Article by: Wendy Podmenik Darugar                

Photos by: Glenn Woodell and Wendy Podmenik Darugar

NORFOLK, VA — EDM= Electronic Dance Music. Sounds very impersonal, doesn’t it? But that’s really not the case. Wednesday night was an interesting journey for me at The NorVa, for it was the first time I’ve ever been to a rave or witnessed a dance party that lasted hours on end. Starting promptly at 8 PM, a lineup of EDM D.J.s that included Yacht Club (https://soundcloud.com/yachtclubperiod), Speaker of the House (https://soundcloud.com/speakerofthehouse), and Ookay (https://soundcloud.com/ookaymusic/) progressively pumped up the party to a fever pitch in preparation for The Chainsmokers to hit the stage in a burst of lasers, upright cannons shooting fog, confetti, and pulsating lights.

The Chainsmokers, an immensely popular EDM DJ duo, were initially formed in NYC in 2012. They hit the national scene hard in 2014 with the release of “#SELFIES”, which reached #16 on the U.S. Charts. As a follow-up, Andrew Taggart and Alex Pall recently released their EP “Bouquet” on October 2015, which includes 5 singles- among them are “Roses” and “New York City”. (http://www.thechainsmokers.com/music)

The scene at the show in Norfolk had a veritable bouncing sea of people who all seemed to share a collective consciousness and a flow with the D.J.s, who nearly seamlessly switched off shifts at the turntables onstage. There were some small mosh pits, some crowd surfing, and for a packed house, it was a friendly crowd who were there to dance the night away. Catch The Chainsmokers on their “Friendzone” tour, and bring your friends with you to the party.

Upcoming tour dates:

October 30, The Electric Factory, Philadephia PA

October 31, Echostage, Washington D.C.

November 1, The Space at Westbury, Westbury, NY

November 3, Calvin Theatre, Northhampton MA

November 4, The Dome, Wallingford, CT

November 5, Hakkasan, Las Vegas, NV

Additional dates can be found at http://www.thechainsmokers.com/shows