Never thought I'd see the term "candy ravers" in a Detroit News story :)
fh --------------------- Detroit expected to announce today new producers for annual techno festival Adam Graham / The Detroit News Detroit city officials are expected to announce later today that the reins for this year's Memorial Day techno festival have been handed to Ferndale-based electronic music event promoter Paxahau. Jason Huvaere, Paxahau's 32-year-old director of operations, boarded a plane early today bound for Miami's five-day Winter Music Conference, electronic music's biggest annual gathering, where he is expected to begin promoting the event. Huvaere said in order to properly market the event, it was critical to promote it at the Conference, which is attended by DJs and electronic music fans from around the globe. Promotion time for the festival has been in short supply in recent years. Last year's techno team, headed up by Detroit techno pioneer Kevin Saunderson, was given the green light to produce the festival in early May, giving them less than four weeks to announce the lineup and hype the event to out-of-town visitors. The Memorial Day techno fest has become a Hart Plaza tradition since its first outing in 2000. But just as the festival has been marked by pulsating rhythms and candy ravers, it has also been met, year in and year out, with drama and backstage squabbling. Today will mark the third time the festival has changed hands. Carol Marvin and Pop Culture Media produced the first three Detroit Electronic Music Festivals. Detroit techno pioneer Derrick May took over in 2003 and 2004, while fellow techno visionary Saunderson produced the festival in 2005. Saunderson, who still owes $250,000 in unpaid bills to vendors and to the city of Detroit from last year's festival, announced last month he would not return to produce this year's event. ----------------- (Paxahau news release) March 23, 2006 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Shannon McCarthy 313-701-9139 CITY OF DETROIT AND PAXAHAU SHAKE HANDS, ELECTRONIC MUSIC FESTIVAL WILL GO ON. DETROIT- Paxahau Promotions Group today announced they have been chosen by the City of Detroit to be the producers of this years Electronic Music Festival on Memorial Day Weekend, May 27-29. We are sincerely honored that the City has selected someone within the electronic community to produce this event - we have worked extremely hard to establish ourselves as a globally respected organization, specifically to bring this event the cultural attention it deserves, said Jason Huvaere, owner of Paxahau. Paxahau presented a sound plan to stabilize and grow the event, said Lucius A. Vassar, the City of Detroits Chief Administrative Officer. We want to see this event flourish and continue to draw people from all over the world to Detroit. Since 1998 Paxahau has produced Electronic events in Detroit. In that time they have grown to include a record label, booking agency, web-archive and event production company which hosts an average of 20 events a year in the city. The festival producers have also been endorsed by previous festival directors, Carl Craig, Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson. As the festivals 2003 and 2004 producers, we are pleased to see that Paxahau will be taking on the event, said electronic music pioneer Derrick May. Jason Huvaere and his group are not only competent event managers, but they are of the electronic music industry. I am confident that in their hands, the events integrity as the worlds signature electronic music festival will be preserved, and its operations and management strengthened. In an effort to maintain a globally recognized, positive brand image for Detroit, Paxahau will retain the name Movement, Detroits Electronic Music Festival. With a network of alliances and resources that span the globe, the Paxahau team has emerged as a premier promotions group within the electronic music industry. They plan on growing the festival into a cultural attraction that celebrates not only to sonic art forms associated with Electronic Music, but also the visual arts culture that has evolved from its influences as well. We see the festival as an opportunity to bring Detroits influence all over the world home and nourish one of Detroits primary opportunities for tourism and development, said Huvaere. Specific details regarding the festival will be released at a later date. Please visit www.demf.com to find the latest news as it develops. For now Detroit and the world needs to start getting ready for a 3-day party at the end of May. Detroits electronic music festival will go on.
