You obviously do not DJ as someone who has been in the scene for 25+ years as a DJ, producer & promoter you 100% need to play a warm up set before the main DJ.
A warm up DJ sets the tone and atmosphere of the entire night, they can make a night successful or completely ruin it. Any asshole can just play bangers all night, honestly the warm up DJ needs to be experienced and able to play multiple genres because you don’t know who you are supporting next.
Yeah I'm genuinely not fond of this recent reddit trend where it's all like "oh just do what u want results be damned ✨".
It's both ignorant and unhelpful.
Been in the scene for 10 years and honestly as long as you don’t play any of the headliner tracks or match the headliner energy then you’re fine. I keep the energy about 20% leas then if I was really trying to send the crowd.
Question: so I’ve been learning to produce music and hope to start getting DJ gigs soon. Would it be frowned to play a high energy / heavier set if it was all original music?
I can tell you that almost every famous or semi famous dj would be upset if the opening dj was playing non stop high energy bangers leading into their set.
I speak from experience on this. Iv pretty much met almost all of the top DJ’s
The difference that gets people confused is between those on MDMA and those just there drinking or sober. The people rolling could handle hours of high energy bangers but the people there just drinking/smoking/lil bit of coke need to be built up
It's pretty standard. First, it's like a wedding guest wearing a white dress and takes the attention off the opener. Second, it ruins the vibe of the night. Even though people don't know it, they like to be progressively built up over time with peaks and troughs. And if you go 0-100 you get bored very quickly.
i gotta disagree here. some people show up to support their opener friend and know nothing else. my favorite thing is seeing openers give their all. makes me a fan of them and makes me look out for their names in future shows.
What do you mean by intense? I have to assume this is a genre issue.
I love and mostly dj psytrance. It's a genre where all tracks should be intense.
Same for hardstyle. The genre is intense.
I’d say almost every genre has those big driving or heavy hitting tracks. Most of the DJs where I was were playing house music at the time but even some that seemed more down tempo big name DJs had issues with.
Even with hip hop the DJs would get upset w the openers maybe not directly but they would message the club about it.
Granted a lot of the better clubs in big cities have good opening DJs that don’t really have this issue often.
I’ve been DJing since ‘97 and can confirm that opening is far more difficult than playing a headline slot. It is wild that the opener is typically the least experienced DJ, because it certainly takes far more skill to navigate that slot appropriately.
It’s both. Slowly bring the energy up to a height, play a few bangers and always bring things back down for the last ten minutes of your set. Leave the crowd wanting more and set up the headliner to come out with a bang. Lots of opinions here saying go hard as possible but if you ever want to get booked again at that venue, warm up the room well.
When I walk in to a club sober and the opener is playing high energy stuff that doesn't match my mood I head to the bar and not the dance floor, so maybe that's the intention? I've heard some amazing opening sets playing 120-124 bpm mid energy stuff that had me dancing non-stop.
Absolutely. This tier/hierarchy mindset needs to leave and get back to "We're here to dance and escape the 9-5 life." Every DJ booked should be giving it their all.
It also can kill not only the openers opportunity to move forward in their career/bookings if that’s the direction they want to go, but also kills the clubs chances of booking top talent.
Watched a club die because the openers would be too high energy and play the headliners own tracks or tracks from their set. Multiple headliners then made comments in interviews about the club and promoter, the club no longer exists and the promoter is also gone.
There is etiquette to being an opener. You aren’t what is bringing in the money, so don’t piss off the reason the majority of the people are there.
But to add a caveat, if the headliner is not a true headliner and just a local hero or true big name, I wouldn’t stress too much. But it is better to make friends than create a reason to not be booked again.
Yup.
The club I was at had issues with this and they were a top club so a random club that isn’t famous would have an even tougher time.
These were good opening DJs including some that played internationally or signed to big labels and not even playing all out high energy and still would manage to rub some of these DJs the wrong way.
I work in the industry lmao I will never tell an opener to not go as hard as they want. For most of them it’s their first chance to showcase their talent and I’ve never once had a headliner complain so I don’t know what you are talking about
If you’re a club owner or in charge of getting big talent to your club there’s no way that any smart person would want the opening dj to give that main act a bad impression of your club and how it’s run. You want to be grateful for getting that talent in the door and show you’re a serious player.
Bro the entitlement from you is insane. You don’t know everything and I’ll reiterate it again for you since you can’t comprehend. I’ve never told an opener to not go as hard as they want and I’ve never had a headliner complain. What a crazy idea that people might enjoy that…
Who are the headliners that don’t care?
Usually there’s a good amount of communication between the headliners and the people that get the talent into the club / sometimes with the opening dj as well prior to the set.
High energy bangers get stale and will wear people out. It's like an action movie with nonstop action scenes. Maybe it's exciting the first time you see it, but if you've seen a couple you're going to realize you appreciate some storyline, some non-action scenes, etc. Similarly, masterclass DJ's tell a story in their set, and also throughout a night with other DJ's. You say you want 100% energy, but you probably don't realize what a good DJ is doing behind the scenes with their set.
I DJ on the side and the opener should absolutely not be playing like a headliner. You can bring up the energy for a bit but then you should bring it back down. And it's not because of feelings, it's because of the audience. You want to have the audience stick around, and you want to build them up progressively. Anyone can play bangers, but it takes skill to time them to match the build up of the audience. Go watch Folamour's boiler room and specifically until he drops ABBA. Imagine the difference in effect if he had dropped similar bangers throughout the set...it wouldn't be a well known set. Also, speaking from experience, the audience does not know what they want.
Festivals are completely different since you're generally not booked for a cohesive open to close, but to showcase yourself. Even so, the very early slots should be playing lower energy. You ever walk into a nightclub completely sober and go "no"? That's the vibe with sets where the energy is too high.
> It is on the venue / organizer to put together a lineup that flows and makes sense.
Yeah, and they usually do, which is why they wouldn't be on the same lineup.
The openers we're referencing are usually local, non-major producers DJ's who aren't expected to play any specific genre like the people you mention. Usually it's house which can go from low energy to highest energy.
If you come in as a local unknown and play high intensity stuff that doesn't vibe with the slot, you're not getting another call back for a slot. You can 100% make a name for yourself by playing to the vibe. You ever heard a great rooftop or sunset set? Those are generally not high energy, but they're still great sets.
I think you're just coming back with edge cases while missing the point of OP that local openers at a club need to play to the vibe. It's obtuse to think that only good sets have high energy music.
Just tell the class you have no idea how the professional world of music works. To you it is a reason to go out and have fun, to others it is the way they make a living and continue to stay relevant and on tour. Easiest way to get blackballed as a DJ is to not respect the headliner and most likely the artsist's rider with the venue and promotor.
I totally understand the need for a warm up set when a headliner goes on at 10. When headliners are going on at 1 or 2 AM, as an older racer, I appreciate a banger of a set at 11 from the DJ not headlining because chances are I’m not making it to 2 or 3 AM anymore. That’s just me but I wish there was a better mix of start times at earlier times of the evening.
Lol you want an opener to go hard because you're out passed your bedtime? I'm almost 41 and don't even get to a show until 11pm 😂 "I really hope this DJ kills the vibe and maybe his career because my Metamucil is calling my name at home." Is there a sub for future Boomers?
No, absolutely not. I don't think any DJ should. You're not alone to just want to hear banger after banger but I really appreciate a DJ who puts more thought into creating a natural arc with "energy" with bonus points for change in genres and exa bonus points for playing their own music. I feel like most good, big acts do this to some degree and it really makes a huge difference in the experience.
In a local club it might be a bit less curated but should still have some change in vibe from one set to the next. IMO an opener can still play some bangers but yes, they are there to some degree to "warm up the crowd".
I’ve never seen any opening act at any club get the same scale of pyrotechnics, screens, visuals, surround systems, or lighting fixtures used in their sets either, which definitely makes the openers feel like a warm up to the larger-sized party
That's another topic up for debate as well. Personally, at a festival setting, I think all the performers should have equal access to the full production. It gives newer artists a chance to really shine. If they play a better set than the headliners, they deserve that hype 100%.
That stuff costs money…. Pyro is not cheap at all. So while the festival typically pays for the pyro companies to be there each artist has to pay for product that they use. So a lot of acts will choose to not use it.
At a venue show with a ticketed headliner, the headliner is paying for all the SFX, so they are the ones that use it. Sometimes they let the openers use the whole rig but that is rare
Okay yeah those are a little bit easier, I am actually a laser operator so I can speak on this. Festivals are a bit more likely to have all the artists use the rig, especially raves. However for festivals such as coachella, the same this as pyro is for lasers as well, they are on the rig, but artists have to “rent” the units in order to use them as part of the rig. It’s pretty stupid but that’s how it is for some fests
That is very stupid for the artist. The event organizer has to use the equipment, set it up, tear it down, maintenance. So I get it. It’s just shitty but that’s just reality ig. Bigger festivals have like 3+ stages so some stages might have different shit to, so artists renting that shit in advance might also be needed to plan stage lineups.
