Tucked away in a little pocket of American Canyon are the remnants of the Standard Portland Cement Company from the early 1900s. Weathered with age and covered in amazing graffiti artwork, new life was breathed into the fantastic old architecture, now called Napa Valley Ruins and Gardens, when it was electrified on Saturday.
Popular Electronic Dance Music DJ Kaskade brought his undux tour to the space and thousands of people turned out to party.
“With undux, I want to explore connection through subtraction-removing the distraction of sensory overdive that has become the calling card of stage production for electronic music,” said Ryan Raddon, who goes by Kaskade. “I want to focus on skylines, murals, art, and I want us to see each other’s faces. Sometimes the most profound experiences emerge not from adding more elements, but from removing them. What happens when we get a massive sound system, gather in daylight, let the music speak, and watch the world together?”
And together they were. A crowd of more than 2,000 packed into the main square of ruins, the acoustics resonating off the old cement walls as clouds of dust puffed up around dancing feet. New murals glowed under the minimal stage lighting as spectators found themselves wandering around to take in the structures, not knowing what amazing pieces of art lurked just around the corner. Many of the old ruin buildings were not utilized and were blocked off from the general public, but that didn’t stop the crowd from exploring much of the open-air venue.
“This is phenomenal,” said Ricardo Montes. “I live just across the street and it’s about time they did something with this place. The artwork is incredible.”
The Napa Valley Ruins and Gardens is part of the Watson Ranch Development, privately owned by McGrath Properties, Inc. Despite a few private events and the Evening at the Ruins, a fundraiser for the American Canyon Community and Parks Foundation in early September, the space has mostly been unused and in development. The Kaskade event, the first “ticket needed” event, was a dry run for future shows.
“Everything we have heard from the community has been positive,” said Deputy City Manager Alexandra Ikeda.
There are big plans for the Watson Ranch development and the Ruins, with the Specific Plan being unanimously approved by the American Canyon City Council in 2019.
Ikeda mentioned that a possible new American Canyon downtown has been discussed as part of the project as well.
The music overflowed into nearby neighborhoods, with fans online praising the new life at the Ruins and some, in the same sentences, asking for advice on how to calm their pets who were riled up by the sound. With parking going smoothly and traffic in the area being minimal, the crowd showed up with regulars who travel down the busy Highway 29, never even knowing a party was going on.
“If you’re local, you either have been or know about the Ruins in American Canyon,” said Mitchell Glotzer. “Last night’s opening event at the Ruins with DJ Kaskade was packed. A perfect match of venue and artist.”
Details about the new venue are still a bit cloudy. ARYMÉ held a show with Francis Mercier on Sunday and Sub Focus is planned for Oct. 5. A blackout show is planned for Halloween as ZHU presents BLACKLIZT in which the 21-and-over show requires all in attendance to wear all black. Some think the Ruins could bring a perfect creep factor for a Halloween party.
Despite the uncertain fate of the 125-year-old Ruins, people still thoroughly enjoyed themselves and are excited for what’s to come. Just like one of his popular tracks, the magic Kaskade and undux provided on Saturday definitely left plenty of “Room For Happiness.”
For more information on upcoming shows at the Ruins, visit eventbrite.com.
To learn more about the Watson Ranch specific plan, visit mcgrathproperties.com/portfolio/watson-ranch-napa-valley-ruins-gardens.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.timesheraldonline.com ’
