The beat drops where?

DJs on trains, gigs in elevators, concerts inside churches, raves at cafés. Don't be alarmed. Music venues are enjoying a bit of a stretch

- By Reshil Charles

It's one thing to walk into an elevator and hear Fatboy Slim. To walk into one and actually see them perform? Gosh, what a ride! Elevator Music, an American digital music platform, got the English musician and DJ to perform a one-hour set at the company's own private elevator in Chicago last year. We're guessing that everyone at the company made Right Here, Right Now jokes, so we won't. But we will tell you that music's biggest flex at the moment is getting bands and artists to play at unconventional venues.

In 2021, Switchfoot livestreamed themselves performing their hit, Float, while riding a hot-air balloon over San Diego. In India, Crab Culture, a music events and creative agency based in Gujarat, got a DJ to play a hip-hop set on a Mumbai train between Borivali and Bandra in October last year. They also organised a set inside the trailer of a moving tractor.

“For years, DJs made money mainly through performances at nightclubs and other venues,” says Dhiraaj Doriwala, founder of Crab Culture and the DJ who played on the Borivali-Bandra train. “With digital streams opening up, a video of a session in an abstract location gets me followers and views.”

Picking the right edgy venue, however, is only the first step. Musicians are slowly finding out that unusual venues come with unusual challenges too.