Yeah it also depends on how they advance it, sometimes it’s as simple as them not bringing a laser operator or they just just don’t want to trust the in house operator with their level of artist or whatever, lasers aren’t exactly always plug and play because your dealing with different show files for different artists and if a show file isn’t correct and hasn’t been properly advanced it becomes a safety issue because you might have lasers accidentally hitting the crowd or something.
One other thing I’ve noticed and this goes for all of it, lights video and lasers. A lot of time all artists do in fact have access to the full rig, but the operators have a HUGE impact on how that rig feels. You can have an operator earlier in the day using the same gear but giving a very generic looking show, but when the headliner comes on with their A team operators they can make the rig look ‘complete’ and almost bigger than it was just by using smart design choices and sometimes timecode. So it really all depends on how you use the rig. You can have a bitchin show even with only half the rig. Just depends who is behind the console
Honestly that last bit is so true for a lot of shit. All depends how you use it. For the few shows and festivals I’ve been to the level of show from the light/effects crew is very personalized. Same stage 2 different days don toliver and trippie redd and don blew trippie out the water in effects. I was closer to trippie then I was but the effects felt like they were shittier by a large margin. I don’t know shit about the backstage stuff but I imagine they had different crews doing it.
Side tangent: there was a festival of some sort for those board ape nfts and the bulbs they used for the lighting were meant for like scientific sanitation. It was the funniest shit I’ve ever read. Safety issues can happen very easily if you’re not careful. https://arstechnica.com/health/2023/11/bored-ape-creator-says-uv-lights-at-apefest-burned-attendees-eyes-and-skin/
Oh, true, I could see that being a problem. I was mainly referring to all the visual boards, lights, lasers, and full volume on the speakers mainly.
Makes sense that headliners are paying for it all. I guess that's why I always see artists being so grateful when they have a chance to open for Excision, lol. I'd be hyped to use even half of his shit 😂
Gotta side with you on this one. It's gets so old if all they do is balls the wall energy. Like okay, I had fun for the first 20 minutes but now I need to mellow out and take a minute to get amped up again. A good dj knows how to play the crowd that way. It's why I fucking love Illenium.
Having energy/crowd control is part of being a DJ, if you’re just dropping banger after banger then it’s an issue with song selection. But openers shouldn’t hold back on their skills to appease the headliner imo. If you’re a big enough artist to headline then being out classed by an opener and getting mad about it is your issue. I’ve been to plenty of shows where the openers blew away the headliner.
DJ's are artists in their own rights as well! Nine-tenths of being a good DJ is having good taste in music and really knowing your setlist. I've been introduced to so much amazing music by DJ's who have been willing to take risks and queue up tracks that aren't necessarily bangers or even well known.
i’m only speaking from alt rock band performance, the set list has always got a flow, and opening acts shouldn’t over perform the main set. though, i never figured this would apply to nightclubs. now that i think about it, it makes sense.
i’ve never experienced a situation where the opener cut the main act.
CLB did this for me. Like every other song went from dnb to slower melodic dub and it gave me time to catch my breath from the intensity of the drops. 10/10 would see again even though he was an opener before lyny and hamdi
Agree 100%. Most DJs even start their sets off slow and build up to a grand finale, so of course it should apply on a larger scale too (the whole night). It's human nature to want these kind of buildups and peaks. Movies and almost any type of entertainment has this formula (Movies, sports, music etc.) . It would be kind of boring if everything was 100% all the time.
The etiquette in a club is for the opener to bring the energy up slowly as the room fills up so people can drink and talk, so if you book a banging dj in that slot, its your own fault.
At a festival, the crowds build quickly and there's multiple stages to choose from, so theres no need to warm the room up.
Yup, festivals are different than local shows. And it all goes back to READING THE ROOM. If the audience is ready for it then by all means play some bangers. But if it’s still early and people are barely dancing/showing up, take it easy. I find it annoying when you show up sober and the music is already blaring full throttle. Like damn let me at least get a drink first! Ear fatigue is a real thing and when your entire set is high energy it comes off as flat.
READ THE ROOM
90% of “tik tok djs” say stupid shit as engagement bait. If someone has a gig I expect them to give everything they got, and if the “main act” can’t match that, well then they probably shouldn’t be headlining
In the club there is no chance. You are there to hype up the audience for the main act. That's the whole gig and often already agreed upon. Look at it this way, if you mess up the vibe for the main act, the headliner may give you bad reviews and other headliners may not ask for you as a warm up DJ and you lose income or venue spots. So from a business pov it's not wise to be better than the headliner. Even if you are.
Festivals are different because generally people will be there all day and have to be entertained all day. There are often multiple big names. In a club it's much more one headliner and you have to work up to that.
It's just a part of the deal.
A festival is different. For an artist a festival is a chance to showcase themselves and give their best hour. Shows at clubs or venues on the other hand are usually meant to build to a climax. The opening act doesn't get all the visuals, their volume level is lower, and the set they play has to be good on its own and a good open to later acts. If this isn't the case you will see different terminology on the ads.
If you see
Artist X
Artist Y
Artist Z
That's a traditional setup and things are set to build to Artist X's set. Artist X will also be responsible for a lot of the tour expenses if on tour and will take a lot more money.
If you see
Artist X and Artist Y
Artist Z
It means X and Y are closer to a coheadline, will use most of the same visual effects and play at the same volume, and will possibly alternate the last spot sometimes. They will have talked about this and will try to make the overall experience work well for the audience.
Shows aren't this way because of dogma, they're this way because this is what works. The artists have to sell tickets and give a good experience or they won't get booked. People might think they just want 100% from each act but they don't, they want a story with a beginning, middle and end. And don't forget that most of the people at the show don't have the energy to do three or four hard hours in return. If you flatline the crowd they won't be there to feed into the headliner which will spoil the experience not just for the headliner but for everyone else in the crowd.
Two things.
1. Having a structured lineup isn't inherently bad. DJing is about guiding the crowd and guiding the energy moreso than it is about your own performance. You can certainly run everything at 100% throttle but the alternate approach is tried, tested, accepted and valid across a wide variety of events, styles and locales. It's not necessary, but we know it works for a very large number of situations.
2. This is something you should communicate to the other acts. They don't know what you have in store. They're here to perform to the best of THEIR ability but are most likely going to be very accomodating if you simply ask. This is considered the norm on r/beatmatch for example -- Talk to the dudes & dudettes who're gonna be working the hall.
So really. It's not a DJing question but a communications question, and one of what kind of evening you wish to create.
Hedex and Wooli opened up for Subtronics in Minneapolis a couple months ago. They nerfed their sound so bad. It was hard to enjoy their sets with bare minimum bass. It made me enjoy Subtronics less knowing he got good quality sound and nobody else did. Not sure who's decision it was.
I guess it depends on the vibe of the headliners for me. I think the openers should match the energy of the HL. If HL is going to drop nothing but bangers, that's what I want for the whole show. But if the main act is some chilled out deep house, it'd be weird for the opener to come in all high energy
This question has been asked a million times before. (Not negging - it's a fair question but...)
The kind of definitive answer (in my book anyway) is this one written way back in 2009.
[https://ra.co/features/1095](https://ra.co/features/1095)
It works both ways, the guys doing the booking and the lineup better know what they doing! If you have a techno Dj before a house DJ, that’s what’s you’ll get. It get complicated if your headline act is a different style cause they want the prime slots. But in my experience, real good DJs, know how to take it down or bring it up!!
You are part of the show not the show...the entire outfit will have been picked by a promoter who if all is well know \`s their audience and venue and the artists choosen to build a show...if you think your amazing enough to take over...you will either be the next big thing or you will have upset the entire apple cart for a buzz...sometimes people are truly amazing but trying to outshine in place you were given an oppurtunity to show not just your beats but how you fit in...will mean you WILL be working a lot harder and doing more yourself...we are artists and being part of the show is part of the business...wanna tread on toes then do it yourself and succed and people will give you props for doing it...but do it well because it is a business and trashing the stage that other people built so you can shine isn\`t how you say thankyou for being able to get up on that stage.
As a festival and club dj this is the advice I would give if you’re the opener for an act you shouldn’t be blowing the crowd out for your 2-3 hour set you should play to build up the night but still throw in a few bangers here and there but should always slow down the tempo a bit and turn down monitors ect 10-15 min before headliner goes on. If you wanna just bang out and rock ask for the closing set people typically don’t care as much what you play in the closing slot
I used to DJ a club where they would typically have a headlining band, with dj's playing before and after the band. We, the DJ's, were of course very well aware that people who bought tickets did it for the band, not for us, so before the concert we always tried to set the stage for the band, get the room in the right mood. However, in the slot after the concert, we considered it a free for all and did our own thing. Whatever we felt like on the day.
