Light-up shutter shades flashed across the dance floor as glow sticks cut through dim purple and pink lighting. A projected lineup of DJ names hovered behind the booth while students moved in and out of the space, some dancing, others chatting with friends nearby.
In the William C. Powers, Jr. Student Activity Center Ballroom on Tuesday, Campus Events + Entertainment hosted “Boiler Room,” a two-hour music event featuring sets from urban studies senior Owen Smith and DJ Divinity, a student at Texas State University. Organizers said they planned the event to give students an on-campus space to engage with live mixing in a low-pressure setting. The E+E Mainstage Committee chair, Lexi Meador, Plan II and public relations junior, and event coordinator Anayla Wilson, radio-television-film junior, began planning the event in December.
“We know these kinds of events can be inaccessible,” Meador said. “There’s transportation issues and tickets can be incredibly expensive, so the opportunity to put on (free) events for students (on campus) is always exciting.”
Boiler Room takes its name from the London-based music platform known for underground DJ sets staged on the floor among the crowd rather than on a raised stage. E+E paired that reference with an emphasis on spotlighting campus and local DJs.
“Boiler Room is all about the intimacy of it,” Wilson said. “Bringing that close connection (and) putting away your doubts.”
Smith carried that intention into his set, mixing house, pop and rap selections ranging from Charli XCX to Playboi Carti.
“I like playing music that no matter (what), if there are 20 people or 200, people will still feel comfortable dancing because it’s just that infectious,” Smith said.
Reflecting on the event, Smith said the high production value set E+E’s Boiler Room performance apart from his other sets.
“I don’t usually DJ with (speakers) that nice (and) I don’t ever have a presentation behind me,” Smith said. “It was a well put-together event, which made it feel like there was pressure on me to have a well put-together set.”
DJ Divinity followed with a set blending Beyoncé, Rihanna and Y2K hits, shifting how students moved through the room. Some filtered back onto the dance floor while others stepped aside to talk, letting the night unfold at their pace.
“(The DJs) have different sounds because they’re coming from different backgrounds and often perform for different audiences,” Wilson said. “I wanted to highlight those differences and how music can unify everyone.”
For attendee and health promotion and behavioral science junior, Kaylin Lehmann, the event offered an accessible entry point into an often unfamiliar scene.
“The EDM and rave scene is big in Austin,” Lehmann said. “It was nice for them to bring it into a safe place facilitated by UT because it is intimidating to go to a rave in college.”
