On most spring Saturdays, jersey and flannel-wearing students are seen shuffling from house to house on the numerous streets in Athens.
As people near Mill, High or Palmer streets, the sounds of music become clearer, and anticipation builds.
Local DJs feed off the energy of fest crowds and enjoy the freedom of building their own sets.
Bobby “Bobby Booshay” Fleck, a co-owner of Brick Life Entertainment, thinks it is exciting to perform at fests because he can read the crowd and figure out what songs to play next.
“Anybody can play a super hyped song, but it takes somebody who actually knows music and knows what they’re doing to then craft that one hype song into a whole set,” Fleck, a sophomore studying music production, said.
At the beginning of the fest day, Fleck said the atmosphere is more laid back, and the songs he plays reflect that environment. When the fest hits peak time — which was around noon at Mill Fest this year — the energy shifts and the songs become more energetic.
At peak times, Fleck said he gets into the zone and knows what songs he want to move to next.
“Obviously if you have a lot of high energy, you don’t want to go from a super high energy song to something more chill and laid back,” he said. “You want to keep that flowing for as long as possible.”
Chad “DJ Grey” Goldberg, a co-owner of Brick Life Entertainment, deejays at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, but likes the minimal pressure and freedom he has while performing at OU fests. His main goal when deejaying is to create a fun atmosphere for the crowd.
Fleck likes hearing feedback from the crowds, which he has recently received more often. He noticed more people are paying attention to the flow of the music, he said.
Though she has not been to many of the fests this year, Rebecca Steinberg, a senior studying geology, likes to hear different genres of music at the houses. Some of the music she likes to listen to at fests include dance alternative and EDM. She also enjoys houses that book local artists.
“(The music acts) really bring the environment,” she said. “If there wasn’t music, it wouldn’t be a party environment.”
Fleck does not come up with a setlist before a deejaying gig, something he stopped doing a couple of years ago, he said. Instead, he freestyles his sets and feeds off the reactions of the crowd.
At fests, Fleck plays a lot of rap music and throws in some EDM when it works. One of his must-play songs is Migos’ “Bad and Boujee,” he said.
Fleck also plays a remixed version of “Welcome to the Jungle” by Alvaro and Mercer. When the beat drops, the song says, “Welcome to the jungle, bitch.” Instead of saying “jungle,” Fleck formatted the song to say “Ohio.” The remix gets him and the audience engaged in whatever event he is deejaying, he said.
Goldberg, a freshman studying business, likes to play EDM songs, but he always plays “All I Do Is Win” by DJ Khaled. People react well to the song, he said, and if he cuts off the music, people continue to sing along.
The worst part about deejaying fests is not being in the crowd, Goldberg said, but between sets he ventures into the mass of people that is throwing beers around, jumping and screaming. Even when he is on stage, he is still trying to connect with the audience.
“You feel that up on stage. Everybody is looking at you — you’re controlling what they do and the fact that you have the power to do that gives you a unique energy.”