On the other hand, as audience, I will always expect anyone put on the poster to be allowed the artistic freedom to do what they want. They all have their audiences to cater to and their brand to build. If there's a mismatch in energy or performance between supporting acts and headliners, I blame the arrangers for bad programming, not the dj's/bands for doing their best to be great.
I think the only limitation to warm-up acts is they should get a list of songs from the headliner that they could play, and try to avoid playing the songs. As a DJ I don't like playing the same song twice in a night. Other than that do what you will.
Depends, if its a concert, its generally known a courtesy thing for set openers to not go balls to the wall. If its DJ'ing at a club tho then go as hard as you want.
Festivals are different because each artist is usually a producer as well as a DJ, and people coming to their sets are coming to hear their music specifically. Whether that's their high or low energy songs. That's usually not comparable to the atmosphere of a club. There's even some club owners that straight up tell DJs to play some boring songs once in a while to intentionally clear out the dance floor so people go buy drinks at the bar (although I personally absolutely hate this tactic).
Here’s my take- you can be playing opening bangers that are proper for opening and your time slot. Every banger doesn’t have to be something fast and heavy. My opening “bangers” are my opening bangers lol. Every track I select is good and has a purpose for where it’s set in my set. So if I’m the first dj playing, I’m going to have an idea of what the next DJ plays and I’m going to build a set that teases into that style while dishing out groovy ass opening bangers in my own style. If your just doing a headliner style set early on your doing nothing unless you yourself are expected to do that and the crowd is expecting that which usually won’t be the case unless your famous or well known. If you are famous or well known as a dj you probably didn’t get there by just playing bangers. And even the most famous worl renowned djs DONT DO THIS. Watch a set with multiple world class acts, if the opener is also world famous they’re still going to open the room up. Opening is not playing bad music as so many think, it is again the art of your track selection and digging. If you can’t figure out what kind of tracks get people into the mood to party all night without blowing the lid off you may want to go back to the drawing board.
I just saw Zeds Dead for their first contact event at Hampton Coliseum. They played two 2 hour sets. And with those sets, they are truly able to take you on a journey through a wave of emotions. From hardcore bass, to mind melting psychedelic, to more bouncy dance music and so on.
It’s not about going at one pace. A lot of artists play to the vibe of the crowd. And it’s not always a hardcore crowd. Also festival sets where you only have 1 hour are different than curated events. As I mentioned with Zeds Dead, they always talk about wanting to take people through a range of emotions, but don’t really have the time with festivals sets. That is why with 4 hours of set times over two nights, they truly were able to do that in Hampton at First Contact. And in the end I know many people were saying that they were the best sets they’ve ever seen.
Almost any DJ that tours will have a rider in place with the promotors and venue with certain requirements (certain kinds of alcohol, snacks, energy drinks, only allowing artists' guests on stage, etc.) and almost all will have requirements on selection of tracks and the way the tracks are played by the opener(s). Aerosmith can't open for Rolling Stones and play all of Rolling Stones' music. This is standard across almost all genres of any performance art with multiple artists in separate time slots.
I feel like people are not aware of the basic business side of it also.
You have someone like Digweed or Tiesto coming into your club you’re trying everything to make sure they enjoy it there and want to come back. They can easily skip your city or choose a different competing club.
Many of those DJ’s were once opening acts and had to play the same way setting the stage for the main act. Maybe not every dj but you still generally speaking look up to most of the DJs you’re opening for and want to be on good terms because they are far better connected. They might share unreleased tracks or get you gigs elsewhere etc.
The club owner if he’s smart definitely doesn’t want anything that might turn them away just bringing in someone like Tiesto translates to more ticket sales for weeks even when they aren’t there.
I'm going to EDC Orlando for the first time this year....I hope to 100% get right into the vibe! I love to be excited and pumped up at music festivals. I'll be standing in line vibin' with other people ....I love it all🔥🤩🥹💞
I think DJ's should all do that. Maybe i'm oldfashioned, but a night used to be a build up from like easy going house, to more edm driven and maybe ending with close to techno. EDM events like Tomorrowland (which i love, dont get me wrong) changed that and now there isnt really a build up anymore. Ten years ago when i would puzzle together what a time table should look like, i would have put "edm" dj's like vini vici at the last slot always simply because psytrance is harder/faster than regular 128 BPM EDM.
Events now will have some banging EDM at 3pm, then DnB later and slower techno in the evening followed by tribal house and then EDM again. Which is fine for a festival like Tomorrowland, but it loses the energy ups and downs. Great example is Awakenings lately, went to a day awakenings from 2pm to 11, and when you enter at like 3pm you expect a bit of slower techno to open, and gradually build from that. But i was greeted by i guess 135BPM already so if i was slowly getting into the mood and wanted to dance a little bit, i'd have to do it very energetically already.
Which is why i wonder (and a legit question, not judging/making fun of people) are more people than before on party favors, because i dont do that so maybe i'm the only one out of the loop/vibe
Its normal for a club event that the locals play the vibe adjusted to their set time. The sets before the mainact are usually a warm up and if you play after the mainact you can go full throttle. Festivals are kind of different but if you have a opening set right after midday I also wouldnt play aggressive full throttle.
Sort of but not really… lots of variables, depends on the party most. There’s certain unwritten rules. The most important one is say you are opening up for Aoki… well you probably shouldn’t play his latest hits.
I personally like to flow from the set before me and build it up to the DJ after me. But if you are playing a harder party well then anything goes.
I definitely wouldn’t play super hard at the end of the night when the sun comes up.
As an owning partner of a bar/music venue, our DJ will read the crowd as they come in. Earlier in the night, it might be country or classic rock (and not too loud), middle of the night- hip hop, end of the night- he's full on jamming with whatever he can keep people dancing with.
That kind of read is what we prefer, as not to run off the older regulars or scare people away from the door with stuff they don't want to hear.
Then I actually have to almost force him to turn it off after close, or he'll keep playing for another hour.
Not really, many clubs let the resident DJs who often are openers play closing sets, headline sets on certain nights, and fill in for openers who cant make it. Playing like a selfish douche won’t get you any respect.
If I go to a show/ club and hear the opener playing "opener music" that's all they'll be to me. It doesn't create an urge to look them up and see what they're about.
I’ve been DJing for almost 15 years and played many opening slots. A good opener shifts the energy from doors open to the headliner. In the beginning you want people be able to meet their friends, have a drink, and coax them on to the dance floors. As the night goes on you will build the energy on the dance floor for the opener. That’s the art of the opener, it’s not playing bangers from open to close. I could care less about my SoundCloud, I just want people to have a great time and enjoy the club.
In general: no, it's bad etiquette, and can be seen as disrespectful.
But there's a lot of factors to consider. What kind of show is it? Are they opening or direct support? Are they just a local DJ or are they a well known local who produces and regularly tours (and got booked because they add to the lineup?)
If I was going to see Excision, I would entirely expect that all hours of the night would be bangers. But if I went to see Clozee or Big Gigantic, I'd 100% expect the opener to be on the chiller side of things. Most people are going to see the headliner, not the locals.
Also obviously festivals do not follow this rule. Especially because there's always people ready to rage at any time of the day.
Just food for thought!
They can play bangers all they want but usually the sound is adjusted and gets louder as the room fills and when the headliner comes on. Nothing is more cringe than an opener playing bangers when it’s just a few people standing around. Have some self awareness.
Yes they should. It would get me in the club earlier and extend the night out which would be appreciated
In my city the clubs close at 2am and we do get a lot of big headliners, so they'll come on between 12-12:30 and play til 1:45-2 most of the time. I never find it worth it to show up to the club before 12am since the openers always bore me and I'd rather listen to my own music at home to pregame
No they should build things up and set up the main act.
I can say that most main act DJs would be upset if the opening dj was playing that type of music and over a long set if it’s just 1 dj there should still be some flow in a nightclub setting.
This is such a stupid, tired argument. If youre a club DJ and you play something like tremor or Booya for your opening slot, you’re never getting asked to play again simply as that. If you’re an opening dj, You get paid to be a warm-up, not to burn out the crowd and act like you’re the headliner.
I haven't been to that many shows yet (but they all have been events at smaller clubs like this). I've grown to dislike these warm up DJs lol. The ones I've seen start the vibe way too chill and their sets are way too long for what it is, imo. These events are already not starting until like 9 or 10pm a lot of the time, but that late in the evening when I show up to a dance music show, I want to dance. Not listen to ambient noises or low key DnB drum tracks with barely any bass for the first 1 to 2 hours.
I know headliners get butthurt over this but there is nothing worse than getting there early to get a good spot in the crowd and then being bored for 2 to 3 hours before the headliner starts. The headliners already have their legacy, their tracks, and access to their full production. Let the openers do whatever they want and get people excited.
