In a scene the place competitors is commonly the default, home music manufacturers might look like they’re battling for a similar territory, chasing comparable followers, bookings and market share. However for Dirtybird’s Label Supervisor and Expertise Purchaser, Deron Delgado, and House Bass’ Founder, Brian Thomas, a shared imaginative and prescient is an open door—not a dividing line.
That ethos laid the muse for this yr’s Dirtybird CampINN, a resort-takeover pageant taking place over Labor Day Weekend in Orlando, Florida. As Dirtybird celebrates its twentieth birthday, CampINN will provide stage takeovers to Defected, Desert Hearts and FriendShip.
Delgado mentioned the collaborations mirror Dirtybird’s aim of reclaiming considered one of EDM’s core values: inclusivity. After twenty years within the scene, he sees that worth slipping away, changed by a tradition of competitors pushed by trade giants like Dwell Nation.
In a panorama the place unbiased occasions have gotten an endangered species, Delgado says group and collaboration matter now greater than ever.
“Dance music typically has all the time been inclusive, however typically on this world of festivals and concert events, it is like, ‘I’ve my radius and you may’t play inside it.’ It may be very aggressive and unique,” Delgado tells EDM.com. “However unbiased festivals can sort of do what they need. We are able to all reside in the identical universe collectively. It does not need to be so aggressive. And that is the place these takeovers got here in.”
Delgado, who lower his tooth within the San Francisco scene with Dirtybird originators Barclay Crenshaw and Justin and Christian Martin, calls this collaborative mindset “increasing the flock”: the model’s mission to unite fanbases and foster cross-brand partnerships.
With roughly 60 artists having launched music on each Dirtybird and Defected, Delgado mentioned it was “a pure factor to work collectively.” That very same synergy extends to FriendShip, whose offbeat power and roster usually overlaps with that of Dirtybird. Relating to Desert Hearts, Delgado put it merely: they’re “two peas in a pod” who share West Coast roots, a loyal following and a aptitude for the wild.
Whereas some could view these manufacturers as rivals, Delgado believes their shared DNA is exactly what makes these partnerships work so effectively.
“Whereas the branding is perhaps completely different, the imaginative and prescient continues to be the identical,” Delgado defined. “Whenever you peel the layers of the onion again, you may see we’re all lower from the identical material. For us, it’s attempting to return to the roots of being inclusive and making it about everybody, quite than, ‘we have to have our part of the pie, and you may’t have any chunk of it.'”
For Thomas, who first pitched the resort-takeover idea to Crenshaw over dinner pre-pandemic, the liberty to curate actually various lineups is one more reason why boutique festivals like CampINN have such an edge.
“That is what’s so nice about unbiased festivals: we get to create issues how we wish,” he mentioned. “We now have that flexibility and we actually take into consideration the group. That is what I like.”
Anchor festivals like Extremely and EDC usually function a gateway for brand new ravers, however as soon as followers get that first style, they begin on the lookout for one thing extra private. That’s the place unbiased occasions like CampINN shine.
“We get lots of people who’re exploring new music,” Thomas mentioned. “As soon as individuals get hooked on festivals, they ask, ‘what else is on the market?’ [CampINN] is what else is on the market. That is the place we get to ship that have to new individuals who wish to do one thing completely different.”
With the inventive freedom comes a way of accountability, and a deep belief between the group and the expertise shopping for staff. However that belief hasn’t been constructed in a single day—it has been 20 years within the making.
Identified for curating genre-bending lineups that merge home, bass, hip-hip, techno, entice and extra, Dirtybird has lengthy embraced its function as a tastemaker. As an alternative of following tendencies, the label focuses on uplifting rising expertise and betting on sound over standing.
“We have all the time been the underdog in a way, and other people dismiss the foolish guys,” Delgado says. “For our festivals, we do not go and signal artists who’re the primary individual on Beatport proper now. We simply really feel the music is nice and we wish to give that shot.”
A lot of Dirtybird’s tracks come from artists who’ve by no means had a launch earlier than, Delgado defined, and that very same spirit carries over to their occasion bookings. As an alternative of recycling the identical ticket-selling names weekend after weekend, Dirtybird lineups not often repeat.
“It isn’t one massive hen on the prime of the helm. It’s extra about giving individuals the chance to to be part of one thing, and to make use of that model energy to carry individuals up, quite than chasing hits,” Delgado explains. “The ability of what individuals really feel is vital to us. We have been fortunate, after 20 years, to nonetheless be capable of have that freedom to place individuals on, and to be generally known as a curator, within the sense that individuals belief the model.”
As CampINN prepares to make its return after a two-year hiatus, it’s as soon as once more leaning on the belief and loyalty of its fanbase. For Thomas, who secured a brand new, bigger resort venue 2025, staying true to the pageant’s “authentic values,” together with their iconic summer time camp-themed actions, is a necessary a part of the method.
