I don’t think 4th of July will ever be the same for me. Yesterday, we celebrated our 243rd anniversary of independence in America. In addition to the patriotic celebrations was another one, taking place over at Seattle’s Mural Amphitheater, right under the famous Space Needle. It was Black Book In The Park and featured a few of biggest DJ’s in house music: Chris Lake, Justin Martin, Destructo, Noizu, VNSSA, and Darrius.
Put on by AMFAMFAMF & Seattle’s Studio 44, the show proved to be an incredible success. Not only did it sell out, but an air of positivity and happiness seemed to radiate through the entire space from start to finish.
It was a beautiful day and excitement was buzzing for all of the DJ’s. Darrius kicked things off in perfect fashion with bright house vibes, followed by VNSSA who brought her signature sound to the 1’s & 2’s.
Noizu took the stage after and brought the energy higher, spinning hits like “Dance”, “Rave Alarm”, “Lasers”, and his brand new one with Eli Brown, “Inside My Head”. It was my first time seeing him play and he was a thrill, as was his animated visuals!
As more people started to pool in, Destructo took over the decks after for 1 hour of energy packed g-house and night bass tracks that electrified the crowd. I haven’t seen a set like that in a long time and I know I speak for everyone when I say that was one set I’ll never forget.
Destructo took time to interact with the crowd, really making this feel like a family experience, and then brought up none other than the Dirtybird OG, Justin Martin. If you’ve ever seen Justin before, then you know that whenever he takes the stage, he just manages to blow people away with an incredible variety of tracks mixed perfectly to keep the crowd going crazy. He absolutely crushed it, even featuring a special Drum & Bass segment that just blew me away.
As the clock struck 8:30 PM, Justin Martin thanked the crowd and handed things over to the headliner, Chris Lake. Chris Lake’s career is nothing short of spectacular, and seeing him move thousands of people to his music was an unforgettable experience. He played all of his big tracks, like “Stay With Me”, “Lies, Deception, Fantasy”, “Deceiver”, as well as Anti-Up material, with each drop having the audience roar back in approval. One of the coolest moments was towards the end the show when he played an older hit, “Turn Off The Lights”, and everybody, 4,000 people, all sang it back to him.
Black Book In The Park was an amazing experience I’ll have in my memory for the rest of my life.
If you’re in Seattle August 4th, make sure to grab your tickets to see Dillon Francis, Party Favor, What So Not, & Wax Motif!