The Electro Swing Club returns to Nelson this Saturday for another night of vintage-remixed music, art and performance.
After packing The Royal earlier this winter, the party is moving to Spiritbar to take advantage of the larger venue. The night will feature live music by Nelson's ET Atomic Swing Band, coupled with stage acts by local burlesque performers. There will also be DJs and circus-style performers coming in from Vancouver and Calgary.
"We basically load up a bus in Vancouver and my friend in Calgary packs a limo to bring everyone we can round up to Nelson," explain Bryant Boesen, Vancouver-based regional organizer and founder of Electro Swing Club Canada.
He started hosting Electro Swing Club events in Vancouver a year ago and after a trip to Europe, where the movement began, he came back with the idea of creating a circuit of connected clubs that international performers could tour though.
So far the North American network includes San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, Victoria, Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Montreal, New York — and Nelson.
"We basically needed a stop between Vancouver and Calgary and I knew somebody there [Ellyssa Del Maestro] who wanted to get an event going," Boesen says on how Nelson got a spot on a circuit. "The first night was so popular right off the bat — with everyone dressed up and people lined up down the street trying to get in — that we said, 'Hell yeah, this is the spot.'"
He says he are drawn to the events because they mix so many elements. It's part dance party, part live entertainment and part costume party — everyone is encouraged to dress for the 1920s and '30s speakeasy theme, mixed with some modern flare.
"As opposed to just doing typical events with just a DJ and a dance floor, we're all about creating an all encompassing environment," Boesen said. "It's a coming together of local and visiting performers and artists and audience members expressing themselves in a way that has that nostalgic edge."
The Electro Swing Club is at Spiritbar on Saturday, February 9. Doors at 10 p.m.