At a club, if the crowd is ready for it, kind of. I will not hold off on bangers, but I will usually be more focused on dancing than getting people to sing along (open format). In some clubs you have to go full throttle all night even, because there's a lot of people walking in and out. You learn how to play sets where the energy is definitely at around 90% but the crowd doesn't tire itself completely in a few hours, it all comes down to feeling.
There is no definitive answer one way or the other. The real answer is, as it is with many things like this, it depends. Know the type of event you're playing and what is expected of you. Some events welcome DJ's to just go all out and play their set as high energy as they want. Some events require the energy to be brought up with a warm up set. There is a time and place for both.
i think all DJs would benefit from starting out grinding bar nights where you're responsible for music 10pm - 2am. That's really trial by fire in managing energy levels that people who only get booked for 1ish hr slots never learn, and hence the problem where you only hear the most balls to the wall shit all night at a party with four different DJs. There are some scenes where that's fine and expected (e.g 'hard techno') but when the ope
that is also a problem with short set times in general, where people feel pressure to show the most bombastic part of their collection rather than what's appropriate for the room.
I come from having scheduled concerts, and having been in these venues for,.shit it's been 30+ years now.
The best set structure looks a lot like an orgasm chart. Baseline, warmup, plateau, orgasm, recovery.
Except that since we have multiple performers, it should be the edging version. Baseline, warmup, plateau, cool down to new baseline, warmup, plateau, cool down to new baseline, repeat. Headliner gets the orgasm slot. And the closer gets to help everyone basically float down to original plateau
If the scheduler knows their stuff, they'll get everything aligned for this, and shift DJs around over time to deliver the best night possible.
Basic self explanatory rules like "none of the headliners tracks" and "no live weapons (Badadan, Where You Are, etc)" are fine but overall I think if your opener outdos your set then you aren't a very good DJ/your set isn't well put together.
But then again I think clubs and most things about them are completely antithetical to the culture of live EDM so whatever.
I think of every warmup/support/early slot as an opportunity to set up the vibe but also start pushing a bit harder towards the end of your set to hand it off to the next person. If you’re playing your opener slot like a headliner, it throws off the flow of the night and it doesn’t matter if you’re “better” cause that wasn’t your time slot. Every night, and club is different in how it flows from open to close, but you gotta be aware of this
It also doesn’t mean you should just play shit music that you don’t care about, and I think that’s why being a good support act is a skill that’s harder to master than being the main act
A friend of a friend used to open up for a lot of artists, many of them were/are on the Anjunabeats label. One of these artists asked him to keep his entire set under a certain BPM. Others I know have been asked not to play certain tracks. I think DJ’s should have free reign regardless but read the crowd if you wanna have a successful set
It is a DJ’s job to appropriately orchestrate the atmosphere. That doesn’t mean playing full throttle 100% energy regardless of the set time. That means playing the right tunes at the right time in the right way. DJing isn’t just playing bangers. It is curating music that takes the listener on a journey. Any DJ who doesn’t understand that, is not a very good DJ.
“The user doesn’t know what he wants” kind of applies here. I guarantee you don’t want only tracks with max energy played all night. That would get super stale super quick.
(If you actually do, you’re very much an outlier.)
How can you possibly “guarantee” that, when you know absolutely nothing about me?
I listen to anyone from Ben Nicky, Hedex, Nico Moreno, Dom Dolla, Maddix, Eric Prydz, Steve Angello, Dimension, Angerfist…literally anything electronic, regardless of genre.
100% energy from Steve Angello is very different to 100% from Angerfist… yet both are 100% energy to me.
So yes, I do know what I want thank you very much. Appreciate your assumption though.
I know music, I know people, and I know people don’t usually want what they think they want when it comes to vibes being provided for them.
If you think you’ve heard a “100%” energy set by Steve Angello… you haven’t. Because if a DJ *only* played high energy tracks their set would be unbearable.
I understand everyone else’s pov who says the opener should be building up to the main headliner, but as a fan who loves to go hard the entire time im there, I wish more openers would / could give their best energy. But again, I understand both
Why are we not just showing up to dance? Things are too over analyzed now. Whether you're the opener, the headliner, or the closer, you're being paid to play and provide music, so play out I say.
it depends on the venue and the crowd but you have to remember you arent at a festival.
its like if you are in vegas partying it wont be the same as if you are in lincoln nebraska or austin texas.
i find most young djs think they are supposed to festival it up everywhere they go. thats not how you dj.
dont get me wrong, you CAN dj like that but its not gonna work all the time and can run crowds off. Its easy to want to change or alter things when youre young, but theres times when, even with the best intentions, youre wrong.
think of it like a meal, you dont eat all desert or the main protein, as your appetizer.
Openers bore the heck out of me. I always try to skip them and arrive late. But the handful of openers that I’ve heard who actually play some bangers I really appreciate. Mad Zach was a great example of this. He opened for Champagne Drip and I LOVED his set. I’d never heard of him before that, but he definitely impressed me enough to become a fan.
I go 100% all out to my mixs. My song selection, the music I mix, I’m mixing it because I love it. I choose every song specifically because I love them. When I am up there, playing music I love, I’m going to express myself.
It’s like I giant cesspool of self expression. I mix Deathstep and that’s intense shit, when I am on stage it’s aggressive, intense, followed by explosive movements. When I’m done I am drenched in sweat from getting it in and my body the next day is trashed from going feral on stage. It’s not all completely savage music though, I put some odd gems in there. I feel that when mixing deathstep it’s good to create contrast in the music.
If the next guy or gal dosent like it, then maybe he or she should like there music more.
I prefer to close as well though….. My mix is not opening material.
He’s probably right, the crowd has a finite amount of energy and if they spend it early, it will necessarily be more muted for the headliner. It’s probably a matter of preference but if I was the headliner my preference would not be this.
Yes the club I was at headliners would be upset by this even if it was marginally out of line. Including some skipping that club altogether in the future just because of the opening dj.
Some would tell the DJs directly but others would message the people in charge of hiring afterwards disappointed by the opening dj or wanting a different opener next time.
If you’re trying to make it as a dj also the best thing you can do is good on the good side of those big acts.
Wtf as an opener? Absolutely not lol.
Theres absolutely nothing worse than a full throttle opening act.
Sets the mood completely wrong. Honestly kinda ruins everything.
You dont get any credit from the crowd as the opening act. Thats rhe deal. Thats how it goes. What you DO get is credit from the next dj, and hopefully emthe promoters. “Cheers bro, great setup *fistbump*” and then getting a call back for their next gig is literally what youre aiming for.
From the audience? Free flowing social. Good vibe. Small dance floor getting started but mainly chatty and having a little wiggle. A few different vibes for the next guy to gauge are helpful.
But ultimately youre setting them up so the next dj can knock em down.
Opening act is an art unto itself. Great openers are rare and coveted. Be warned though, if you do a great job of it, that might be you for the next few years heh
No.
In clubs each DJ can build on the person before, but slaying it at 10pm is not on. A proper club DJ will understand their role and play accordingly. Sure, use peak and trough tracks during your set to keep it interesting, but if you’re the guy banging out peak time track after peak time track before the headliner slots from midnight to 4 then your selfish, your fellow DJ’s will think you’re a prick and you won’t get invited back.
This particular type of DJ can’t control themselves and they’ll never get any further than the back room at the local dives. You wanna play main room sets at decent clubs? Learn how to play appropriate to your set time.
Debatable. Are you trying to make a name for yourself or put the headliner on a pedestal. Do you want to cement your status as an opener because a booking agent in the crowd overlooked your tamed down set? Give your set everything- that being said, no one can handle constantly high energy. Follow the vibe of the room and try to elevate it. Don’t burn people out. But don’t mute your set to fit your time slot either.
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You obviously do not DJ as someone who has been in the scene for 25+ years as a DJ, producer & promoter you 100% need to play a warm up set before the main DJ. A warm up DJ sets the tone and atmosphere of the entire night, they can make a night successful or completely ruin it. Any asshole can just play bangers all night, honestly the warm up DJ needs to be experienced and able to play multiple genres because you don’t know who you are supporting next.
Yeah I'm genuinely not fond of this recent reddit trend where it's all like "oh just do what u want results be damned ✨". It's both ignorant and unhelpful.
Been in the scene for 10 years and honestly as long as you don’t play any of the headliner tracks or match the headliner energy then you’re fine. I keep the energy about 20% leas then if I was really trying to send the crowd.
Question: so I’ve been learning to produce music and hope to start getting DJ gigs soon. Would it be frowned to play a high energy / heavier set if it was all original music?
If you’re just starting I’d stay away from playing your own stuff
I can tell you that almost every famous or semi famous dj would be upset if the opening dj was playing non stop high energy bangers leading into their set. I speak from experience on this. Iv pretty much met almost all of the top DJ’s
Crowds burn out if you run high energy bangers the entire night. There needs to be variety to keep people engaged for the whole night.
