Correction appended.
DJ HEX will perform for the EDM party called Waves Friday, which will mark his second solo performance at The Union Bar and Grill.
Scott Winland, the booking manager at The Union, looks forward to the variety of the DJs during EDM shows, and plans to make Waves a semi-regular EDM party at The Union.
“We have lots of EDM shows at The Union,” Winland said. “But we like to think that each DJ brings something a little different to the table.”
DJ HEX is a local DJ who has been listening to EDM since he was in ninth grade, and DJing since his junior year of high school.
“It’s my favorite thing to be at The Union; it’s my favorite spot,” DJ HEX said. “It holds a lot of people, and the sound system feels like you’re at a live concert.”
DJ B-Funk hosts an event once a semester where ten DJs are chosen to play at The Union. DJ HEX was chosen as a sophomore, and then as a junior, which is what made his DJing career take off.
The Union hosted a show with DJ HEX and his friends in the band The Infinite Improbability Drive in July, and he said it was a big hit.
“I love seeing my friends’ bands play,” DJ HEX said. “Having both a DJ and a band play brought a little bit of everybody.”
DJ HEX’s first time performing alone at The Union was just two weeks ago, and the show sold 180 tickets. He said Winland contacted him to do a show two weeks later, and that he could do anything he wanted with it.
“So I got to pick a theme for the night, and I was choosing between an EDM or alternative rock show, and of course I chose EDM because it’s my favorite,” DJ HEX said.
DJ HEX’s goal for the EDM concert at The Union is to sell 250 tickets.
“The whole purpose is to make people dance,” DJ HEX said. “EDM music has grown a lot in the past three or four years.”
Students at OU like listening to EDM because of the way it makes them feel, and it has become increasingly popular on campus.
“EDM makes me feel happy and energetic,” Elijah Blackburn, a freshman studying business of healthcare, said.
DJ HEX said that on Friday he will have lights on stands that move around and change colors, as well as a fog machine.
“I’m hoping to get my hands on a nice laser,” DJ HEX said. “The kind that makes pictures up on the ceiling.”
DJ HEX’s favorite genre to play is “bass music,” which is a subgenre of EDM that is the typical upbeat sound played at clubs.
“At the end of the night at my shows, I play the music I make because I know the people there are my core supporters,” DJ HEX said.
DJ HEX has been DJing at Red Brick Tavern for three years, and now hosts his own event where he invites three bands every Tuesday to perform at Red Brick.
DJ HEX played at Breakaway Music Festival in Columbus four hours before his favorite EDM artist, Bassnectar.
DJ HEX has an album coming out September 22 titled Acid Trap. He called it a fusion of hip-hop and EDM. He said the title is inspired by Chance the Rapper’s Acid Rap.
“Since there are no words, I put a lot of extra effort into it,” DJ HEX said. “I need to give people a reason to listen to it.”
A previous version of this report incorrectly stated the date DJ HEX started DJing and his favorite genre to play. The article has been updated to reflect the most accurate information.
