RORY JAMES WAS A SOUNDCLOUD RECOMMENDATION FROM WHAT I LISTEN TO. MAN, THEY NAILED IT.

‘What if the headliner doesn’t show up and you have to play the whole night??’  

I’ve played many opening/warm-up sets in my ‘moonlighting as a DJ’ career over the years, here in NY.  Over these years, I’ve found a system that works for me (and still stick by it) on how I prepare, and it all depends on who I am gonna to be opening for.  This way I can properly prepare, most importantly, the music I need for just the right level of energy I can reach, if I decide to take that route, without outshining the headliner.

Another thing I prep for is this ‘what if?’  So as I get myself prepared for the opening, I always make sure I throw in more than enough music in case this ‘what if’ comes true and the headliner actually does not make it, for whatever the reason, because that shit happens.  But, it has never happened to me..until now.

July 6th, I was scheduled to play an opening set for a specific Drumcode artist, in Atlanta.  I had prepped music appropriate for the night as it was the first time I was going to play a set geared towards an artist who dwells more in the techno realm….and that is not my usual go to style as many of you may know.   After a few stressful hours between the promoters and managers and the headliner dealing with delayed flights, I was told that the main act was not going to be able to make the gig.

At 10:30pm the promoter came up to me and said ‘Rory, the headliner isn’t gonna make it.  The night is yours.  Do what you can til closing.’  At this point (as slight panic set in for 9 seconds), I immediately thought I had to shift my set towards me….me as a DJ, the style I depict…the style a lot of you out there know me for. 

For longer sets, I like to go in with some sort of structure on how I can build the set and construct a full journey, but this one was special and impromptu.  

Here is my first ever ‘open-to close’ set - groovy…moody….raw…structured as it was happening.  This is where the night and the people that experienced it led me.

Thanks to Atlanta and the Substance crew for having me back once again, and to everyone who made it out on this night.  It is another night I’ll never forget.  As long as I have been doing this, I learned a lot about myself as a DJ.  Hopefully one day, I will be able to do an OTC right here in my hometown of Brooklyn..


Enjoy the journey..

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