It has been 7 weeks since I have returned from my summer b2b (back to back) music festival travels. In June 2024, I embarked on my journey from Bonnaroo in Manchester, TN then up to Electric Forest in Rothbury, MI. I originally planned for the road trip to be roughly only 16 days long, but ended up extending it to 22 days. I had got attached to being on the road and had dreaded coming back to the real world where I would have to face adult decisions. Career. Relationships. Home. Everything in my life was in the process of change and it felt like chaos. Avoidance was/is my way of coping.
During these 7 weeks I've been healing not only physically because I stabbed myself with scissors at Electric Forest (shocking I know...), but I've been addressing some deeply rooted emotional trauma issues. Everything from the instability I had as a child moving around like a vagabond to having to process my divorce. Things that have been shaping me as a human being subconsciously have been entering my conscious mind. Working through those issues is exhausting. Crying. Talking. Dancing. Self-loathing downward spirals recouped with self-care. Cycling between too much energy and none. I need naps and time to myself to feel these emotions of pain && suffering. It's part of the human experience.
On August 8, 2024 I had the urge to dance. I haven't livestreamed in awhile and my equipment wasn't set up, so I figured why not just grab video instead? I filmed my completely unchoreographed and freestyled dance with the orbit. I have to say I'm genuinely proud of myself for finding a style of dance within and unique to myself. When I first got my orbit I would try and mimic others or look up videos on YouTube. It turned into me not being able to find my flow. It was unauthentic to me and felt broken. Now-a-days when I dance with my orbit it is an art and form of self-expression. I connect with the song. Dancing is healing && feeling. I let all my worries drift into non-existence as I focus on my body instead of my mind and being in the present. True transcendence.
Just know at the time of my accident that the shrooms were shrooming (I admit being under the influence yet also plead da fiffff). There was a storm and water absolutely everywhere including inside my tent. I was outside my tent trying to gather my things before going into the festival grounds. I thought to myself "maybe I should bring two vapes to the festival instead of one" since it was the last day. As I was trying to open the new vape pack my right hand had slipped with the scissors and stabbed my left pointer finger knuckle. I will say that I was completely coherent and not blaming intoxication on my injury, but I do feel like because it was the end of Electric Forest and I had been festival-ing it up for quite some time that my body was just plain exhausted. I was not careful, while in a hurry, and my body being tired had all contributed to my injury. Lessons were learned. No sharp objects while on drugs or alcohol!
Sometimes what's reflected outside on the physical body is a mirror of what's going on inside the body. I got hurt several times on this trip- fell in a ditch, stabbed, burned with boiling hot wax, a rash developed, and sunburned. My higher self was telling me to slow down. I am SO grateful my stabbing injury wasn't any worse. I am still recovering as of today. I am truly sorry for hurting myself even though it was an accident. I need to be more careful and understand the human body is a fragile thing. We as humans get hurt both physically and emotionally. Take loving care of thyself. <333
Bonnaroo Music Festival
In a series of photos (click for slideshow):
A lil snippet from the mainstage headlining artist - Fred Again:
I have to say I did not know what to expect from Fred Again but wow what an amazingly unique closing show. I really enjoyed his creativity and performance. Bonnaroo 2024 was another positive experience for me. I want to give a shout out to the volunteers in my camp and hot girl squad. I made so many new friends and really enjoyed my time whether I was alone or with other Bonnaroovians! Music, community, art, growth, discovery, and positivity is what keeps me coming back every year.
Electric Forest Music Festival
In a series of photos (click for slideshow):
A lil snippet from LP Giobbi's DeadHouse set that Saturday night:
If you never heard of LP Giobbi or her artistry essentially she grew up with Deadheads (people who are big fans of The Grateful Dead) and remixes Grateful Dead music into more electronica-house. She is also a pianist and does all house-music sets that are not Grateful Dead-focused. I'm a big fan of hers and her non-profit initiative Femme House (with DJ Hermixalot). I've seen LP Giobbi about 7 times now across 4 states. She's always a "not miss" artist for me at music festival. I support her and Femme House as much as I possibly can by telling others about her work. She has a new album "Dotr" coming out soon!
This was my 3rd time volunteering with EForest and required me picking-up garbage post-fest for two days. I'll be honest, because of my avoidance way of coping with life coupled with not wanting to leave the forest (my Pisces moon is deeply sentimental) that I didn't care if it took picking up garbage in order for me to still be in the forest when everyone else had to go home. Brat summer at it's finest.
Overall, I had a wonderful Electric Forest despite the turbulent weather. We had storm after storm pass with the last night of the festival cancelled. The grounds were a wreck and it really was unsafe at times. I saw a girl with a possibly broken leg in the medical tent while I was in there because she had slipped in the mud. She was screaming and they had to give her some sort of shot while calling the ambulance. Luckily I had my orange 3D printed axolotl named Astrid (given to me at Imagine) with me so I didn't feel so alone. Shout out to the HerForest ladies, hot girl squad (some of the same girls were also doing Bonnaroo b2b EForest also too much fun no pics lol), and the Clean Vibes volunteers. Medical staff was also very caring. They made me feel both safe and comfortable. Electric Forest is a sacred space that truly has an amazing community of people that keeps me returning.
I know this blog piece doesn't have much substance because it's just too many things to talk about and my life is in chaos. I find synchronicity with John Summit's newest album "Comfort In Chaos." I give his album 2 thumbs up. I loved the flow of the songs and how he showcased different styles. I will say it seemed extremely heavy on collaboration, but if that's what it takes for him to produce an album then that's what it took. I am happy for him and his success! Meeting him at Electric Forest was a dream come true. I just can't believe I forgot to ask him to marry me. I got too caught up talking about my artistry. He knows about "Elektra Flora" and thinks my name is cool. :P Side note... HE gave ME 2 hugs... TAKE ME BACK!!!!!!! Also my favorite song is probably "Stay With Me."
Some of life's challenges is learning how to live amongst the chaos, uncertainty, pain, suffering, loss, change, and all the other difficult tests the universe presents in one's lifetime. This is how we grow and evolve. We may never fully recover from past physical or emotional traumas and that causes us humans to have both visible and invisible scars. Life is about finding the strength to continue our journey with these scars && despite the scars- that is the path towards healing, enlightenment, && the true magick of spirituality.
xo,
Elektra Flora
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