David Guetta Celebrates the Return of Live Music and Reopening of Music Venues
Date: June 17th, 2021
Venue: Echostage
Washington, DC
Holy wow!! We. Are. Back! After what felt like forever, concerts have returned and you better believe that I am here to share how incredible it was to be back in a venue surrounded by fans and the energy you can only find at a concert. You know what I’m talking about. Before we dive in though, allow me to introduce myself. I’m Derek, a photographer and all-around music lover here in Washington, DC. Like many, I have been so eager to experience live music again and it finally happened! I have to admit, I was a bit nervous because it had been so long since I covered a show, but I packed my camera bag and made my way to Echostage for a night that will certainly stay with me forever.
Echostage, like many venues in DC and around the globe, have been empty over the last year. Just last week, the DC government lifted capacity limits for all venues as over 70% of the local community had been vaccinated and music venues were eager to welcome fans back into their space. To celebrate the reopening of Echostage, one of the most premier nightclub/concert venue hybrids in the world, they went big. David Guetta is a Grammy Award winning DJ, producer and songwriter who is responsible for some of the biggest hits over the last two decades.
Upon arriving at the venue, there was a line of fans waiting to get into the sold out show that stretched about about a block and a half, and that was 30 minutes after the doors had opened. It was easy to tell that people were ready to party as some wore their rave outfits, complete with glitter and neon glasses.
As I entered, the feeling of bass pulsating throughout the club mixed with the haze and lights immediately felt like home and as if live music had never skipped a beat (pun intended).
Kicking things off was DC based DJ George Tsakiris who was creating vibes to get the crowd moving and dancing as the room continued to fill with people. Occasionally a group would start dancing and a circle would form around them as everyone cheered them on. Others would jump in to join the excitement, proving the sense of community and being welcome and free that concerts brought had not gone anywhere.
Around 10:30 PM artist, producer and DJ dot took the stage and the energy continued to rise. As her set progressed, the lights got more lively and the big screens kicked on with graphics accenting the sounds heard throughout.
As the clock struck midnight, it was time for the main event. The crowd began to chant “David! David! David!” and damn how I missed hearing a crowd do that. The lights took over and the suspense building music began. David ran onto the stage to the sound of hundreds of excited fans and our journey began.
David is known for working with some of the world’s biggest artists so his set transported us through time with hits like “Memories” featuring Kid Cudi, “Sexy Bitch” featuring Akon, and “Hey Mama” featuring Nicki Minaj, Bebe Rexha and Afrojack. Some classics were brought to new life in ways that only David can do such as “Dreams” by Fleetwood Mac and “Free Fallin’” by Tom Petty.
As the set progressed the levels of energy only continued to rise, as he threw in some new hits like the social media phenomenon “Astronaut In The Ocean” by Masked Wolf and some of David’s newer hits songs such as “Let’s Love” featuring Sia. All were accented even more with beat drops accompanied by cryo jets, lasers and confetti!
Throughout the night you could tell by the faces of the fans as well as David that it was so wonderful to be back together and celebrate music. It’s something many of us may have taken for granted before last year, so do yourself a favor…buy a concert ticket, live in the moment, and sing at the top of your lungs.
Fan-da-monium
Check out where David will be next by clicking here and grab tickets to one of his upcoming shows in Las Vegas, Houston, TX, or even Ukraine.
It certainly was a night of music that I won’t soon forget. If you happened to capture any shots of the night, feel free to tag us on social media as Shutter 16 Magazine and throw in #Shutter16 and #TwitFromThePit for the world to see.
