Nights At The Rothbury

There's a new festival in town. And they are not kidding around with that lineup! Looking to rival Bonnaroo and Coachella and with a location far removed from both, Michigan's Rothbury festival has just entered the increasingly overcrowded US festival game with a bang. This is not going to make the nearby 10KLF people very happy. I think we're going to start hearing much banter about this lineup being more akin to what Bonnaroo was trying to do a few years ago, as many critics of the 2008 'Roo lineup feel that the Tennessee festival has wrongly strayed too far from its hippie roots. With some mainstream artists to lead the way, such as DMB, John Mayer, and 311 and a heavy dose of nationally touring jambands like Widespread Panic, Phil and Friends, The Disco Biscuits, and Gov't Mule, this festival is sure to draw a massive crowd. They even lead Bonnaroo in the category of Phish member appearances at 2-0.

Taken straight from the press release:

On July 4th weekend 2008, ROTHBURY emerges as a new American celebration. For this next generation of the rock and roll music festival, ROTHBURY sets forth as a huge party with a purpose. Hosted at the one-of-a-kind Double JJ Ranch in Rothbury, Michigan, the unique festival site offers trails, forests, fields, lakes and beach fronts, and even on-site lodging, bars and eateries. The four day, environmentally sustainable music and camping festival promises to be an inspiring cultural assembly; one where music fans, artists and progressive thinkers gather to celebrate much more than music.

It is ROTHBURY’s goal to harness the unique energy of the live music community into a durable social movement toward an important cause: Climate Change and Clean Energy Alternatives. In addition to a diverse and stellar lineup of over 70 bands on 8 stages, ROTHBURY will host a Think Tank and Energy Fair, and features unprecedented audience participation opportunities.

ROTHBURY’s current list of confirmed artists is as follows:
Dave Matthews Band
Widespread Panic
John Mayer
311
Phil Lesh and Friends
Primus
Thievery Corporation
Snoop Dogg
Modest Mouse
Michael Franti and Spearhead
Gov’t Mule
Slightly Stoopid
STS9
Colbie Caillat
The Black Keys
Yonder Mountain String Band with Jon Fishman
Gogol Bordello
Citizen Cope
Keller Williams and The WMD’S
The Disco Biscuits
Medeski Martin & Wood
Ray LaMontagne
Derek Trucks & Susan Tedeschi Soul Stew Revival
Drive-By Truckers
Of Montreal
The Dresden Dolls
Gomez
Brett Dennen
Taj Mahal
Mike Gordon
Zappa Plays Zappa
Crystal Method DJ Set
JJ Grey & MOFRO
The Greyboy Allstars
The Secret Machines
Beth Orton
Jakob Dylan and the Green Mountain Rebels
A 3
Bettye Lavette
Lotus
Yard Dogs Road Show
State Radio
The Beautiful Girls
Sage Francis
Tea Leaf Green
Emmitt Nershi Band
EOTO
Panjea with Michael Kang
Railroad Earth
Bassnectar
Pnuma Trio
Diplo
Flosstradamus
The Juan MacLean
The Dynamites featuring Charles Walker
Dead Confederate
DJ Rekha
Motion Potion
DJ Rootz
SOJOURN
Busdriver

Additional acts to be announced in the coming months.

Early Bird Tickets to ROTHBURY go on sale on Wednesday, February 27 at noon EST at www.rothburyfestival.com and at 1-888-512-SHOW (Open Mon-Sat 9am-9pm CST).