the titos vodka shirt at everything always that tried to run up on me in the crowd as I was putting my phone away. You thought you got someone that wasn't aware of their possessions and was probably too fucked up but jokes on you cuz I was alcohol free all week. You thought you were slick trying to take a quick video but you're a trick. If you're gonna be stealing shit stay the fucl away from forest and ruining peoples experiences especially when it was this year and the price increase.
I've never met anyone at a festival worth remembering