Over the weekend, London, England was the scene of a massive turnout of tens of thousands of people that danced in protest of the continued closure of nightclubs in the United Kingdom due to COVID-19 restrictions. The protest was organized by Save Our Scene UK, an organization formed to bring together people from the music industry to represent and protect the livelihood of venues, artists, and event staff. The Freedom to Dance event kicked off on Regent Street at 12:00 p.m. and involved four trucks with speakers that carried the party through the streets. The 1.7 mile route from the BBC building was scheduled to lead to Parliament Square in London. Protestors had four stages of music to enjoy.
Infamous and ever-traveling dj SUAT, also known as Zach Subri, joined in on the protest and hit the pavement with his mobile DJ rig, flanked by cheering, dancing, and smiling fans of music. At one point, SUAT encountered a policeman, who directed him to a street that is open to protestors. SUAT moved through the sea of people effortlessly, attracting a happy, joyful crowd wherever he went. There were similar scenes all over the streets of London.
June 21st this year was to be the date that restrictions were lifted on social contact, allowing the nightlife industry to open its doors to patron. Due to the concern over the B.1.617.2 variant of the SARS-COV-II virus, commonly referred to as the Delta variant, that was first identified in India.According to the National Health Service’s website, England is in the Step 3 phase of restrictions and is expected to move to Step 4 on July 19th. From June 21st onward, the government aims to have pilot events to study the safety of reopening events. It is a different story in the United States of America, where many states have already began reopening and festival season is in full swing. A two week review may bump up Freedom Day to July 5th, depending on the number of hospitalizations among other factors. Waiting in the wings will be a large number of people ready to revive nightlife and save the industry.
I was listening to electronic dance music without even knowing it when I was listening to Jock Jams in the 90s. Fast forward to my senior year in high school and I had discovered Fatboy Slim. I have been listening to edm ever since and love writing about new sounds, good sounds, and the music that makes us move.
