The evolution of Forest Stage with Defender

Once a semi-secret venue, Forest Stage with Defender has grown into something of a fan favorite. During Wonderfruit, more people gathered here than ever before to watch rare collaborations and organic soundscapes blended spirituality, experimental music and samples from nature.

Before it grew into this woodland speakeasy—with its dedicated bar and extensive lounge—Forest Stage began as something smaller.

Tucked away at the depth of the Ancestral Forest behind a thicket of young trees, marked only by beams of light dancing between the trees, it was a place discovered only by the most curious and adventurous of Wonderers.

In 2023, once the Ancestral Forest’s first saplings had time to grow tall, we created an intimate space within a clearing. Designed by Jiro Endo and co-developed by our Art Production team, it was born for performances that connected mind and nature.

This small, partially-covered stage was made from gathered wood and dried leaves. Its audience sat on bales of hay, or got up to dance on the forest floor, illuminated by an oversized disco ball hung from the highest branches. 

In this space we were allowed to get a little experimental, to push the boundaries of music with experimental and innovative performances. Artists like Modern Biology and Bottlesmoker plugged into giant mushrooms, pineapples, poison tree saplings, other plants and ferns to produce music from bio-electrical signals. JOUBe’s high energy set was performed from a unique setup built from his own bicycle, featuring samples he’d collected on his cycling adventures—which you can listen to here.

This humble venue grew into something more permanent in 2025 through the combined efforts of the Art Production team and Defender.

In 2023, when we first introduced Forest Stage, Defender had just joined us in The Fields. By carrying the Operations team across the rough terrain of our land, they literally and figuratively did the heavy lifting of ensuring Wonderfruit was executed successfully. 

The plug-in electric hybrid credentials of the Defender 110 also brought Wonderers on their own journeys closer to nature. In both 2023 and 2024, Defender invited Boutique Campers on off-road driving experiences up into the mountains behind The Fields. 

In 2025, Defender stepped into the Ancestral Forest with us, expanding the capacity of this humble space so that more people could discover what makes Forest Stage so unique. This effort was born from our shared desire to connect to the environment through adventure, while encouraging more people to discover boundary-pushing artists.

In previous years, Forest Stage was constructed from found and repurposed timber, including fallen branches found around the site. In the rainy season, water and the elements would take their tax from the land, softening the wood and causing part of the stage to decompose and return to earth.

While we’ve always been thankful for the gift of a blank slate each year, we live in The Fields year-round and sometimes need to design for longevity. Forest Stage with Defender was reincarnated with this need in mind. 

The new structure was made from Siamese Sal “Teng” wood, a dense tropical hardwood native to Thailand, able to withstand both weather and the many insects that inhabit the Ancestral Forest. Sourced from Ayutthaya, these old, whole logs were harvested in the past but never used. 

Forest Stage with Defender also added a bar and lounge areas. Natural terracotta bricks provided , wooden benches and banana leaves to cover the back of the bar. These materials were chosen for their natural durability, minimal processing and familiarity with local building processes—as with everything we create in The Fields.

These additions meant that people could stay for longer, with more space to sit, connect, socialize and listen together in the heart of the forest. 

Explore more about Defender’s return to Wonderfruit in 2025.