Remember when Steam was Vagabond and Bounce Thursdays was serving up the heavy bass on a weekly basis? That was the ish, nah? It sucks those days had to come to an end.
Syke! The old Bounce crew is getting the party back together, but it's not going to be the same. Steam Thursdays now belong to Dance Department, and the bass will be hard and villainous.
Toward the bigger and better trend, Dance Department will feature a headlining national act every week, with bookings in place now through April, including upcoming sets from DJ Sliink and Astronomar.
"We wanted to try and bring it back," says Dance Department's Jason Shaw. "We're familiar with the scene, we love the guys over there, the sound system is incredible, which is very important to bass music."
The party is still 18 and up, because Dance Department is looking for a youthful, high-energy crowd. If college kids are anything like we remember, their weekend starts on Thursday. Shaw and his crew are trying to give students that jump-start they crave. Of course, an intrinsic part of the college experience is a pesky dorm-sized budget. That's why Dance Department will always start its ticket prices at an easy $10.
"The Thursday scene really for college kids is the Grove or bars or 21-plus clubs, and there's nothing cheap and inclusive for the 18 and up crowd that provides headliners, is cheap, and consistent," Shaw says. "We want to be able to have them back, make sure they're comfortable every week, and give an alternative to the regular bar-hopping thing they usually do."
If partiers are of age to drink, they can take advantage of weekly drink specials from $150 top-shelf bottles through midnight, $10 mixed drinks, and $5 tequila shots all night. Because Dance Department is all about that bass -- whether it be trap, dubstep, moombahton, or whatever -- it also goes hand-in-hand with that turn-up. The dress code is relaxed too, so there's no need to worry about twerkin' in heels, unless you're into that sort of thing.
"We're really just trying to create a very inclusive environment," Shaw says. "We're not targeting the LIV demographic."
Here's the upcoming schedule:
February 12 - Valentino Khan
February 19 - Etc! Etc!
February 26 - Luminox
March 5 - Astronomar, X, DJ Sliink
March 12 - Kennedy Jones
March 19 - Surprise WMC/MMW guest
Dance Department featuring Luminox. Thursday, February 26, at Steam, 30 NE 14th St., Miami. Ages 18 and up. The party starts at 10 p.m., and tickets cost $10 plus fees via wantickets.com. Call 786-516-3393, or visit steammiami.com.
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