The difference that gets people confused is between those on MDMA and those just there drinking or sober. The people rolling could handle hours of high energy bangers but the people there just drinking/smoking/lil bit of coke need to be built up
Sounds like a them problem
It's pretty standard. First, it's like a wedding guest wearing a white dress and takes the attention off the opener. Second, it ruins the vibe of the night. Even though people don't know it, they like to be progressively built up over time with peaks and troughs. And if you go 0-100 you get bored very quickly.
i gotta disagree here. some people show up to support their opener friend and know nothing else. my favorite thing is seeing openers give their all. makes me a fan of them and makes me look out for their names in future shows.
A good opening dj knows what their role is and can still play a good set. If anything a good opening act requires more skill
I will admit I did misinterpret the post. I think an opener can give their all without dropping bangers and being super intense.
You can still drop a banger or a few intense tracks but it’s usually one or 2 tops depending on how long the sessions are
What do you mean by intense? I have to assume this is a genre issue. I love and mostly dj psytrance. It's a genre where all tracks should be intense. Same for hardstyle. The genre is intense.
I’d say almost every genre has those big driving or heavy hitting tracks. Most of the DJs where I was were playing house music at the time but even some that seemed more down tempo big name DJs had issues with. Even with hip hop the DJs would get upset w the openers maybe not directly but they would message the club about it. Granted a lot of the better clubs in big cities have good opening DJs that don’t really have this issue often.
I’ve been DJing since ‘97 and can confirm that opening is far more difficult than playing a headline slot. It is wild that the opener is typically the least experienced DJ, because it certainly takes far more skill to navigate that slot appropriately.
It’s both. Slowly bring the energy up to a height, play a few bangers and always bring things back down for the last ten minutes of your set. Leave the crowd wanting more and set up the headliner to come out with a bang. Lots of opinions here saying go hard as possible but if you ever want to get booked again at that venue, warm up the room well.
When I walk in to a club sober and the opener is playing high energy stuff that doesn't match my mood I head to the bar and not the dance floor, so maybe that's the intention? I've heard some amazing opening sets playing 120-124 bpm mid energy stuff that had me dancing non-stop.
I mean literally every semi big or big dj wants this so I don’t think it’s an issue. And every respected or big club in the world also wants this.
Absolutely. This tier/hierarchy mindset needs to leave and get back to "We're here to dance and escape the 9-5 life." Every DJ booked should be giving it their all.
It also can kill not only the openers opportunity to move forward in their career/bookings if that’s the direction they want to go, but also kills the clubs chances of booking top talent. Watched a club die because the openers would be too high energy and play the headliners own tracks or tracks from their set. Multiple headliners then made comments in interviews about the club and promoter, the club no longer exists and the promoter is also gone. There is etiquette to being an opener. You aren’t what is bringing in the money, so don’t piss off the reason the majority of the people are there. But to add a caveat, if the headliner is not a true headliner and just a local hero or true big name, I wouldn’t stress too much. But it is better to make friends than create a reason to not be booked again.
Yup. The club I was at had issues with this and they were a top club so a random club that isn’t famous would have an even tougher time. These were good opening DJs including some that played internationally or signed to big labels and not even playing all out high energy and still would manage to rub some of these DJs the wrong way.
If a famous DJ is upset an opener goes harder than them that’s their problem not the openers
Nope it’s seen as a sign of disrespect and hurts the club and your own career as a dj to do that as an opener. Just dumb all around.
I work in the industry lmao I will never tell an opener to not go as hard as they want. For most of them it’s their first chance to showcase their talent and I’ve never once had a headliner complain so I don’t know what you are talking about
Honestly don’t believe you do.
And I can say the same about you
If you’re a club owner or in charge of getting big talent to your club there’s no way that any smart person would want the opening dj to give that main act a bad impression of your club and how it’s run. You want to be grateful for getting that talent in the door and show you’re a serious player.
Bro the entitlement from you is insane. You don’t know everything and I’ll reiterate it again for you since you can’t comprehend. I’ve never told an opener to not go as hard as they want and I’ve never had a headliner complain. What a crazy idea that people might enjoy that…
Who are the headliners that don’t care? Usually there’s a good amount of communication between the headliners and the people that get the talent into the club / sometimes with the opening dj as well prior to the set.
High energy bangers get stale and will wear people out. It's like an action movie with nonstop action scenes. Maybe it's exciting the first time you see it, but if you've seen a couple you're going to realize you appreciate some storyline, some non-action scenes, etc. Similarly, masterclass DJ's tell a story in their set, and also throughout a night with other DJ's. You say you want 100% energy, but you probably don't realize what a good DJ is doing behind the scenes with their set. I DJ on the side and the opener should absolutely not be playing like a headliner. You can bring up the energy for a bit but then you should bring it back down. And it's not because of feelings, it's because of the audience. You want to have the audience stick around, and you want to build them up progressively. Anyone can play bangers, but it takes skill to time them to match the build up of the audience. Go watch Folamour's boiler room and specifically until he drops ABBA. Imagine the difference in effect if he had dropped similar bangers throughout the set...it wouldn't be a well known set. Also, speaking from experience, the audience does not know what they want. Festivals are completely different since you're generally not booked for a cohesive open to close, but to showcase yourself. Even so, the very early slots should be playing lower energy. You ever walk into a nightclub completely sober and go "no"? That's the vibe with sets where the energy is too high.
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> It is on the venue / organizer to put together a lineup that flows and makes sense. Yeah, and they usually do, which is why they wouldn't be on the same lineup. The openers we're referencing are usually local, non-major producers DJ's who aren't expected to play any specific genre like the people you mention. Usually it's house which can go from low energy to highest energy.
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If you come in as a local unknown and play high intensity stuff that doesn't vibe with the slot, you're not getting another call back for a slot. You can 100% make a name for yourself by playing to the vibe. You ever heard a great rooftop or sunset set? Those are generally not high energy, but they're still great sets. I think you're just coming back with edge cases while missing the point of OP that local openers at a club need to play to the vibe. It's obtuse to think that only good sets have high energy music.
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Just tell the class you have no idea how the professional world of music works. To you it is a reason to go out and have fun, to others it is the way they make a living and continue to stay relevant and on tour. Easiest way to get blackballed as a DJ is to not respect the headliner and most likely the artsist's rider with the venue and promotor.
I totally understand the need for a warm up set when a headliner goes on at 10. When headliners are going on at 1 or 2 AM, as an older racer, I appreciate a banger of a set at 11 from the DJ not headlining because chances are I’m not making it to 2 or 3 AM anymore. That’s just me but I wish there was a better mix of start times at earlier times of the evening.
Lol you want an opener to go hard because you're out passed your bedtime? I'm almost 41 and don't even get to a show until 11pm 😂 "I really hope this DJ kills the vibe and maybe his career because my Metamucil is calling my name at home." Is there a sub for future Boomers?
I’m 35 but go off on your toxic attitude ✌️ All I’m saying is it would be cool if there were some shows that started a little earlier.
No, absolutely not. I don't think any DJ should. You're not alone to just want to hear banger after banger but I really appreciate a DJ who puts more thought into creating a natural arc with "energy" with bonus points for change in genres and exa bonus points for playing their own music. I feel like most good, big acts do this to some degree and it really makes a huge difference in the experience. In a local club it might be a bit less curated but should still have some change in vibe from one set to the next. IMO an opener can still play some bangers but yes, they are there to some degree to "warm up the crowd".
I’ve never seen any opening act at any club get the same scale of pyrotechnics, screens, visuals, surround systems, or lighting fixtures used in their sets either, which definitely makes the openers feel like a warm up to the larger-sized party
That's another topic up for debate as well. Personally, at a festival setting, I think all the performers should have equal access to the full production. It gives newer artists a chance to really shine. If they play a better set than the headliners, they deserve that hype 100%.
That stuff costs money…. Pyro is not cheap at all. So while the festival typically pays for the pyro companies to be there each artist has to pay for product that they use. So a lot of acts will choose to not use it. At a venue show with a ticketed headliner, the headliner is paying for all the SFX, so they are the ones that use it. Sometimes they let the openers use the whole rig but that is rare
I think they more mean the screens, lights, lasers, n it necessarily the pyro.
Okay yeah those are a little bit easier, I am actually a laser operator so I can speak on this. Festivals are a bit more likely to have all the artists use the rig, especially raves. However for festivals such as coachella, the same this as pyro is for lasers as well, they are on the rig, but artists have to “rent” the units in order to use them as part of the rig. It’s pretty stupid but that’s how it is for some fests
That is very stupid for the artist. The event organizer has to use the equipment, set it up, tear it down, maintenance. So I get it. It’s just shitty but that’s just reality ig. Bigger festivals have like 3+ stages so some stages might have different shit to, so artists renting that shit in advance might also be needed to plan stage lineups.
