At Skazka Festival two hours prior to the doors opening. Photo: Schneider Family

No matter when my set time is – at 1 or 4 AM, I always try to arrive at the venue prior to the doors opening, especially if it’s the first time.

Is all the equipment function properly? Is the volume of the DJ monitors controlled from the Booth Monitor knob? Does it have sufficient overall volume or should I ask the sound engineer to turn it up? How does the acoustics sound in this room? Won’t that spotlight over there hit my eyes?

Does LINK work? Is the USB port for the USB-stick broken or should I play from my SD card today? Is this the right decks model for me or is it better to get a controller out of the backpack? Is there room on the table for a laptop, and if it isn’t enough, how can I move everything to make other artists feel comfortable too? Where should I put the recorder?

Are a sound guy and a stage manager here? What do they look like and where to find them in the middle of the night if necessary?

What’s the audience like tonight and what’s they up to? What tracks other DJ play? How do people react to them?

And it is only a small part of the technical and organizational question. Of course, you can’t think of everything, but if you know at least these moments in advance and not five minutes before your set in the middle of the night, chances for a successful performance slightly increase.

Ask a question