July 7th, 2008 
James Shotwell 
1969 gave us the first and greatest Woodstock festival. 3 day’s of Peace, Love, and Music. Thousands came from all over the country to celebrate the “hippie,” counter culture and enjoy music from 32 over the biggest of artists at the time. This single event has since gone down in history as the most memorable and iconic music festival of all time and though people have attempted to recreate that same magic, it has never quite been matched. However, 2008 has brought us the inaugural Rothbury Festival at the Double J ranch in West Michigan and a new contender for best Music Festival has emerged with great strides towards the long sought after crown.
Rothbury is a special festival in that it is probably the most eco-friendly festival to ever be held. The site was run off bio-diesel and solar energy as to release as little pollution as possible. I know what your thinking: “but what about all the trash from the close to 50,000 people in attendance?” Well, Rothbury organizers thought of that as well. The entire festival was run with mainly compost-able materials and every trash disposal area was set up with three cans: one for compost, one for recyclables, and one for landfill materials. To assist in understanding how these can were suppose to be used, there were picture charts on each can as well as volunteers on hand to assist those with any questions. Having been to music festivals in the past that had no apparent concern about pollution and whatnot, there was really no visible difference in the set up or flow of the festival. Which is a good thing because had the effort to go “green” been a nuisance, it would have been more than apparent on the faces of those in attendance. Other environment friendly aspects included solar powered cell phone charging stations, water refill areas, and cups made from recycled materials. Literally anything given to you by the festival came from recycled or composted materials and were designed to be composted or recycled themselves. It was both innovative and good for the planet.
As for the festival design, the Double J ranch, which is used for the grounds, is gigantic. The camping areas are very large, flat spans of land tat make set up and navigation simple and the performance area was large and welcoming of crowds. I will say however, though size is good, especially at first time event [as you never know how many people will attend] the distance from where we at UTG camped to the first main stage did require a nearly 20 min. walk which took it’s tole in the hot July sun. I’m not trying to claim laziness or anything, I just think that if I grew weary of the trip, someone in much worse shape than I may have difficulty navigating the land. Maps were provided to assist in finding stages and whatnot, but the sheer size of the area still made finding your desired location a bit difficult. The staff however, was readily available to point you in the correct direction. One thing that did lack though, was security. The stages were completely guarded, but once outside the performance area, especially at night, there was no visible security. I’m not saying there was a definite threat, but with the drug use from many concert goers and the large scale of the camping area, some sort of on watch security would have been comforting to see. Though, I understand that such a vast area would be impossible to truly secure. Overall, considering this was a first year festival and everything was based off estimates, it was well laid out and planned. When you needed help, it could be found and there was plenty of space, which can be bad, but is a million times better than too little space.
Now on to the main event: Music. The line-up for this year’s festival has changed quite a bit since the initial advertisements, but having attended the festival it seems as if things were crafted to fit a certain sect of people and those who were dropped from the bill may have been removed to better accomodate those showing the most interest. IF you’ve ever been a self-proclaimed hippie, enjoy 15 min. jam sessions, or talks of legalizing drugs, going green, and world peace, this line up would have been for you. Rothbury was the jam band epicenter for the July 4th weekend. From the huge acts like Dave Matthews Band and Wide Spread Panic, to little acts like Tea Leaf Green, it was all about jamming with your friends. Other types of acts did make the bill though, just to diversify a bit. Some highlights here would be the unforgettable appearance from Snoop Dogg, a solo set from Sam Beam of Iron and Wine, and the late night glam rock from Of Montreal. Each of these acts, along with many others were a refreshing change of pace musically, but the crowd sizes, especially for Sam and Of Montreal were considerably smaller compared to those jam bands seemed to pull. Sound wise everything was gorgeous. Each stage had ample sound systems and everything came across clean. There was very few delays in set times and there was almost no sound checks. Levels were set and adjusted as necessary, but overall things sounded gorgeous at each stage. My one complain would would be that the two main stages would, at times, drown one another out based on the style being performed at each. For instance, a soft act would be drowned out by distorted electric guitars coming from the other stage. Though most these issues were adjusted throughout the first few days.
As a whole, I don’t think the organizers of Rothbury could have asked for a better inaugural event. From the music, to the set up and design, everything seemed to fall into place beautifully. Personally, the whole jam band scene isn’t my style, but I was pulled in based off how those in attendance reacted to these acts. For three days, Double J ranch wasn’t just a camping area, it was a gathering of people who truly love music and wanted to celebrate it. They say you always need to make a great first impression because that sets the tone for the way you are viewed forever and if that is true then Rothbury will be forever associated with great music and a great cause. Sure there were a few setbacks, but for a rookie attempt, the negatives were few and far between. If they see fit to invite us back, you can bet your soul UTG will be there in a heartbeat to soak in every memorable second of what is sure to be the new required event for all music fans.
*Written by: James Shotwell*
GRADE: 8.5/10
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