Written by Dave Liebowitz, Everipedia

It’s March and festival season is kicking off. Although I have been to plenty of music festivals before, the year will be the first time I will be attending the legendary Electric Forest, happening June 22 – July 2. When looking at the lineup, I recognized most of the acts, but some of them were quite new to me. My natural curiosity led me to listen to every act playing at The Forest (and I have continued to do so as they released their lineup additions). Out of the 70+ artists I explored, there were five up-and-comers that really caught my attention. Each one is carving their own path with relentless effort and original sound, which you can truly hear in their final product. Here are the five artists you need to listen to before you embark on your journey into The Forest.

Rezz

Rezz hardly needs an introduction. She made a name for herself on the festival circuit last summer and is cementing herself as someone to watch out for in 2017. After seeing a Deadmau5 concert a few years back, Rezz basically locked herself in a room and dedicated herself to creating a new sound. Rezz showcased her self-described Alien House on her recent EP Something’s Wrong Here, which garnered of 100,000 of plays since its release. Often compared to Gesaffelstein, Rezz shadowy synths and hypnotizing melodies have garnered her a dedicated following. With over 8,000 people in The Cult of Rezz Facebook Group, it’s only a matter a time until she becomes a household name.

Woolymammoth

Woolymammoth and his music are shaping up to be more and more at the forefront of a new genre. When I first heard Woolymammoth, I immediately drew a connection to G Jones. Both Bay Area producers are cultivating a distinct sound that the only way to describe their novelty is dubstep avant-garde. But Woolymammoth is making a name for himself, feeding his fans a constant stream of dirty trap and dark bass from his Soundcloud. After releasing his Nova Jaunt Mixtape at the end of 2016, Woolymammoth is currently on a nationwide tour, spreading his drops to the masses.

Jai Wolf

Jai Wolf’s story sounds like a storyline for a movie. He was born in Bangladesh, moved to the United States as a child, and played violin through his teenage years. This bedroom producer hit the big time when Skrillex dropped Jai Wolf’s Ease My Mind Remix during one of his sets. A year later, he released his biggest single to date, Indian Summer, which captured over 13 million streams to date on Soundcloud. Building on his success with his EP Kindred Spirits this year, Jai Wolf is ready once again to showcase his sounds to crowds eager for his dreamy riffs and uplifting beats.

TroyBoi

TroyBoi is destined to be a star; he is immensely talented and has a tremendous range within his music. He’s already played at EDC, Sónar, and other major festivals worldwide, and is ready to bring his talent to The Forest. Trap is the foundation of TroyBoi’s sound, but his ability to mesh a variety of genres is what makes him unique. With TroyBoi’s background of Indian, Chinese, Portuguese, and Nigerian descent growing up in London already had him accustomed to meshing cultures naturally. Take his song “ili” where he takes Debarge’s funky R&B classic “I Like it” and turns it into a banger with over 5 million plays on his Soundcloud.



Illenium

Illenium is someone I have high expectations for as we head into The Forest. After seeing his live sets on YouTube, you feel the energy he brings to his sets even by just watching a recorded video. It isn’t a surprise to see that Bassnectar is one of his driving influences – after seeing Bassnectar play a show in 2012, the Denver-based producer brought Ableton the next day and developed his own style of melodic dubstep. Since then, Illenium has been captivating crowds nationwide and showcasing his original music through his album Ashes. If there is one person that’s a must-see at The Forest, it’s Illenium.

Electric Forest is set to be lit this year, and all of these artists will be adding major gas into that fire. It will be interesting to see how spreading The Forest over two weeks this year will end up working out as it almost reaches a decade in existence.

If you want to learn more about the artists playing this year, check out the Weekend 1 and Weekend 2 lineups organized by genre. If you want to buy tickets, head to their official website.