Much-praised Rothbury festival returns

Detroit Free Press

DETROIT — It didn’t take long for Rothbury to make its mark in 2008.

In a year widely touted as the dawn of a new festival era, the fledgling Michigan event promptly pushed itself near the front of the national pack, earning rave reviews.

Fans and bands will gather today through Sunday for a sequel at the Double JJ Ranch just north of Muskegon.

They’ll aim to reprise the good vibes that defined last year’s event, which racked up kudos for its top-notch music, amiable audience and gorgeous rustic locale.

A late-hour scramble pulled the event from the brink this winter, when promoters AEG Live and Madison House Presents unveiled a lineup led by rootsy headliners Bob Dylan, the Dead and the String Cheese Incident.

They lead a bill of 70-plus acts, with elite indie rock (Broken Social Scene), party-pumping DJ sets (Girl Talk) and colorful world-beat music (Femi Kuti) booked on five stages.

Still, it remains a question whether the late start and sour economy will affect attendance, which last year was an estimated 30,000-plus. In April, promoters began marketing two-day tickets, an option that wasn’t available last year.

But David Murphy of the band STS9 is among those champing at the bit as Rothbury closes in. Booked last year for a single night, the multi-instrumentalist stuck around all four days, happily roaming the Double JJ grounds as a wide-eyed fan.

He’ll do it again this week.

“I can’t imagine there being a much better festival site. It was just beautiful,” says Murphy, who will play a pair of festival sets.

“They paid attention to all the little details — the flow, the sanctuaries, everything. Our band, our crew — we all left there with a good taste in our mouth. It was the best American festival I’d ever been to.”