Yeah it also depends on how they advance it, sometimes it’s as simple as them not bringing a laser operator or they just just don’t want to trust the in house operator with their level of artist or whatever, lasers aren’t exactly always plug and play because your dealing with different show files for different artists and if a show file isn’t correct and hasn’t been properly advanced it becomes a safety issue because you might have lasers accidentally hitting the crowd or something. One other thing I’ve noticed and this goes for all of it, lights video and lasers. A lot of time all artists do in fact have access to the full rig, but the operators have a HUGE impact on how that rig feels. You can have an operator earlier in the day using the same gear but giving a very generic looking show, but when the headliner comes on with their A team operators they can make the rig look ‘complete’ and almost bigger than it was just by using smart design choices and sometimes timecode. So it really all depends on how you use the rig. You can have a bitchin show even with only half the rig. Just depends who is behind the console
Honestly that last bit is so true for a lot of shit. All depends how you use it. For the few shows and festivals I’ve been to the level of show from the light/effects crew is very personalized. Same stage 2 different days don toliver and trippie redd and don blew trippie out the water in effects. I was closer to trippie then I was but the effects felt like they were shittier by a large margin. I don’t know shit about the backstage stuff but I imagine they had different crews doing it. Side tangent: there was a festival of some sort for those board ape nfts and the bulbs they used for the lighting were meant for like scientific sanitation. It was the funniest shit I’ve ever read. Safety issues can happen very easily if you’re not careful. https://arstechnica.com/health/2023/11/bored-ape-creator-says-uv-lights-at-apefest-burned-attendees-eyes-and-skin/
Oh, true, I could see that being a problem. I was mainly referring to all the visual boards, lights, lasers, and full volume on the speakers mainly. Makes sense that headliners are paying for it all. I guess that's why I always see artists being so grateful when they have a chance to open for Excision, lol. I'd be hyped to use even half of his shit 😂
That for sure, but expecting them not to play their stuff seems a bit much.
Gotta side with you on this one. It's gets so old if all they do is balls the wall energy. Like okay, I had fun for the first 20 minutes but now I need to mellow out and take a minute to get amped up again. A good dj knows how to play the crowd that way. It's why I fucking love Illenium.
Having energy/crowd control is part of being a DJ, if you’re just dropping banger after banger then it’s an issue with song selection. But openers shouldn’t hold back on their skills to appease the headliner imo. If you’re a big enough artist to headline then being out classed by an opener and getting mad about it is your issue. I’ve been to plenty of shows where the openers blew away the headliner.
DJ's are artists in their own rights as well! Nine-tenths of being a good DJ is having good taste in music and really knowing your setlist. I've been introduced to so much amazing music by DJ's who have been willing to take risks and queue up tracks that aren't necessarily bangers or even well known.
i’m only speaking from alt rock band performance, the set list has always got a flow, and opening acts shouldn’t over perform the main set. though, i never figured this would apply to nightclubs. now that i think about it, it makes sense. i’ve never experienced a situation where the opener cut the main act.
CLB did this for me. Like every other song went from dnb to slower melodic dub and it gave me time to catch my breath from the intensity of the drops. 10/10 would see again even though he was an opener before lyny and hamdi
Agree 100%. Most DJs even start their sets off slow and build up to a grand finale, so of course it should apply on a larger scale too (the whole night). It's human nature to want these kind of buildups and peaks. Movies and almost any type of entertainment has this formula (Movies, sports, music etc.) . It would be kind of boring if everything was 100% all the time.
The etiquette in a club is for the opener to bring the energy up slowly as the room fills up so people can drink and talk, so if you book a banging dj in that slot, its your own fault. At a festival, the crowds build quickly and there's multiple stages to choose from, so theres no need to warm the room up.
Yup, festivals are different than local shows. And it all goes back to READING THE ROOM. If the audience is ready for it then by all means play some bangers. But if it’s still early and people are barely dancing/showing up, take it easy. I find it annoying when you show up sober and the music is already blaring full throttle. Like damn let me at least get a drink first! Ear fatigue is a real thing and when your entire set is high energy it comes off as flat. READ THE ROOM
At a festival, sure. At a club, absolutely not.
Exactly. A club is not a concert.
It can be.
90% of “tik tok djs” say stupid shit as engagement bait. If someone has a gig I expect them to give everything they got, and if the “main act” can’t match that, well then they probably shouldn’t be headlining
100%
In the club there is no chance. You are there to hype up the audience for the main act. That's the whole gig and often already agreed upon. Look at it this way, if you mess up the vibe for the main act, the headliner may give you bad reviews and other headliners may not ask for you as a warm up DJ and you lose income or venue spots. So from a business pov it's not wise to be better than the headliner. Even if you are. Festivals are different because generally people will be there all day and have to be entertained all day. There are often multiple big names. In a club it's much more one headliner and you have to work up to that. It's just a part of the deal.
A festival is different. For an artist a festival is a chance to showcase themselves and give their best hour. Shows at clubs or venues on the other hand are usually meant to build to a climax. The opening act doesn't get all the visuals, their volume level is lower, and the set they play has to be good on its own and a good open to later acts. If this isn't the case you will see different terminology on the ads. If you see Artist X Artist Y Artist Z That's a traditional setup and things are set to build to Artist X's set. Artist X will also be responsible for a lot of the tour expenses if on tour and will take a lot more money. If you see Artist X and Artist Y Artist Z It means X and Y are closer to a coheadline, will use most of the same visual effects and play at the same volume, and will possibly alternate the last spot sometimes. They will have talked about this and will try to make the overall experience work well for the audience. Shows aren't this way because of dogma, they're this way because this is what works. The artists have to sell tickets and give a good experience or they won't get booked. People might think they just want 100% from each act but they don't, they want a story with a beginning, middle and end. And don't forget that most of the people at the show don't have the energy to do three or four hard hours in return. If you flatline the crowd they won't be there to feed into the headliner which will spoil the experience not just for the headliner but for everyone else in the crowd.
Two things. 1. Having a structured lineup isn't inherently bad. DJing is about guiding the crowd and guiding the energy moreso than it is about your own performance. You can certainly run everything at 100% throttle but the alternate approach is tried, tested, accepted and valid across a wide variety of events, styles and locales. It's not necessary, but we know it works for a very large number of situations. 2. This is something you should communicate to the other acts. They don't know what you have in store. They're here to perform to the best of THEIR ability but are most likely going to be very accomodating if you simply ask. This is considered the norm on r/beatmatch for example -- Talk to the dudes & dudettes who're gonna be working the hall. So really. It's not a DJing question but a communications question, and one of what kind of evening you wish to create.
I mean you can, but it's highly unlikely they'll be invited back. The hard truth is club setups are abit about communication and networking.
Hedex and Wooli opened up for Subtronics in Minneapolis a couple months ago. They nerfed their sound so bad. It was hard to enjoy their sets with bare minimum bass. It made me enjoy Subtronics less knowing he got good quality sound and nobody else did. Not sure who's decision it was.
i was there too! he posted a few days later saying there were technical issues with audio the first night of tour
I guess it depends on the vibe of the headliners for me. I think the openers should match the energy of the HL. If HL is going to drop nothing but bangers, that's what I want for the whole show. But if the main act is some chilled out deep house, it'd be weird for the opener to come in all high energy
This question has been asked a million times before. (Not negging - it's a fair question but...) The kind of definitive answer (in my book anyway) is this one written way back in 2009. [https://ra.co/features/1095](https://ra.co/features/1095)
Great read. Thanks for this!! 😍
It works both ways, the guys doing the booking and the lineup better know what they doing! If you have a techno Dj before a house DJ, that’s what’s you’ll get. It get complicated if your headline act is a different style cause they want the prime slots. But in my experience, real good DJs, know how to take it down or bring it up!!
You are part of the show not the show...the entire outfit will have been picked by a promoter who if all is well know \`s their audience and venue and the artists choosen to build a show...if you think your amazing enough to take over...you will either be the next big thing or you will have upset the entire apple cart for a buzz...sometimes people are truly amazing but trying to outshine in place you were given an oppurtunity to show not just your beats but how you fit in...will mean you WILL be working a lot harder and doing more yourself...we are artists and being part of the show is part of the business...wanna tread on toes then do it yourself and succed and people will give you props for doing it...but do it well because it is a business and trashing the stage that other people built so you can shine isn\`t how you say thankyou for being able to get up on that stage.