“It is crucially vital to maintain the core: the staff leaders, the Gator Gangs, the Flamingo Fams, and the Scuba Squads, whereas not altering an excessive amount of else of what the group values,” Thomas explains. “We’re enhancing the surroundings, the venue, the staging, the manufacturing, and all these items correlate with the expertise. However, it is the group that enhances it a lot extra.”
Putting the steadiness of staying true to CampINN’s quirky roots whereas delivering one thing contemporary and thrilling is paramount for the organizers. As EDM tradition expands past the membership into daytime events in coffeeshops, pizza joints and different unconventional areas, the music panorama and fan needs are rapidly evolving.
Delgado embraces this shift, recognizing the necessity to “create one thing that is distinctive, that individuals are going to wish to spend their hard-earned {dollars} on.”
“In instances like these with uncertainty, excessive costs and recessions, individuals are like, ‘why would I wish to go have the identical expertise, once I can have one thing completely different?'” he displays. “What we’re attempting to do is create an expertise, as a result of the followers now need extra out of their ticket value.”
Dirtybird has all the time had its feathers on the heartbeat of evolving fan expectations, from internet hosting barbecue events to delivering their signature summer time camp-style video games, all within the identify of serving up actually distinctive experiences. The manufacturers color-wars actions have been born from a need to push the boundaries of what a pageant may be, past the music.
In fact there will likely be music programming all day and night time, Delgado defined, however what concerning the downtime? What occurs when followers want a break from dancing for 3 days straight? That query sparked the creation of Dirtybird’s now-iconic video games, that are playful, ridiculous and designed to ship a heavy dose of childlike surprise.
Thomas mentioned he appreciates how the video games encourage followers to “meet someone new, have enjoyable and let free, and do one thing new that you simply would not have tried when you hadn’t come to CampINN.”
“The music is what introduced us collectively, however the video games and actions is what grows the group deeper and higher,” he says.
Along with playful absurdity of speed-walking contests, sack races and egg tosses with festival-goers, the video games additionally contain the artists themselves. As an alternative of a typical meet-and-greet with artists signing merch behind a desk, Dirtybird takes a unique strategy.
Followers might discover themselves enjoying dodgeball with Sacha Robotti or teaming up with Will Clarke in archery. By weaving the artists into the video games, the expertise transcends past a handshake and a whats up, to shared laughter and real connection.
Delgado mentioned Dirtybird fosters “group and camaraderie between the followers, the artists and the manufacturing staff” all through each facet of their festivals. This sentiment extends all the way in which to their stage design. Moderately than constructing towering, unapproachable phases that starkly separate artists from the group, Dirtybird deliberately invitations followers nearer.
“We like individuals proper there, the place you may contact them and shake their fingers, as a substitute of followers wanting up in awe and worship,” Delgado says. “It’s extra like, ‘we’re on the identical staff right here. I can not carry out with out you guys dancing, and you may’t dance if I don’t carry out. So how can we break that barrier down?”
This immersive, up-close expertise is a part of CampINN’s magic. The pageant’s signature wackiness contributes to a vibe that feels each wild and deeply private, a pure extension of the pageant’s dedication to breaking down obstacles and conserving issues human.
In a time when followers are craving experiences that really feel contemporary and distinctive, CampINN delivers. Whenever you combine all that freedom with floaty races within the pool, comedy exhibits and all-night resort chaos, the result’s some actually unforgettable reminiscences.
For Delgado, one of many prime highlights was seeing GRiZ—simply forward of his hiatus—enjoying a b2b DJ set with Justin Jay at CampINN 2023 after their solo performances. Whereas the distinction between their respective artistries is placing, the surprising efficiency labored completely. To Delgado, it was “the epitome of precisely what we’re attempting to do and achieve.”
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Thomas, who has a selected love for CampINN’s playful prank tradition, shared a standout reminiscence when he was on the receiving finish.
“I obtained a name on the safety radio to go to the ladies’s restroom as a result of there was one thing occurring over there,” he recollects. “I stroll in, and it is the Flamingo Fam dressed up as shrimp, handing out shrimp cocktail. It was one of many wildest experiences, seeing individuals singing, cheerleading and consuming cocktail shrimp within the rest room.”
Whereas the pageant panorama is more and more dominated by the predictable, CampINN is proof that occasions can nonetheless shock you, particularly after they’re constructed on inclusivity, range and pure silliness.
Scheduled for August twenty ninth to September 2nd, Dirtybird CampINN 2025 will characteristic performances by Destructo, VNSSA, Eats Every thing, Kevin Saunderson, TroyBoi, Rusko, The Glitch Mob, Mikey Lion and EDM.com Class of 2022 star ACRAZE, amongst many others. Tickets can be found here.
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