As Savannah’s live music scene continues to grow and evolve, a group of local DJs are working to make sure electronic music is welcome in the Hostess City.

Brandon Archer, aka Stiltz, is a DJ and producer who was born and raised in Savannah. He is the Event Director for North South Far West DJ Collective and production group Kosmic Evolution. Archer has spent years creating electronic music and attending major music festivals across the country, and now he said he’s ready to see Savannah get on the map. On June 26, Archer is teaming up with Moonstoned Market and The Firm to put on The Reunion. The Reunion is an all day live music and art market event meant to bring the community together.

The event will be at The Firm’s new location, 903 East 70th St., from 2-8:30 p.m. There will be 15 local DJs performing, local vendors, flow artists and live painters on site. Entry to The Reunion is $15, and the event is BYOB.

The impressive local DJ lineup includes Stiltz, Barbosa, Wizard Musik, Lvnlife, Warboiz, Primal, Geisha, Figatron, Squidnee, Skelector, B-Riel, Xenotype, Vakarius and DJ HD. Archer said that though Savannah is overflowing with live music nearly every day of the week, he feels that electronic music is missing from the schedule. He said he’s had a difficult time finding local venues that are open to his genre of music. He explained that venue owners aren’t being mean, they’re just a little weary because there may not be a high demand for electronic music among customers, and sometimes electronic music gets a bad reputation.

Primal, aka Joel Adams, has found a home for himself at Barrel House South on Congress Street. He said the Barrel House team welcomes his music and the packed house that comes with it.

“I think we can show people that it’s not what they think it is, it’s not people falling around, it’s not a crowd of people on drugs.” – Primal aka Joel Adams

Archer said he believes the negative reputation associated with electronic music comes from the genre being heavily marketed to college students over the last few years, creating the idea that electronic music is only for people looking to party hard. However, he said his music is for everyone, even for families.

This is why Archer said NSFW DJ Collective and Kosmic Evolution are working to host daytime events at local venues. He said the goal is to put on approachable, market-style shows to get the community comfortable with the genre. “If someone says ‘well I can’t get a babysitter,’ then they can bring their family,”Archer said. “We’ll have crafts, we’ll have cornhole, we’ll have this and that. At our last event, we had a big water slide for kids. So, their parents can dance, and their kids are right there with them. We try to bring in plenty of stuff for kids and teenagers.”

Archer said he won’t stop at The Reunion. He’s already thinking about future events and plans to only get bigger and better from here.

“I definitely want to keep the local vendors,” Archer said. “I love the live art. I really want to find somewhere where we can do a daytime event that goes into the nighttime so we can do some lights and lasers and stuff.”

Overall, both Archer and Adams agreed that Savannah is the perfect city to pursue their passions.

“I love Savannah,” Adams said. “It’s done a lot for me.” When asked what he hopes the community takes away from The Reunion and future events, Archer said, “togetherness, happiness, and family.”

“All of our DJ friends are open and lovey-dovey,” Archer added. “We want to welcome everyone. People who don’t have many friends, people who feel depressed, people who are down. Come join in.”

Archer and Adams say their ultimate goal is to put on a large-scale electronic music festival in Savannah, similar to Imagine Music Festival in Atlanta.

This article appears in 06-23-2021.