Rothbury welcomes campers to festival

Sat, Jul 5, 2008    to del.icio.us

The madness has begun.

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The Rothbury Festival grounds at the Double JJ Ranch in Rothbury opened up to the public before sunrise Thursday morning. Within no time, campers began filling the available fields – more than 200 acres' worth – eager for a good spot to call "home" for the four-day festival.

Rothbury organizers expect more than 40,000 people to attend the eco-friendly event, which will feature acts such as the Dave Matthews Band, Primus and John Mayer. Most days, the acts begin around noon and continue well into the early morning hours.

The festival schedule also includes round-table discussions and "think tanks" about energy conservation and other environmentally friendly initiatives.

Thursday was considered somewhat of a "soft opening" by organizers. Although festival-goers were allowed onto the camping fields to set up tents, the main festival grounds were closed until around 5 p.m. to allow workers to apply the finishing touches – setting up food booths, hanging decorations in the Sherwood Forest artists' area and taking care of puddles left behind by Wednesday's strong thunderstorms.

After the gates opened, the first acts of the festival – including Kalamazoo's Greensky Bluegrass – kicked things off musically around 6:30 p.m., with bands playing into the night. The Odeum main stage was dark Thursday in anticipation of Friday's larger acts, including Snoop Dogg, 311 and Widespread Panic.

Randy Carlisle, who was helping to set up decorations in the Sherwood Forest Thursday afternoon, arrived in Michigan June 25 following his work at Bonnaroo, another music and arts festival held in Tennessee. An employee of Tennessee-based Pro Event Management, he helped construct the steel framing for all the Rothbury stages.

"I'm very impressed with the layout (at Rothbury)," said Carlisle, 31, of Dallas, Texas. "It's a lot better than Bonnaroo – it's not as hot, and there's a different vibe here. It's more non-corporate, more of a 'Here, kids – here's a good time' kind of vibe."

Relaxing in a hammock nearby, Maryland native Kevin Davis, 20, said he was hoping to catch some acts between his work shifts. Davis works for Charm City and will be manning various food and beverage stations throughout the weekend.

"I think it's really awesome," said Davis of Rothbury. "All the bands, the camping out... I would be really disappointed if I couldn't see some of the bands, because there's a lot of great ones."

Although Rothbury is in its inaugural year, Carlisle said he already sees potential for the festival. Double JJ owners have signed a long-term contract with Rothbury organizers and are planning to make it an annual event.

"I expect it to grow very fast," said Carlisle. "There's a lot to draw people to it – the bands, the countryside here. It's on some great land. In two or three years I'd expect it will be just as big as Bonnaroo (which drew an estimated crowd of 80,000 last month)."

Festival organizers expect even more campers to arrive Friday.

"We're ready for anything and everything," said Davis.

For ongoing updates from Rothbury, check out Tribune intern D.J. Sobish's blog on our Web site, www.grandhaventribune.com. Look under Entertainment.