What a way to ring in the 2021 New Year

This is not what we all had expected, but it was needed. Deadmau5 Park N’ Rave series on New Years Eve at the NOS Events Center brought the dance world together to celebrate the ending of a very tumultuous year and hopefully ring in to a much better 2021. For 4 hours, attendees were together under a starry sky, letting music absolve them of personal worries, stress and allowed them to dance together with their loved ones. While it would have been great to roam around to see familiar faces or meet new friends, I was going to take what I could get, considering that no event could have gone on.

My group and I were front row center and I was just grateful to be together with good company. 2020 really showed me how much I missed live events. It’s an ambiance you can’t recreate with live streams because the vibe can only be felt when you are surrounded with others who enjoy the music just as much as you would.

Deadmau5 was joined by two other artists under his Mau5trap label to include Speaker Honey, and No Mana. This was Speaker Honey’s first time opening for Deadmau5 since being a part of the label. She is one of the fresh new faces and 2020 was quite the year with an EP release which were featured on this night. Based out of San Diego, Speaker Honey brought us her funky and intoxicating sound. It was my first time seeing her and her set was banging from start to finish. She played some of her biggest hits to include Shoyu, 2020 and Take Me to the Underground. She’s an artist you would not want to sleep on.

On for the next hour was No Mana who took us on yet another incredible journey, dropping a handful of IDs as well as well known remixes and tracks of his production. No Mana is a self-taught music producer who blends together hard pounding beats, and funky melodies to compliment his pixel art visual that he is also well known for. The last time I saw him was at Day Trip at the Academy in 2019 and it was a good time. His opening set had about six IDs along with some releases off the Mau5trap label and his collaboration with i_O.

Which brings me to Deadmau5 aka Joel. He spent time before and after the show interacting with his fans from the stage. Deadmau5 is always a surprise. There is no knowing if it’s going to be a festival type set or a more personalized one like his cube shows. Festival sets aren’t his thing but this set was perfect for the crowd, the venue and the evening. He played some well beloved tracks to include – 2448, Imaginary Friends, Ghosts n’ Stuff and closed out the night with a personal favorite Strobe.

A little before the end of the first hour, Deadmau5 had a special guest Kiesza who sang live to their new track Bridged by a Lightwave. It was quite unexpected and at first I didn’t know what to think with the eccentric dance moves by Kiesza, nor did I recognize who it was; but she is famously known for her song Hideaway.

Deadmau5 ended promptly at 10pm, and because it was New Years in Chicago, we had a countdown for them and shouted Happy New Year in celebration early.

His cube show would’ve been great to end the year but something isbetter than nothing, and I was glad to have seen an artist that knows how to mix well and entertain the crowd. Four hours of incredible music, making you bop your head to the beat, or shuffle your feet to the melodies. Deadmau5 Park n’ Rave was a great way to end the year and ring in a New Year.

-Sharissa