Music starts at Electric Forest Fest

ROTHBURY, Mich. (WOOD) - Though it's not the original Rothbury Music Festival, the Electric Forest Festival begins Thursday evening at the Double JJ Resort and will feature an eclectic mix of more than 50 bands, from REO Speedwagon to the String Cheese Incident.

This is the return, of sorts, of the days-long music festival that brought tens of thousands of people to this Oceana County village two years ago to see, among many others, Bob Dylan.

The music festival was canceled in 2010, and reborn this year at the Electric Forest Festival.

Even though this is smaller than the original event, it hasn't stopped the faithful from Pennsylvania, Chicago and Salt Lake City from flocking to see their favorite bands.

As soon as the gates opened, the tie-dyed nation began to set up their camps.

There are five separate stages and dozens of bands. This year's headliner, the String Cheese Incident, will play Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

In 2008, during the first festival, two people died drug-related deaths, and the following year, 88 people were arrested. Promoters hired two separate security firms and the Michigan State Police established a headquarters on festival grounds.

Two people from Colorado were arrested in Allegan County as they headed toward this festival. They're charged with possessing 11 pounds of hash they planned to sell during the festival as hash bars and hash candy.

But the police said their patrols and years of experience should provide a safe and peaceful experience for concert goers.

Music begins at 6 p.m. and continues through Sunday.