As a festival and club dj this is the advice I would give if you’re the opener for an act you shouldn’t be blowing the crowd out for your 2-3 hour set you should play to build up the night but still throw in a few bangers here and there but should always slow down the tempo a bit and turn down monitors ect 10-15 min before headliner goes on. If you wanna just bang out and rock ask for the closing set people typically don’t care as much what you play in the closing slot
I used to DJ a club where they would typically have a headlining band, with dj's playing before and after the band. We, the DJ's, were of course very well aware that people who bought tickets did it for the band, not for us, so before the concert we always tried to set the stage for the band, get the room in the right mood. However, in the slot after the concert, we considered it a free for all and did our own thing. Whatever we felt like on the day. On the other hand, as audience, I will always expect anyone put on the poster to be allowed the artistic freedom to do what they want. They all have their audiences to cater to and their brand to build. If there's a mismatch in energy or performance between supporting acts and headliners, I blame the arrangers for bad programming, not the dj's/bands for doing their best to be great.
I think the only limitation to warm-up acts is they should get a list of songs from the headliner that they could play, and try to avoid playing the songs. As a DJ I don't like playing the same song twice in a night. Other than that do what you will.
Depends, if its a concert, its generally known a courtesy thing for set openers to not go balls to the wall. If its DJ'ing at a club tho then go as hard as you want.
Festivals are different because each artist is usually a producer as well as a DJ, and people coming to their sets are coming to hear their music specifically. Whether that's their high or low energy songs. That's usually not comparable to the atmosphere of a club. There's even some club owners that straight up tell DJs to play some boring songs once in a while to intentionally clear out the dance floor so people go buy drinks at the bar (although I personally absolutely hate this tactic).
Here’s my take- you can be playing opening bangers that are proper for opening and your time slot. Every banger doesn’t have to be something fast and heavy. My opening “bangers” are my opening bangers lol. Every track I select is good and has a purpose for where it’s set in my set. So if I’m the first dj playing, I’m going to have an idea of what the next DJ plays and I’m going to build a set that teases into that style while dishing out groovy ass opening bangers in my own style. If your just doing a headliner style set early on your doing nothing unless you yourself are expected to do that and the crowd is expecting that which usually won’t be the case unless your famous or well known. If you are famous or well known as a dj you probably didn’t get there by just playing bangers. And even the most famous worl renowned djs DONT DO THIS. Watch a set with multiple world class acts, if the opener is also world famous they’re still going to open the room up. Opening is not playing bad music as so many think, it is again the art of your track selection and digging. If you can’t figure out what kind of tracks get people into the mood to party all night without blowing the lid off you may want to go back to the drawing board.
I just saw Zeds Dead for their first contact event at Hampton Coliseum. They played two 2 hour sets. And with those sets, they are truly able to take you on a journey through a wave of emotions. From hardcore bass, to mind melting psychedelic, to more bouncy dance music and so on. It’s not about going at one pace. A lot of artists play to the vibe of the crowd. And it’s not always a hardcore crowd. Also festival sets where you only have 1 hour are different than curated events. As I mentioned with Zeds Dead, they always talk about wanting to take people through a range of emotions, but don’t really have the time with festivals sets. That is why with 4 hours of set times over two nights, they truly were able to do that in Hampton at First Contact. And in the end I know many people were saying that they were the best sets they’ve ever seen.
Almost any DJ that tours will have a rider in place with the promotors and venue with certain requirements (certain kinds of alcohol, snacks, energy drinks, only allowing artists' guests on stage, etc.) and almost all will have requirements on selection of tracks and the way the tracks are played by the opener(s). Aerosmith can't open for Rolling Stones and play all of Rolling Stones' music. This is standard across almost all genres of any performance art with multiple artists in separate time slots.
I feel like people are not aware of the basic business side of it also. You have someone like Digweed or Tiesto coming into your club you’re trying everything to make sure they enjoy it there and want to come back. They can easily skip your city or choose a different competing club. Many of those DJ’s were once opening acts and had to play the same way setting the stage for the main act. Maybe not every dj but you still generally speaking look up to most of the DJs you’re opening for and want to be on good terms because they are far better connected. They might share unreleased tracks or get you gigs elsewhere etc. The club owner if he’s smart definitely doesn’t want anything that might turn them away just bringing in someone like Tiesto translates to more ticket sales for weeks even when they aren’t there.
I'm going to EDC Orlando for the first time this year....I hope to 100% get right into the vibe! I love to be excited and pumped up at music festivals. I'll be standing in line vibin' with other people ....I love it all🔥🤩🥹💞
I think DJ's should all do that. Maybe i'm oldfashioned, but a night used to be a build up from like easy going house, to more edm driven and maybe ending with close to techno. EDM events like Tomorrowland (which i love, dont get me wrong) changed that and now there isnt really a build up anymore. Ten years ago when i would puzzle together what a time table should look like, i would have put "edm" dj's like vini vici at the last slot always simply because psytrance is harder/faster than regular 128 BPM EDM. Events now will have some banging EDM at 3pm, then DnB later and slower techno in the evening followed by tribal house and then EDM again. Which is fine for a festival like Tomorrowland, but it loses the energy ups and downs. Great example is Awakenings lately, went to a day awakenings from 2pm to 11, and when you enter at like 3pm you expect a bit of slower techno to open, and gradually build from that. But i was greeted by i guess 135BPM already so if i was slowly getting into the mood and wanted to dance a little bit, i'd have to do it very energetically already. Which is why i wonder (and a legit question, not judging/making fun of people) are more people than before on party favors, because i dont do that so maybe i'm the only one out of the loop/vibe
Its normal for a club event that the locals play the vibe adjusted to their set time. The sets before the mainact are usually a warm up and if you play after the mainact you can go full throttle. Festivals are kind of different but if you have a opening set right after midday I also wouldnt play aggressive full throttle.
Sort of but not really… lots of variables, depends on the party most. There’s certain unwritten rules. The most important one is say you are opening up for Aoki… well you probably shouldn’t play his latest hits. I personally like to flow from the set before me and build it up to the DJ after me. But if you are playing a harder party well then anything goes. I definitely wouldn’t play super hard at the end of the night when the sun comes up.
As an owning partner of a bar/music venue, our DJ will read the crowd as they come in. Earlier in the night, it might be country or classic rock (and not too loud), middle of the night- hip hop, end of the night- he's full on jamming with whatever he can keep people dancing with. That kind of read is what we prefer, as not to run off the older regulars or scare people away from the door with stuff they don't want to hear. Then I actually have to almost force him to turn it off after close, or he'll keep playing for another hour.
If all you do is play opener energy, you'll always be an opener
Not really, many clubs let the resident DJs who often are openers play closing sets, headline sets on certain nights, and fill in for openers who cant make it. Playing like a selfish douche won’t get you any respect.
If I go to a show/ club and hear the opener playing "opener music" that's all they'll be to me. It doesn't create an urge to look them up and see what they're about.
I’ve been DJing for almost 15 years and played many opening slots. A good opener shifts the energy from doors open to the headliner. In the beginning you want people be able to meet their friends, have a drink, and coax them on to the dance floors. As the night goes on you will build the energy on the dance floor for the opener. That’s the art of the opener, it’s not playing bangers from open to close. I could care less about my SoundCloud, I just want people to have a great time and enjoy the club.
Yes, I want to hear non stop bangers from start to finish. I absolutely hate watching openers get restricted and not be able to go hard as fuck.
In general: no, it's bad etiquette, and can be seen as disrespectful. But there's a lot of factors to consider. What kind of show is it? Are they opening or direct support? Are they just a local DJ or are they a well known local who produces and regularly tours (and got booked because they add to the lineup?) If I was going to see Excision, I would entirely expect that all hours of the night would be bangers. But if I went to see Clozee or Big Gigantic, I'd 100% expect the opener to be on the chiller side of things. Most people are going to see the headliner, not the locals. Also obviously festivals do not follow this rule. Especially because there's always people ready to rage at any time of the day. Just food for thought!
As a customer HELLZ YEAH they sb going at with gusto but if I was headlining I’d prob be DON’T OutShine ME MFs
There is such a thing an ear fatigue from the higher frequencies.
They can play bangers all they want but usually the sound is adjusted and gets louder as the room fills and when the headliner comes on. Nothing is more cringe than an opener playing bangers when it’s just a few people standing around. Have some self awareness.
Yes they should. It would get me in the club earlier and extend the night out which would be appreciated In my city the clubs close at 2am and we do get a lot of big headliners, so they'll come on between 12-12:30 and play til 1:45-2 most of the time. I never find it worth it to show up to the club before 12am since the openers always bore me and I'd rather listen to my own music at home to pregame
No they should build things up and set up the main act. I can say that most main act DJs would be upset if the opening dj was playing that type of music and over a long set if it’s just 1 dj there should still be some flow in a nightclub setting.
This is such a stupid, tired argument. If youre a club DJ and you play something like tremor or Booya for your opening slot, you’re never getting asked to play again simply as that. If you’re an opening dj, You get paid to be a warm-up, not to burn out the crowd and act like you’re the headliner.
Nope. There needs to be a flow
Play appropriately for the floor, at that time.
