William Sami Étienne Grigahcine, whose stage name is DJ Snake, is a Grammy-nominated French DJ who knows how to produce banger after banger. The list of what he’s produced is endless and he skyrocketed to commercial success in 2013 with the hit songs Bird Song and Turn Down For What which features Lil Jon. He also collaborated on the mega-successful 2015 song, Lean On with Major Lazer and MØ, whose show I also attended on assignment for KMC last month.
I’ve been listening to DJ Snake’s music since he first got big and his music always has a way of making you want to dance. Whether or not you’re a fan of EDM, you definitely know a song or two of his that you enjoy. The energy of his music is infectious and always a good time. What sets him apart from his peers are the instantly recognizable melodies of his songs. Born to an Algerian mother and a French father, it’s easy to hear different cultural beats and sounds in his music.
At his sold-out show in the massive Avant Gardner outdoor event hall, Brooklyn Mirage, Snake pulled out all the stops for an amazing experience. Even though it was raining, it didn’t stop concert-goers from putting on the ponchos provided by the venue in order to rage out at the rave. From stage flamethrowers to the standard colorful laser lights EDM shows are known for, this concert had it all.
As someone who typically frequents Brooklyn Mirage as an attendee, it’s quite a different experience when working an event there. Security was incredibly nice to me and let me weave in and out of all the VIP sections as I pleased in order to get the shots I needed. I almost had a snafu getting into the photo pit before DJ Snake was about to start his set because the door leading to the pit was blocked by the crowd. The dope security team and the group at the VIP table in front of the photo pit helped me climb over the railing in order to get in on time! It felt so rock ‘n roll.
For those not familiar with how EDM concerts go, DJs typically bring a couple of lesser-known DJs with them in order to hype up the audience and expose them to new listeners. For this show, DJ Snake had Devault and Habstrakt go consecutively before him as the opening DJs, and then as the main act, he went on at 1:00 am. After his set was done, another DJ named MIME closed out the show. I hadn’t previously heard of these three DJs, but from what I heard during their sets they played hype songs too. Habstrakt even came back out onstage in the middle of DJ Snake’s show and they jumped on stage together!
As of this writing, DJ Snake drops the music video to his newest song, Disco Maghreb at the end of May, is currently on tour until September 2022 and will be back in New York City for the Electric Zoo (EZoo) festival.
