Jason Kaczorowski Photography: Double JJ Ranch

Please click on photos below for enlargements.
All Text & Photographs © 2008 Jason Kaczorowski

Rothbury Music Festival
July 3rd - 6th, 2008

Double JJ Ranch
Rothbury, Michigan

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
Sound Tribe Sector Nine
Trey Anastasio
Colbie Caillat
Slightly Stoopid
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 Mclean
The Dynamites featuring Charles Walker
Dead Confederate
DJ Rekha
Motion Potion
DJ Rootz
SOJOURN
Busdriver

Festival fever hit the tiny town of Rothbury Michigan this past weekend bringing an estimated 40,000+ concertgoers to the 200 acre Double JJ Ranch to witness the inaugural Rothbury Music Festival.

Rothbury strived to bridge the neo-hippie spirit of Bonnaroo with the freak-art vibe of Burning Man and the indie nonchalance of California's Coachella. The festival’s main goal was to draw attention to climate change and clean energy alternatives. The weekend offered "Think Tank" panel discussions on climate concerns, an energy fair where attendees got their hands on related technology and products, and the festivals’ campgrounds strived for a zero-waste experience via composting and carbon-offsetting. The solid line-up up featured major headlining acts such as Dave Matthews Band, John Mayer, Widespread Panic, Phil Lesh & Friends, Modest Mouse, 311 and Snoop Dogg.

Rothbury emerged as an all-American celebration, leading the pack of U.S. festivals by pushing the envelope of extraordinary and raising the bar on the unexpected.

(above & below)
Peter Hudson's 24 feet tall, 28 feet in diameter steel and aluminum sculpture "Homouroboros" was a spinning zoetrope portraying a half-ape/half-man creature swinging form branch to branch in
this stylized steel tree, while being force-fed an apple from aserpentine arm/hand. The turning tree top was designed to be triggeredby participants playing electronic drums dangling from the tree. The
piece spins backward at night illuminated by flashing strobe lightsto create the illusion of the creatures moving forward, swining from branch to branch, resembling a massive 3-D flipbook of animal-animation. The public art installation first exibited at 2007's Burning Manand has since been seen at Bonnaroo and Rothbury.

Intelligent theatrical lighting, up lit black lights and hanging glow-in-the-dark
string art illuminated the path through giant pine trees of "Sherwood Forest".