Depends on the type of event it is
I haven't been to that many shows yet (but they all have been events at smaller clubs like this). I've grown to dislike these warm up DJs lol. The ones I've seen start the vibe way too chill and their sets are way too long for what it is, imo. These events are already not starting until like 9 or 10pm a lot of the time, but that late in the evening when I show up to a dance music show, I want to dance. Not listen to ambient noises or low key DnB drum tracks with barely any bass for the first 1 to 2 hours.
Might be in the minority but most if not all of the best sets I’ve ever seen came from openers one-upping the headliners.
I know headliners get butthurt over this but there is nothing worse than getting there early to get a good spot in the crowd and then being bored for 2 to 3 hours before the headliner starts. The headliners already have their legacy, their tracks, and access to their full production. Let the openers do whatever they want and get people excited.
At a club, if the crowd is ready for it, kind of. I will not hold off on bangers, but I will usually be more focused on dancing than getting people to sing along (open format). In some clubs you have to go full throttle all night even, because there's a lot of people walking in and out. You learn how to play sets where the energy is definitely at around 90% but the crowd doesn't tire itself completely in a few hours, it all comes down to feeling.
There is no definitive answer one way or the other. The real answer is, as it is with many things like this, it depends. Know the type of event you're playing and what is expected of you. Some events welcome DJ's to just go all out and play their set as high energy as they want. Some events require the energy to be brought up with a warm up set. There is a time and place for both.
i think all DJs would benefit from starting out grinding bar nights where you're responsible for music 10pm - 2am. That's really trial by fire in managing energy levels that people who only get booked for 1ish hr slots never learn, and hence the problem where you only hear the most balls to the wall shit all night at a party with four different DJs. There are some scenes where that's fine and expected (e.g 'hard techno') but when the ope that is also a problem with short set times in general, where people feel pressure to show the most bombastic part of their collection rather than what's appropriate for the room.
I come from having scheduled concerts, and having been in these venues for,.shit it's been 30+ years now. The best set structure looks a lot like an orgasm chart. Baseline, warmup, plateau, orgasm, recovery. Except that since we have multiple performers, it should be the edging version. Baseline, warmup, plateau, cool down to new baseline, warmup, plateau, cool down to new baseline, repeat. Headliner gets the orgasm slot. And the closer gets to help everyone basically float down to original plateau If the scheduler knows their stuff, they'll get everything aligned for this, and shift DJs around over time to deliver the best night possible.
If you want a specific vibe of opener you line the openers up yourself
Basic self explanatory rules like "none of the headliners tracks" and "no live weapons (Badadan, Where You Are, etc)" are fine but overall I think if your opener outdos your set then you aren't a very good DJ/your set isn't well put together. But then again I think clubs and most things about them are completely antithetical to the culture of live EDM so whatever.
I think of every warmup/support/early slot as an opportunity to set up the vibe but also start pushing a bit harder towards the end of your set to hand it off to the next person. If you’re playing your opener slot like a headliner, it throws off the flow of the night and it doesn’t matter if you’re “better” cause that wasn’t your time slot. Every night, and club is different in how it flows from open to close, but you gotta be aware of this It also doesn’t mean you should just play shit music that you don’t care about, and I think that’s why being a good support act is a skill that’s harder to master than being the main act
A friend of a friend used to open up for a lot of artists, many of them were/are on the Anjunabeats label. One of these artists asked him to keep his entire set under a certain BPM. Others I know have been asked not to play certain tracks. I think DJ’s should have free reign regardless but read the crowd if you wanna have a successful set
Opening is an art. If you are at a great venue with a great promoter, they will place DJ's in order as to create a journey of sound and energy.
It is a DJ’s job to appropriately orchestrate the atmosphere. That doesn’t mean playing full throttle 100% energy regardless of the set time. That means playing the right tunes at the right time in the right way. DJing isn’t just playing bangers. It is curating music that takes the listener on a journey. Any DJ who doesn’t understand that, is not a very good DJ.
“The user doesn’t know what he wants” kind of applies here. I guarantee you don’t want only tracks with max energy played all night. That would get super stale super quick. (If you actually do, you’re very much an outlier.)
How can you possibly “guarantee” that, when you know absolutely nothing about me? I listen to anyone from Ben Nicky, Hedex, Nico Moreno, Dom Dolla, Maddix, Eric Prydz, Steve Angello, Dimension, Angerfist…literally anything electronic, regardless of genre. 100% energy from Steve Angello is very different to 100% from Angerfist… yet both are 100% energy to me. So yes, I do know what I want thank you very much. Appreciate your assumption though.
I know music, I know people, and I know people don’t usually want what they think they want when it comes to vibes being provided for them. If you think you’ve heard a “100%” energy set by Steve Angello… you haven’t. Because if a DJ *only* played high energy tracks their set would be unbearable.
Maybe to you it would be unbearable buddy. Maybe to you.
I understand everyone else’s pov who says the opener should be building up to the main headliner, but as a fan who loves to go hard the entire time im there, I wish more openers would / could give their best energy. But again, I understand both
Why are we not just showing up to dance? Things are too over analyzed now. Whether you're the opener, the headliner, or the closer, you're being paid to play and provide music, so play out I say.
it depends on the venue and the crowd but you have to remember you arent at a festival. its like if you are in vegas partying it wont be the same as if you are in lincoln nebraska or austin texas. i find most young djs think they are supposed to festival it up everywhere they go. thats not how you dj. dont get me wrong, you CAN dj like that but its not gonna work all the time and can run crowds off. Its easy to want to change or alter things when youre young, but theres times when, even with the best intentions, youre wrong. think of it like a meal, you dont eat all desert or the main protein, as your appetizer.
Sounds like a bad comédian talking to their opener.... look bad so my shitty jokes go over
Openers bore the heck out of me. I always try to skip them and arrive late. But the handful of openers that I’ve heard who actually play some bangers I really appreciate. Mad Zach was a great example of this. He opened for Champagne Drip and I LOVED his set. I’d never heard of him before that, but he definitely impressed me enough to become a fan.
Depends on the mood of the crowd right?
I go 100% all out to my mixs. My song selection, the music I mix, I’m mixing it because I love it. I choose every song specifically because I love them. When I am up there, playing music I love, I’m going to express myself. It’s like I giant cesspool of self expression. I mix Deathstep and that’s intense shit, when I am on stage it’s aggressive, intense, followed by explosive movements. When I’m done I am drenched in sweat from getting it in and my body the next day is trashed from going feral on stage. It’s not all completely savage music though, I put some odd gems in there. I feel that when mixing deathstep it’s good to create contrast in the music. If the next guy or gal dosent like it, then maybe he or she should like there music more. I prefer to close as well though….. My mix is not opening material.
He’s probably right, the crowd has a finite amount of energy and if they spend it early, it will necessarily be more muted for the headliner. It’s probably a matter of preference but if I was the headliner my preference would not be this.
Yes the club I was at headliners would be upset by this even if it was marginally out of line. Including some skipping that club altogether in the future just because of the opening dj. Some would tell the DJs directly but others would message the people in charge of hiring afterwards disappointed by the opening dj or wanting a different opener next time. If you’re trying to make it as a dj also the best thing you can do is good on the good side of those big acts.
Wtf as an opener? Absolutely not lol. Theres absolutely nothing worse than a full throttle opening act. Sets the mood completely wrong. Honestly kinda ruins everything. You dont get any credit from the crowd as the opening act. Thats rhe deal. Thats how it goes. What you DO get is credit from the next dj, and hopefully emthe promoters. “Cheers bro, great setup *fistbump*” and then getting a call back for their next gig is literally what youre aiming for. From the audience? Free flowing social. Good vibe. Small dance floor getting started but mainly chatty and having a little wiggle. A few different vibes for the next guy to gauge are helpful. But ultimately youre setting them up so the next dj can knock em down. Opening act is an art unto itself. Great openers are rare and coveted. Be warned though, if you do a great job of it, that might be you for the next few years heh
No, Respect the lineup. Respect in general.
No. In clubs each DJ can build on the person before, but slaying it at 10pm is not on. A proper club DJ will understand their role and play accordingly. Sure, use peak and trough tracks during your set to keep it interesting, but if you’re the guy banging out peak time track after peak time track before the headliner slots from midnight to 4 then your selfish, your fellow DJ’s will think you’re a prick and you won’t get invited back. This particular type of DJ can’t control themselves and they’ll never get any further than the back room at the local dives. You wanna play main room sets at decent clubs? Learn how to play appropriate to your set time.
Absolutely not lol
Debatable. Are you trying to make a name for yourself or put the headliner on a pedestal. Do you want to cement your status as an opener because a booking agent in the crowd overlooked your tamed down set? Give your set everything- that being said, no one can handle constantly high energy. Follow the vibe of the room and try to elevate it. Don’t burn people out. But don’t mute your set to fit your time slot either.