Without electronica-heavy music festivals like BUKU, New Orleans dance music DJs and artists have kept the local scene alive year-round at bars, music clubs and underground parties.
Artists are highly collaborative in the tight-knit community, and they tend to hype each other’s work, says Brooke Paulus, who spins a blend of ’70s rock, disco, world beats and pop music at local clubs as DJ Brookiecita.
“Everybody builds each other up, and we all promote each other’s parties and work together to bring good energy,” she says. “There’s not a whole lot of weird shade, or a competitive nature in our scene. People love and respect and enjoy each other.”
It’s that collaboration and energy that festival producers and music industry veterans Peter Jackson and Big Chief Juan Pardo are expecting to unleash at the inaugural Electric Spring Festival, held Friday, March 27, and Saturday, March 28, at the Music Box Village.
More than 20 acts are scheduled to perform across three stages that weekend.
With the exception of visiting French DJ Electrianz, a longtime friend of Pardo, all of the artists have roots in New Orleans.
“The state of the local underground scene of dance music was so fertile and robust that we didn’t need to look any further than New Orleans itself to host a two-day event,” Jackson says. “We wanted to give credence to and pay respects to the people who have built this scene.”
Otura Mun, who performs under the moniker ÌFÉ, will kick off the festival with an opening ceremony at 5 p.m. Friday.
The producer and artist combines Afro-Cuban sounds and Yoruban religious elements into his sets, which also draw inspiration from Jamaican dancehall beats. He also performs on Saturday at 4 p.m.
Other Friday evening sets are by Brookiecita, Chore Boys and DJ Krewe on the main stage, with RQ Away, Funke and Kilabaudd on the Warehouse Stage, which is indoors. Memory Machine plays at 8 p.m. at the Under the Oaks Stage.
On Saturday, music starts at noon, and there are early sets by R!llo, Electrianz, Nokerfu, Elliot From Earth and Zevi, among others.
Legatron Prime, who largely focuses on music by Black women and gender fluid musicians as well as local bounce and hip-hop artists, is scheduled to perform at 6:30 p.m.
Headliner Bouffant Bouffant, a veteran producer and DJ who has long been a fixture on the late-night and queer-centric scene, closes the main stage at 8 p.m. Saturday.
There are lots of other sensory components to Electric Spring Fest, and there will be some surprise “elements of frivolity,” Jackson says.
In addition to the permanent, interactive art installations at the Music Box Village, there will be pop-up art installations, stilt-walkers, face-painting artists and hair braiders. The organizers are also expecting some local dance troupes to make appearances. Food and drinks are also for sale.
The festival shuts down at 10 p.m. because of the city’s outdoor noise ordinance.
There are official after-parties both nights at No Dice on nearby St. Claude Avenue.
Paulus says she can’t wait to be among fellow dance party enthusiasts.
“It’s the best and brightest of New Orleans nightlife,” she says. “And there’s room for everyone.”
The festival is all ages, but participants younger than 18 must be accompanied by a guardian. For more information visit electricspringfestival.com.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.nola.com ’
