Yo DC ravers — what's good?

The May 8–10 weekend is leaner than last week in terms of sheer volume, but what's here is worth paying attention to. Friday is the one you'll have to make decisions on — a lot of different rooms running simultaneously, and a couple of early shows worth planning around. Saturday is Flash's busiest night of the three, running multiple rooms across early and late programming. Sunday is Francesca Lombardo at Flash for Sunday Love, which doesn't need much more than that.

Let's talk about the two anchors. Friday night's biggest booking is Chris Lorenzo going open-to-close at A.I. Warehouse for Nü Androids — the Birmingham-born bass house co-founder of Anti Up does not usually hand you four-plus hours of uninterrupted warehouse time in DC. This one is worth the full session. Echostage is running BUNT. the same night, which is a very different audience and a very different energy — folk-house, played in the round, more euphoric sing-along than basement techno. Both are legitimate choices depending on what you're looking for on a Friday.

Saturday's big question mark is the Culture DC booking at 10PM, which was not publicly announced at the time this issue went out. Check culturedc.com or their Instagram directly before Saturday — they've been running a strong format this year and this slot is worth watching. Flash is running three rooms that night with Benwal (Amsterdam) on the main floor, Legal Aliens in the Green Room, and Beatprint in the Flash Bar, plus an early show in the afternoon with Hans Glader.

Sunday closes on Francesca Lombardo — Echoe/Echolette, Crosstown Rebels, deeply melodic, a Sunday afternoon tailor-made for that format. If you have not been to Sunday Love yet this season, this is a reasonable entry point.

Three days. A warehouse open-to-close, a folk-house debut in the round, multiple Flash rooms, and a Sunday afternoon with one of the better melodic selectors in the game right now. Let's get into it.

Fri May 8 —

BUNT. (In The Round) @ Echostage – Folk-House / Melodic Electronic / Indie Dance - BONUS - I’ll be there!

Nü Androids Presents: Chris Lorenzo (Open to Close) @ A.I. Warehouse – Bass House / Tech House / UK House

Daft Disko @ Flash (Rooftop) – French House / Disco / Nu-Disco

Tom GBH / Brad Piff @ Flash (Green Room) – Drum & Bass / Liquid DnB / Jungle

Will Clarke @ BERHTA (BETTE) – Tech House / Deep House

DJ_Dave @ BERHTA (BETTE) – Deep House / Soulful House

Hamdi / Nadia @ Flash (Club Level) – Drum & Bass / Bass Music — SOLD OUT

Kurilo b2b Mazko A / Charm City Club Frequencies: James Nasty / Sasha Miles / Dagm @ Flash (Green Room / Flash Bar) – Minimal Techno / Deep Techno

Supertask @ Transmission – Melodic Bass / Downtempo / Electronic

Sat May 9 —

Para Presents x Transmission: Objekt / Neffa-T @ Transmission – Deep Techno / Electro / Club

Nü Androids Presents: DJ Habibeats @ A.I. Warehouse – Arabic House / Afro House / Global Dance

Culture DC — lineup TBA / check culturedc.com and @culturedc on Instagram

Hans Glader / Cobrastrk / T.Cho @ Flash (Green Room) – Organic House / Indie Dance / Melodic — Doors 4PM [EARLY SHOW]

Benwal (Amsterdam) + House Twelve / Legal Aliens: D.O.S / SPCL.K / Mverto Futura / Beatprint: Chami / Marcos 3000 / Ratalina / Manne @ Flash (Club Level / Green Room / Flash Bar) – Trance / Hard House / Progressive House / Melodic Techno / Tech House

Sun May 10 —

Sunday Love: Francesca Lombardo / ANNYA / Isidora Echenique @ Flash (Green Room) – Organic House / Deep House / Melodic Techno — Doors 2:30PM

Free Pussy Presents: Mommy's Day ft. Kiernan Laveaux + Chelle @ [venue TBD — check Shotgun link for location] – Experimental Club / Queer Underground

Tip: BUNT. is German producer Levi Wijk, out of Stuttgart. His breakout was "Clouds" (featuring Nate Traveller) and his catalog sits in a space between folk and electronic that very few people are doing at this scale — acoustic instrumentation, organic textures, melodic peaks that feel earned rather than forced. The "In The Round" setup means no traditional stage — he's in the center of the crowd. If you've never seen it, the energy in the room reads differently than a standard DJ booth. This is his Echostage debut. That matters.

Tip: Chris Lorenzo co-founded Anti Up alongside Chris Lake and runs the Late Checkout label. He's a Birmingham-born producer who built his reputation on punchy bass house — "California Dreamin'," "Mami," heavy low-end and sharp vocal hooks. An open-to-close at A.I. Warehouse is a different animal than a festival set. Expect a full-spectrum journey: warm-up rollers going deep into peak-time heaters going into late-night curveballs. This is the kind of set you regret leaving early.

Tip: Will Clarke is a Sheffield-born tech house and deep house artist with a long history on Dirtybird and other labels in that lane. He runs his own All We Are imprint. Late-night at BERHTA's BETTE room is the right room for what he does.

Tip: Benwal is a Dutch producer and DJ out of Amsterdam, sitting in the melodic house and techno space. He's been one of the more consistent bookings in that lane over the last few years. Flash's Club Level is a solid room for that sound on a Saturday night.

Tip: Francesca Lombardo has been doing this for over a decade — Italian-born, classically trained, with releases on Crosstown Rebels, Mobilee, and her own labels. Her debut album "Life of Leaf" came out in 2019. The Sunday Love format at Flash is built around this kind of selector — one that plays with arc and intention rather than just peak-time energy. The room will be unhurried and people will actually be listening. That's rare and worth protecting.

That's issue #010. BUNT. makes his Echostage debut In The Round on Friday night, Chris Lorenzo goes open-to-close at A.I. Warehouse for Nü Androids, and if you can do both — you'd have to clone yourself, so pick your lane. Flash is running early shows and multiple late rooms on both Friday and Saturday. The Culture DC Saturday slot had not been announced at press time — check their Instagram before the weekend. Sunday belongs to Francesca Lombardo at Flash, and Free Pussy is doing their Mother's Day edition for the underground heads.

Reply to this email with how your weekend went, any IDs you couldn't place, or just tell me which room you ended up in. You can also find me on Instagram at @plurtatochip — DMs are open as always.

Stay PLUR, stay hydrated, see you on the floor.

— Your DC Dance Music Gremlin

PLURtatoChip
The Capital City Raver · dcraver.com